The Purpose of the 14th Amendment is to ensure equality within ALL citizens, not just whites. This is one of the most important amendments, where it not only defines what it means to be a US citizen, but also giving the right of citizenship to African Americans. It also gave all people the right of due process, avoiding cruel and unusual punishment. It also gave equal protection to all people with the idea that "all men are created equal." The 14th amendment is important to the Civil Rights Movement mainly because it was the start of African Americans being treated completely like humans, and as fairly as all the people in the country, and were granted civil rights.