Review: Taking on Segregation • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) had

established the “separate but equal” doctrine, era of “Jim Crow” laws

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)– NAACP case argued by Thurgood

Marshall– unanimously overturned Plessy

v. Ferguson – set the civil rights movement in

motion

• Supreme Court allowed states to enforce the Brown decision with “all deliberate speed”

Blacks’ Struggle for Justice

• Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)– initiated by Rosa Parks, led by

Martin Luther King, Jr.

• King formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957– “soul force” called for

nonviolent resistance, civil disobedience, massive demonstrations

Bus desegregation 1956

• Supreme Court rules that bus segregation is unconstitutional.– Browder v. Gayle (1956)

• Bus boycott earns MLK Jr. the national reputation of being a civil rights leader– Nonviolence– Civil Disobedience

The Movement Spreads

– Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) formed in 1960• Greensboro, NC lunch

counter “sit-in” (1960)– Congress of Racial

Equality (CORE) had staged “sit-ins” in 1940s

– Sit-ins led to desegregation of lunch counters in 11 states

Riding for Freedom

• CORE organized “freedom rides” in 1961– attempt to test the

Court’s ban of segregated busses

– attacked in Alabama, bus firebombed

– President Kennedy increased support for movement

Birmingham, 1963

• SCLC focused on Birmingham, Alabama in 1963– “most segregated city in

America” (Bull Connor)– “children’s crusade”– demonstrations turned

violent, King was arrested

• JFK was forced to join with the movement– sent civil rights bill to

Congress

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

• MLK led the “March on Washington” in August 1963– support for civil rights

bill– “I Have a Dream” speech – helped turn civil rights

into a mainstream issue

Johnson Acts

• President Johnson pressured Congress to pass Kennedy’s civil rights bill

• Civil Rights Act of 1964– prohibited segregation in

public accommodations – outlawed employment

discrimination– created Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission

Martin Luther King Jr. • Born January 15, 1929 into a

family of Southern preachers.

• Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s message of nonviolence – Love your enemy

• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize– Montgomery Bus Boycott– Letter From Birmingham Jail

Malcolm X

• Born “Malcolm Little” on May 19, 1925– Early life in poverty

• After prison, became a member of the Nation of Islam– Led by Elijah Muhammad – Belief that the white race had

brainwashed blacks to be patient while enduring injustice

– “Black Nationalism”

New Leaders Voice Discontent• Nation of Islam rejected

white society, advocated black separatism– Black Nationalism – Malcolm X (killed in 1965)

• Black Muslims worked to become independent from whites by establishing their own businesses, schools, and communities.

• Eyes on the Prize

SNCC & The Black Power Movement

• Black Power movement called for cultural pride, creation of a parallel society

• SNCC becomes all black organization. – Began as integrated

student group. – Why change?

• “We cannot have white people working in the black community,” he argued. “Black people must be seen in positions of power, doing and articulating [speaking] for themselves.”– —Stokely Carmichael, speech in

Berkeley, California, 1966

Black Panthers

• Black Panthers formed in 1966– Bobby Seale and Huey Newton

(Oakland, CA)– shadowed police to prevent

mistreatment, ran political candidates

– Created social programs

1968

• MLK was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis, TN. – James Earl Ray

• 125 cities erupted in violent riots

• What does Senator Kennedy ask of Americans in his speech?

Latino Rights Movement• One of the most notable

campaigns for Latino rights in the 1960s was the farm worker struggle in California. – Cesar Chavez, a farm worker

born in Arizona, was one of the principal leaders of this effort to improve the lives of migrant workers.

• United Farm Workers Union.– Created by Chavez and Dolores

Huerta. – Late 1960’s

Cesar Chavez • Born in Yuma, Arizona, in 1927

– Grew up during the Dust Bowl & Great Depression

– Migrant workers

• Worked to create and maintain a union for farm workers. – UFW

• Used mass protests, boycotts, strikes.– Won the legal power of

collective bargaining in 1975

Bilingual Education Act

• In 1968, President Johnson signed the Bilingual Education Act– legalizing instruction in languages other than

English in schools.

• The courts later ruled that schools must address the needs of non-English speakers– Includes teaching in students’ native languages

Women’s Liberation• Feminist activist spread in

the 1960s– gender is now a protected

category under the Civil Rights Act of 1964

– Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963)

– National Organization for Women (NOW) formed in 1966

• Women’s liberation movement focused on gender and employment inequalities

Equal Rights Amendment

• Proposed 27th Amendment to the Constitution – “Equality of rights under the law shall not be

denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

• Essential Question: – Why was the Equal Rights Amendment defeated?

Standing Up • Members of the LGBTQ

community began to stand up for their rights during the 1960’s– Police harassment– Job discrimination

• The Stonewall Riots– The Stonewall Inn, New York

City, 1969– Police raid led to riots across

the city– Official start to the Gay Rights

Movement

Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA

• Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)– Denied federal benefits to gay couples who are

legally married in their states, including Social Security survivor benefits, immigration rights and family leave.

– President Clinton signed, 1996

• Supreme Court rules key piece of DOMA unconstitutional in 2013