Operation Breakthrough is an anti-poverty movement established in Durham, North Carolina, in August 1964. It played a prominent and influential role in the expansion of the Civil Rights Movement in Durham. Terry Sanford, its founder, developed this through the involvement of the North Carolina Fund. A Member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the former governor of North Carolina and was highly respected for his intervention in the improvement of public education. In the 1960s, the education system in place in North Carolina was very poor, with a quarter of adults above 25 years old receiving an education inferior to sixth grade, making most of them illiterate.2 Because of the high success of the program, the concept developed through the North Carolina Fund was mimicked throughout the nation, transforming what initially was a state wide program to a national program. Throughout this movement, activism played a fundamental role, as the main aim of the program consisted of changing the economic situation of a state through the use of political and social power.