students will explain the origins of the civil rights movement students will explain the tactics...
TRANSCRIPT
• Students will explain the origins of the Civil Rights Movement• Students will explain the tactics used and the major
events of the era• Students will explain other issues arising from the era
• Origins of the Movement Plessey v. Ferguson – 1896 SCOTUS
case that established separate but equal
Separate But Equal – segregation permitted by law as long as equal facilities were provided
Jim Crow Laws – segregated the public sphere
De Facto Segregation – segregation through custom and tradition
• Court Challenges NAACP challenged segregation laws
in SCOTUS 1935 Norris v. Alabama – ruled that
keeping blacks off juries violated equal protection
1946 Morgan v. Virginia – ruled segregation on interstate busses was unconstitutional
1950 Sweatt v. Painter – ruled state law schools had to admit qualified blacks even if black law schools existed
• Because of Great Migration, blacks could concentrate political power/vote = politicians listening• Black leaders pushed for more rights
during WWII – helped end discrimination in factories with federal contracts and increased opportunities in military• Congress of Racial Equality founded
(CORE) – first use of sit-ins as protest tactic; used to desegregate restaurants; opened up restaurants, theaters, and public facilities in Northern cities
• WWII caused many blacks who served to demand their rights guaranteed by law
• Brown v. Board of Education Black lawyer Thurgood Marshall
fought to end segregation in schools 1954 SCOTUS heard case of Linda
Brown denied admission to neighborhood school
SCOTUS ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional – violated 14th Amendment
Affected only schools but undermined system of segregation
• The Southern Manifesto Some border states desegregated
schools but deep South states resisted
SCOTUS had stated desegregation must proceed “with all deliberate speed” – wording vague enough for many states to avoid complying
101 Southern Democrats in Congress signed Southern Manifesto – denouncing SCOTUS ruling and pledging to reverse decision
• Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa Parks challenged segregation
on public busses Parks arrested – Blacks began bus
boycott Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as
leader Advocated passive resistance Boycott lasted over a year 1956 SCOTUS ruled Alabama
segregation of busses unconstitutional
• Many black leaders in Civil Rights Movement were black pastors• African-American churches
provided important support to the movement• King established the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference to eliminate segregation and increase the black vote
• Eisenhower and Civil Rights Followed on Truman’s
precedent and opened up more federal areas to blacks
Did not like some methods used by blacks – thought the movement was dividing the country
Sent federal troops to the South (first time since Reconstruction) to protect blacks’ constitutional rights
• Crisis in Little Rock School board in Little Rock decided to
admit nine black students to a white school
Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus ordered National Guard troops to STOP black students from entering school
White mobs intimidated students Whole incident on TV Eisenhower ordered US troops to Little
Rock Black students escorted to school by
US by armed US troops
• Sit-In Movement 1960 – Black students
staged a sit-in at the Greensboro Woolworth store
Movement grew to include 54 cities in 9 states
Students stayed within the passive resistance guidelines set by the NAACP and SCLC
Emergence of Jesse Jackson
• Ella Baker encouraged coordination of student efforts at desegregation• Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC) – first chairperson was Marion Barry• Group moved to focus on rural
areas as well• Three SNCC workers killed trying
to register black voters
• Freedom Riders CORE leader asked teams of
black and white volunteers to travel to the South to confront segregation of busses
Volunteers called Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders attacked by mobs – violence shocked nation
• Kennedy and Civil Rights Kennedy campaigned on issue of civil
rights Once in office he became cautious Allowed Department of Justice (RFK) to
lead on issue Department of Justice took legal action
against segregated bus terminals James Meredith registered to attend
University of Mississippi – blocked by governor and white mobs
JFK sent in US Marshals and troops to protect Meredith at school
• Birmingham Martin Luther King Jr. staged
protests in Birmingham knowing it would provoke violence – hope to get support from JFK
King arrested – wrote Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Police used clubs, dogs, and high-pressure hoses against protesters
Televised violence caused JFK to call for new civil rights law
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 MLK led march and demonstration at
Lincoln Memorial “I Have a Dream” speech Civil Rights Act bottled up in US
Senate by Southern Democrats JFK assassinated – successor LBJ
pushed through bill LBJ signed bill into law July 1964 Gave broad powers to prevent
discrimination – established Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• 24th Amendment – eliminated poll taxes• Blacks still intimidated at voting
booths by violence• 24 African-American churches blown
up in Mississippi• MLK decided to stage another protest
at Selma, Alabama• Sheriff attacked blacks, including
children, over 70 hospitalized• Enraged LBJ called for voting rights law
Most blacks restricted
• Voting Rights Act of 1965 Authorized federal examiners to
bypass state and local authorities Prohibited literacy tests Turning point in Civil Rights
Movement Black voter rolls increased by over
250,000
• Even after civil rights legislation, racism still common• By 1965, 70% of blacks lived in
large cities• Most blacks restricted to poor
inner-city housing• Most jobs low-paying or blue-collar• Single-parent families on increase• Poverty and crime on rise
• The Watts Riot Race riot broke out LA after
allegations of police brutality National Guard called out 34 people killed $45 million in property damage Race riots broke out in other cities
between 1965 and 1968 Worst riot in Detroit 1967
• Black Power MLK’s policies seen as ineffective – more
aggressive stance wanted CORE and SNCC expelled whites from
their organizations Many called for Black Power – self-
defense and violence acceptable or blacks should control the direction of their struggle
Also stressed pride in African-American cultural group
Adopted new African-style hairstyles and clothing, names, and students demanded African studies at universities
• Malcolm X and Nation of Islam Became symbol of the Black Power
Movement Joined the Nation of Islam aka Black
Muslims while in prison Black Muslims – black nationalist group
advocated separatism Last name Little – changed to “X” to
symbolize African name changed during slavery
Malcolm X changed during Hajj to Mecca – changed political views
Broke w/Nation of Islam who had him assassinated
• Black Panthers Militant Black Power group Founded in Oakland by Huey
Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver
Organized for self-defense Believed revolution was needed in
US Adopted a ten-point program for
black empowerment
• Assassination of MLK Black power and calls for violence
caused backlash against Civil Rights Movement
1968 MLK visited Memphis in support of a strike by black workers
MLK shot as stood on motel balcony
Rioting followed Civil Rights Act of 1968 passed