The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. While the ERA was not specifically focused on Black Americans, it was a significant development in the fight for equality and civil rights in the United States.

During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Black activists and organizations were at the forefront of advocating for the passage of the ERA as part of their broader efforts to secure equal rights for women, including Black women. Prominent Black leaders such as Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, and Coretta Scott King, the wife of Martin Luther King Jr., supported the ERA and emphasized the intersectionality of race and gender in the struggle for equality.

Despite widespread support, the ERA ultimately fell short of being ratified by the necessary number of states to become part of the Constitution. However, the efforts to pass the ERA helped to raise awareness about gender discrimination and the need for legal protections against such discrimination, which continues to be a critical issue in the fight for equality for all Americans, including Black women.