the civil rights movement 1945-1970 chapter 28. brown v. the board of education charles h. houston...
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The Civil Rights Movement1945-1970
Chapter 28
Brown v. The Board of Education
• Charles H. Houston – Dean of Howard University Law School
• Traveled all over the south to gather the evidence that separate was NOT equal
• Found that for every dollar spent education a black child, $5 dollars was spent on a white child
• This is NOT equal!
Brown v. The Board of Education
• In 1954 the case was decided
• The Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation in schools
• The case was argued before the Supreme Court by Thurgood Marshall
• BUT they never decided HOW schools should be desegregated or WHEN
Southern Manifesto
• Southern representatives in Congress
• Called the Brown decision a “clear abuse of judicial power”
• Argued that it increased the power of the federal government
Emmett Till
• 1955, visiting his uncle Mose Wright in Mississippi
• Murdered by two white men for allegedly talking to or whistling at a white woman
• Mr. Wright testified in court that they were the men who took Emmett in the middle of the night (this was VERY brave)
• The two men were acquitted anyway
Emmett Till
• The pictures of Emmett’s body attracted a lot of attention around the country
• The story of the court case and the acquittal made people all over the country angry
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• In 1955 Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to move on the bus for a white man
• She was arrested
• The 50,000 black citizens of Montgomery united behind a boycott of the busses and refused to ride until they were desegregated
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• The boycott lasted for 11 months
• It was led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Leaders were arrested and charged with conspiracy
• Blacks formed car pools and walked everywhere, and the police harassed them
• Reverend King’s home was bombed
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• 10,000 white citizens formed the White Citizens Council
• These councils were formed throughout the south to oppose integration
• The Supreme Court ruled that segregation on busses was illegal
• The boycott ended in 1956 and they WON!
Confrontation at Little Rock
• 1957 – Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas
• Governor Orval Faubus opposed the plan• He surrounded the school with the
Arkansas National Guard to prevent the black students from entering
• President Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort the black students for the rest of the school year
Confrontation at Little Rock
• 1958 – Governor Faubus closed the public schools to prevent integration
• The Supreme Court ruled that he could not do that
• 1959 – The schools re-opened peacefully
Lunch-Counter Sit-Ins
• February 1, 1960 – David Richmond– Franklin McCain– Ezell Blair– Joseph McNeil
• Went to a whites only lunch-counter in Greensboro
• They knew that this could get them arrested
Lunch-Counter Sit-Ins
• The waitress did not serve them
• They stayed until closing
• The next day 23 more students joined
• The day after 66 more students joined
• By the end of the week 1,000 students were participating!
• By the end of 1960 there were sit-ins in over 100 southern cities!
Nashville Sit-Ins
• Led by Diane Nash, age 21
• A large protest to city hall
• When the mayor came out to talk, she asked:
• “Mayor West, do YOU feel it is wrong to discriminate against a person solely on the basis of their race or color?”
SNCC
• Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (pronounced snick)
• Founded by Diane Nash and others who felt that SCLC was too cautious
• What is SCLC?
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by Martin Luther King Jr.
Other “Ins”
• Sleep-ins at all white motels
• Kneel-ins at all white churches
• Wade-ins at all white beaches
CORE
• http://www.core-online.org/index.htm