Civil rights generally describe protections people possess within a particular country’s legal and political system. In the United States, those include equal protection under the law, voting rights, due process, and protections against discrimination. Human rights are broader. They belong to people because they’re human.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was one of the most influential Black politicians in twentieth-century America, yet his role in shaping civil rights legislation and federal policy is often overlooked. Representing Harlem in Congress for nearly three decades, Powell helped advance legislation involving education, labor protections, healthcare, anti-poverty programs, and civil rights enforcement during segregation.