Civil Rights Movement

• Civil Rights:– Protects one’s rights from persecution from gov’t

& others– Protects rights to participate in civic functions

• Jackie Robinson: 1919-1972– Attended UCLA (lettered in track, baseball,

football, basketball)• 1st time in school history

– Nearly court-martialed from army in 1944 over bus incident

– Played semi-pro football & coached bball @ Sam Houston State

Jackie Robinson--baseball

– Signed with KC Monarchs in 1945 for $400 a month

– Broke baseball color barrier (1947)• Won Rookie of the Year

– Played for Brooklyn Dodgers—signed by Branch Rickey

– Played in 6 World Series (won 1 in 1955)– #42 retired in MLB in 1997

• Emmitt Till: 14 years old– Murdered in Money, MS– Whistled @ white woman– Eye gouged out, shot in head, thrown in river w/

cotton gin– Found after 3 days—mother demanded open

casket @ funeral– Murderers found not guilty– Admitted after the fact—DOUBLE JEOPARDY

• Rosa Parks: Dec. 1, 1955—refused to give seat on bus to white man in Montgomery, AL– Sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)– Born in Atlanta – Skipped 9th & 12th grades– BA in sociology & divinity– Doctorate in philosophy– Married Coretta Scott in 1953 & had 4 children– Became Baptist minister in 1954

• Mahatma Gandhi’s influence on King– Non-violence– Civil disobedience

• SCLC: – Created out of Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955– Based in Atlanta– Organized volunteers to create protests– Church group– King was 1st President

• SNCC– Organized college students– Organized sit-ins

• CORE– Chicago 1942– Urban chapters– Nonviolence– Voting rights, job discrimination, and segregation

• Freedom Riders: – Whites and blacks– Result was often violent backlashes– Many arrested for trespassing, unlawful assembly,

or Jim Crow violations.

• Albany, GA (Nov. 1961-July 1962)– Wanted to attract national attention to

segregation practices– Use nonviolence– King arrested & sentenced to 45 days or $175 fine– After 3 days, police chief paid fine– “witnessed a man thrown out of jail”

• Birmingham, AL campaign– Spring of 1963– Dared police to arrest peaceful

protesters– Overflow jails to point of chaos– Wanted to force city to talk to

black leaders– Sit-ins & boycotts used against

businesses– Chief “Bull” Connor—used dogs &

fire hoses• Connor lost job & businesses

opened up to blacks

• March on Washington—August 28, 1963– Bring attention to:

• End segregation• End police brutality• $2 minimum wage

– 250,000 marchers– Finished at Lincoln Memorial– Various speakers & musical

acts (Bob Dylan)– Concluded with

“I Have a Dream” speech

Freedom Summer

• Summer of 1964• Targeted Mississippi• SNCC, CORE, SCLC sent white/black volunteers to

register black voters & educate– Over 1000 volunteers

• Met with hesitance from many blacks• White residents resented movement– Led to violence by KKK– 3 volunteers arrested, released, kidnapped, tortured, and

killed by the KKK in June

• Civil Rights Act of 1964:– Outlawed segregation in all public places– Affirmative Action

• 24th Amendment– Banned the use of poll tax

and literacy tests as meansof voting

• Selma, AL—March 1965– SCLC & SNCC wanted march from Selma to

Montgomery– Cancelled once due to violent protests– King did not endorse march—too violent– March 7—marched w/o King—”Bloody Sunday”– March 9—King led a short march and prayer– March 25—King led march to Montgomery

• Poor People’s Campaign of 1968– Multicultural army to march on Washington– Wanted to help all poor– Not much support—too broad

• Assassination: April 4, 1968– Memphis, TN—helping sanitation

workers’ strike– Staying at Lorraine Motel– April 3: gave

“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech– April 4: 6 pm: shot once in cheek on 2nd

story balcony– Riots ensued– June: escaped convict James Earl Ray

arrested– Confessed but later took it back– Pled guilty—99 years

• Nation of Islam– Created in 1930– Northern & Urban– Goal was to “resurrect the spiritual, mental, social, and

economic” well-being of black men and women– Taught traditional Muslim practices (no pork, drinking,

smoking, swearing, gambling, and dress conservatively)– Elijah Muhammad

• Charged with sedition during WWII• Taught “black separatism”• Claimed Allah would destroy “White America”

• Malcolm X – Born Malcolm Little– El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz– Meaning of X– Follower of Elijah Muhammad– Served 7 years in prison for crimes

committed in Boston & New York– Join Nation of Islam in jail– Black Power/Nationalism– Resented M. King’s tactics– Assassinated Feb. 21, 1965

• New York City ballroom• 3 shooters (shotgun & 2 pistols)

• Black Panthers (mid-60s-1970s)– Promote black power & self-defense

through social agitation• Militant tactics led to violent disputes with law

enforcement– Started in Oakland to put stop to police

brutality– Turned into a socialist political party

• Worked to end poverty, substance abuse, and improve health care

– Accused of “black racism”• Eventually accepted whites into party

Women’s Movement

• Betty Friedan & Feminine Mystique in 1963– Ignited women’s movement– Wrote about secret anger and sadness in

women’s day to day lives– Women were not happy to take identity

through husband and children• Wanted more than to serve the family• Questioned sex roles at home

– Post-WWII: new tech. made life easier but more boring and less valuable

• Equal Pay Act (1963): same pay for same job, skills, and responsibilities– Only affected 1/3 of women workers

• Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964– Protects women from discrimination– Protects interracial marriages

• President’s Commission on the Status of Women– Created by JFK to advise him and create laws to

improve women’s status– Investigated equality into workplace– Headed by E. Roosevelt

• National Organization of Women– Led by Friedan– Over 500,000 members– Lobbying group—pressure gov’t for social &

economic reforms– Heavily pro-choice (abortion)– Provide various services to women (rape-

crisis centers)– 1968: disrupted Miss America Pageant

• "the degrading mindless-boob-girlie symbol“• Freedom trash can• “Bra burners”• Brought record media attention to protests and

pageant

• Education Amendment Act (1972): outlawed sexual discrimination in higher ed or organization that receives federal money– Title IX: colleges/high schools must provide equal

sporting opportunities• 1999: 232,000 males & 163,000 females

• Roe v. Wade: 1973• Equal Rights Amendment (1972-1982)– Ratified by 35 states (needed 38)– No support among Republicans/conservatives

Native American Movement• Goals of “Red Power” movement:• American Indian Movement (AIM)—

1968– Fought against poverty on

reservations– Demanded reimbursement for lands

taken– Wanted self-determination

• Russell Means—leader of AIM– 1969: Alcatraz: took over and offered

beads and cloth to buy it• All removed by 1971

– 1970: Mayflower II: took over replica ship over Thanksgiving• Painted Plymouth Rock red

– “all of our demonstrations have yet to hurt anyone or destroy any property, however we have found that the only way the white man will listen is by us creating a disturbance in his world.”

– 1972: “Trail of Broken Treaties”• March of 2000 Indians to DC to present

ideas to Nixon• Occupied Bureau of Indian Affairs building

for 7 days– 1973: Wounded Knee, SD

• Same location as 1890 massacre of 300 Sioux

• AIM demanded gov’t listen to grievances• 71 day standoff with 500,000 rounds shot• 2 AIMs and 1 US Marshall killed• Gov’t listens to grievances• Means and others had cases dismissed due

to loopholes

Quadriplegic Movement

• Ed Roberts:– Quadriplegic due to polio as child– Denied admission to Cal-Berkeley in 1962 due to lack of

accommodations• “Rolling Quads”

– Group of quadriplegics in Berkeley area– Used media to gain public support– Roberts admitted later in 1962

• Lived in school infirmary—iron lung too heavy for dorm floors– Legacy: worked towards various laws/movements until 1990s