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Civil Rights in America
Roots of the Civil Rights Movement
WHAT• End of Reconstruction
– During post-Civil War Reconstruction, African Americans gained rights (like voting in the south)• When Reconstruction ended, many gains were reversed• Expansion of the KKK, Race Riots, Lynching
• Plessey v. Ferguson (1896)– Supreme Court decision that said segregation was legal
(“separate but equal” facilities are legal)– Led to more “Jim Crow” (racist) laws in the south
• World War II– Provided opportunities for African Americans in the war
effort– Americans fought for freedom abroad; how about at home?
Roots of the Civil Rights Movement
EFFECTS• These and other events set the stage for the
Civil Rights movement
Desegregation of the Armed Forces
WHAT• America had fought for freedom overseas
during World War II• After the war, American armed forces were
still segregated
Soldiers during World War II
Desegregation of the Armed Forces
EFFECTS• This was a slow process– It took until the Korean War for major progress
with desegregation• A combination of government and grassroots
efforts helped overcome resistance to integration
Jackie RobinsonWHAT• For years, Major League Baseball
refused to allow African Americans to play– African Americans played in the
Negro Leagues• Jackie Robinson broke the color
barrier with the Brooklyn DodgersEFFECTS• Robinson faced many threats• He inspired a lot of pride and
blazed a trail for other African-American athletes
Jackie Robinson Bio – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX3tv9uKj1I
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
WHAT• Supreme Court case that said
“separate facilities are inherently unequal” in public education
• Overturned Plessey v. Ferguson (“separate but equal”)
Famous Norman Rockwell image,Ruby Bridges being escorted to school
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
EFFECTS• Led to long, difficult process of
integrating public schools (Massive Resistance in South)
• Showed that Civil Rights victories could occur through the courts
• An example of the leadership role of the NAACP
The fire chief isPresident Eisenhower?
What is the author’s message of Eisenhower’s handling of the crisis?
Little Rock Nine
WHAT• Probably the most well-known
reaction to the Brown v. Board case
• Arkansas governor Orval Faubus ordered Arkansas National Guard troops to prevent the integration of Central High School in Little Rock
• President Eisenhower ordered Federal soldiers to escort the nine African-American students through the school
Little Rock Nine
EFFECTS• Showed the difficulties of
integration, even when the Federal government supports it– Federal law vs. “states rights”
• Forced President Eisenhower (who did not agree with the Court’s Brown decision) to actively support itThe Little Rock Nine reunion – https://vimeo.com/86054753
Integration of the University of Mississippi
WHAT• James Meredith wanted to
enroll at the all white University of Mississippi– The NAACP took his case to the
Supreme Court, which agreed with him
• Riots on campus as a result of integration killed two people and injured hundreds
• President Kennedy sent troops to restore order
Integration of the University of Mississippi
EFFECTS• An example of violent reactions to the Civil
Rights movement
Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott
WHAT• Rosa Parks (and others before
her) refused to move to the back of the bus
• As a result of Parks’ action, African Americans in Montgomery refused to use the bus system until it was integrated
• 13 month-mass protest• The Supreme Court eventually
ruled the bus segregation unconstitutional
50,000 African Americans didn’t ride public buses for a year
Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott
• EFFECTS– Introduction of Martin Luther King onto the
national stage– Helped gain attention for civil disobedience as a
way to combat segregation and court litigation
King was only 27 when he led the bus boycott
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott/videos/montgomery-bus-boycott
Civil Rights GroupsWHAT• NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People)– Focused on legal equality for African Americans– Appealed mostly to middle and upper class African Americans
• SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)– Organized by Martin Luther King, Jr. and other African American clergy– Focused on nonviolent protest
• SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)– Focused on younger protestors, and more immediate (rather than
gradual) change– Became more radical as time went on
EFFECTS• Many different groups and people played a part in the struggle for
Civil Rights
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.WHO• A preacher who became a leader
of the Civil Rights movement– Not the only leader of the
movement, but a key figure• Often jailed, threatened with
death• Assassinated in 1968 at the age of
39EFFECTS• Helped lead the Civil Rights
movement to many victories• Became a worldwide symbol of
nonviolent protest
Non-Violent ProtestWHAT• A popular way to protest segregation• Examples include– Sit-Ins (entering segregated shops)– Freedom Rides (riding integrated buses through the
south)– Peaceful marches
In 1961, about 70,000 students participated in sit-ins, and about 3,600 went to jail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbbcjn4d1cE
Non-Violent ProtestEFFECTS• Nonviolent was often met with violence from white
southerners• Helped convince more people to support Civil Rights
Birmingham, Alabama
WHAT• Gov. George Wallace • Martin Luther King called Birmingham “the most segregated city
in the country”– African-Americans wanted to integrate the city
• Non-violent protests in the city included a children’s marchEFFECTS• Whites’ violent reactions to the Birmingham campaign horrified
the country– Police reaction to Children’s Crusade– Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
• King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”• Birmingham was desegregated through nonviolent protest
Children’s Crusade, May 1963
Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
WHAT• Organized by A. Phillip Randolph
(NAACP), MLK JR (SCLC), SNCC, CORE
• Over 250,000 attended• Purpose: (1)to raise awareness
for JFK’s proposed Civil Rights Act (which was being held up in Congress) (2)To protest for equal hiring, minimum wage, etc
EFFECTS• March was peaceful and orderly
(Kennedy and others worried it could be violent)
• Impact of “I Have a Dream Speech”
“I Have a Dream speech” –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDWWy4CMhE
Civil Rights ActWHAT• A major Civil Rights law• LBJ helped get this law passed
after Kennedy died• Limited discrimination in areas
like voting, schools, public businesses and jobs
EFFECTS• Has helped African Americans
and other groups (for example, women)
• Resisted by many people in the south
Nothing “could more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory than the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill.”- LBJ
Voting Rights Act WHAT• Even after the Civil Rights Act, many African Americans
weren’t allowed to vote in the south; protests continued– Freedom Summer (1964)
• Black and white volunteers traveled to Mississippi to register black voters
• They faced mobs and violence; three volunteers were murdered
– Selma• A march for voting rights in Alabama led by John Lewis,
Martin Luther King, others• They also faced violence – “Bloody Sunday”
• Events like these helped influence the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Voting Rights
John Lewis at Selma Anniversary - http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/07/selma-50th-anniversary-bloody-sunday/24552475/
Voting Rights Act
EFFECTS• African Americans
could not be prevented from voting in the south
• More than 400,000 African Americans registered to vote in the south in the year after the law passed
Division in the Civil Rights Movement
WHAT• Even without legal segregation, there was still
significant racial inequality– For example, in many northern cities
EFFECTS• Some people – especially younger people –
became frustrated with the slow pace of change– They rejected nonviolence and integration in favor
of a more aggressive approach
Malcolm X
WHO• Born Malcolm Little, he originally believed in the
separation of black people and white people• Converted to the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims)• Changed his views, and became willing to work with
whites– Also left the Nation of Islam
• Assassinated by other members of the Nation of Islam who didn’t like his new perspective
Malcolm X
EFFECTS• Malcolm X’s life shows the complexity of
different viewpoints about the struggle for Black equality
• Influenced other believers in black nationalism
Black Power
WHAT• Followers of Malcolm X such as
Stokely Carmichael began to favor a more aggressive approach to Civil Rights
• “We Shall Overrun instead of “We Shall Overcome”
• Favored by SNCC,• The Black Panthers (formed by
Huey Newton/Bobby Seale)EFFECTS• Followers of Black Power wanted
African Americans to create their own community separate from white people
Riots
WHAT• Issues like poverty led to a lot of social
segregation, even when there wasn’t legal segregation– For example, many many northern and western cities
had mostly African-American areas with few resources– African-Americans in these areas also felt threatened
by police• A white police officer is “like an occupying soldier in a
bitterly hostile country” – author James Baldwin
Riots
EFFECTS• Riots occurred in places such
as Watts (a section of Los Angeles)– Watts had six days of riots
triggered by police violence; 34 people died and more than a thousand were injured
• A federal government report on the riots stated “our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal”