What are the key similarities and differences between Black Americans' social status in these two time periods (1860s vs. 1960s)?

I think that one of the major similaritiesies between the
lives of African- Americans in both post- Civil War America and Civil Rights America was
the basic question of how they shall live in America.  Both periods featured intense
amounts of questioning as to what path shall be taken.  In both settings, there might
have been a state of theoretical freedom, as granted by the Constitution.  Yet, there
was little in way of actual freedom.  For African- Americans after the Civil War, the
abolition of slavery in the 13th Amendment, guarantees of citizenship in the 14th, and
voting rights in the 15th did not immediately translate to full acceptance in American
society.  In much the same way, there was a struggle to fully grasp how African-
Americans would be able to possess full immersion in the American Dream in the 1960s,
the point where questions had begun to percolate to the surface in the demands of
change.  Due to the wonderment of what to do and how to proceed in American life, there
were African- American leaders in both periods that became instrumental in articulating
the path that people of color needed to taken.  In the post- Civil War America, men like
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois helped to articulate this vision, and in the
Civil Rights period, Dr. King and Malcolm X also helped to forge this path for people of
color.  In both settings, the demand for change and need to be heard were common
threads.