Until the Emancipation Proclamation (1862), the main issue was the abolition of black slavery. From the end of the Civil War until the Civil Rights movement of the late 1950s that resulted in legislation against discrimination in 1964, the issue was discrimination against blacks and their social and legal exclusion from opportunities in employment, education on all levels, housing, adequate medical care, and fairness in the criminal justice system. At the same time, support for and construction of positive identities for African Americans was a central concern.