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CIVIL RIGHTS

CIVIL RIGHTS. Civil Rights Act of 1875 outlawed segregation in public facilities declared unconstitutional in 1883 Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

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CIVIL RIGHTS

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  1. CIVIL RIGHTS

  2. Civil Rights Act of 1875 • outlawed segregation in public facilities • declared unconstitutional in 1883 • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) • “separate but equal” did not violate 14th amendment • result was Jim Crow laws restricting social & religious contact between races

  3. INTO THE 20TH CENTURY • WORLD WAR ONE: • many poor southern blacks migrated north • found that racial prejudice extended north • WORLD WAR TWO: • huge demand for labor opened opportunities for blacks, Latinos, & women • 1 million blacks served in army forcing changes in discriminatory policies • FDR issued presidential directive to end discriminatory hiring practices by gov’t and all companies doing war work

  4. Segregation & the Supreme Court • NAACP (1909) • Thurgood Marshall • Morgan v. Virginia (1946) • states could not mandate segregated seating on interstate buses • Sweatt v. Painter (1950) • state law schools must admit black students • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) • segregation in schooling was a violation of the 14th amendment’s Equal Protection Clause

  5. Reaction to Brown Decision • Ranged from compliance to outright defiance • areas of white minority resisted the most • KKK and White Citizens Councils reappeared • Brown II • SC ordered school desegregation to be implemented quickly • Eisenhower refused to force compliance • Central High School in Little Rock, AR • governor supported segregation & ordered National Guard to turn students away • Eisenhower forced to federalized the National Guard & send in the army • governor closed the Central High to avoid desegregation

  6. Montgomery Bus Boycott • Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus (‘55) • Montgomery Improvement Association formed to protest • Rev. Martin Luther King chosen as their leader • 381 day boycott • Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional (’56) • Proved: • black community could unite • power of nonviolent resistance

  7. SCLC & SNCC • Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) • King influenced by • Jesus: love one’s enemies • Thoreau: refusal to obey an unjust law • A Philip Randolph: to organize massive demonstrations • Gandhi: resist oppression without violence • “Carry on nonviolent crusades against evils of second-class citizenship” • Used African-American churches as their base to build a grassroots movement • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) • organized protests on college campuses • called for more confrontational strategy • changed the face of civil rights movement

  8. SIT-INS • Modeled after sit-ins staged in 1940s by Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) • Woolworth’s in Greensboro, NC • Television coverage brought events into people’s homes • Movement spread from south to north • By 1960 lunch counters desegregated in 11 states

  9. FREEDOM RIDERS • CORE bus trip to test SC decisions banning segregated seating on interstate buses & in terminals • Riders attacked by angry whites & police • RFK & Justice Dept ordered riders’ protection • police ignored order • Violence provoked the desired response • media denounced the violence • JFK ordered federal marshals to protect the riders • ICC banned segregation in all interstate travel facilities

  10. JAMES MEREDITH • Meredith won federal court case allowing him to attend all white University of Mississippi • Mississippi governor barred him from enrolling • JFK ordered federal marshals to escort Meredith to registrar’s office • Resulted in riots with 2 deaths

  11. Oxford Town, Oxford TownEv'rybody's got their heads bowed downThe sun don't shine above the groundAin't a-goin' down to Oxford TownHe went down to Oxford TownGuns and clubs followed him downAll because his face was brownBetter get away from Oxford TownOxford Town around the bendHe come in to the door, he couldn't get inAll because of the color of his skinWhat do you think about that, my frien'?Me and my gal, my gal's sonWe got met with a tear gas bombI don't even know why we comeGoin' back where we come from Oxford Town in the afternoonEv'rybody singin' a sorrowful tuneTwo men died 'neath the Mississippi moonSomebody better investigate soonOxford Town, Oxford TownEv'rybody's got their heads bowed downThe sun don't shine above the groundAin't a-goin' down to Oxford Town.

  12. MARCH AGAINST FEAR

  13. BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA • Most segregated city in America • King & SCLC demonstrated & were arrested • “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” • Children’s Crusade • two marches of 1000+ children • beaten, sprayed with fire hoses, attacked by dogs, & arrested • all on national television • news coverage & economic boycott ended segregation • convinced JFK of need for new civil rights act • Murder of Medgar Evers by KKK • Byron de la Beckwith

  14. MARCH ON WASHINGTON • To gain support for JFK’s proposed civil rights bill • 250,000 blacks and whites marched on DC • Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech • Appeal for peace & harmony • Birmingham church bombing killed 4 young black girls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEMXaTktUfA(6 min)

  15. “A Problem We All Live With” Ruby Bridges

  16. “Southern Justice (Murder in Mississippi)” by Norman Rockwell

  17. Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination because of race, religion, national origin, and gender gave attorney general power to enforce and file school desegregation suits Freedom Summer (1964) to convince Congress to pass a voting rights act by getting southern blacks to register to vote mostly white college students (1/3 female) Selma to Montgomery Protest March violence erupted swelling group from 600 to 25,000 Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated literacy tests federal examiners could enroll voters who had been denied local registration percentage of registered black southern voters tripled

  18. NORTHERN SEGREGATION • de facto segregation vs de jure segregation • post-WWII “white flight” • Blacks wanted economic equality of jobs, housing, and education • Urban violence • Watts (1965) • 36 dead, 900 injured, 4,000 arrested, $200 million in property damages http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRDvY_anJdc

  19. BALLOTS OR BULLETS? • Malcolm Little aka Malcolm X • Followed Elijah Muhammad & the Nation of Islam • Preached: • whites were the cause of blacks’ situation and they should separate from white society • armed self-defense • Killed while giving speech in NYC (’65)

  20. BLACK POWER • Stokely Carmichael • (SNCC) • “A call for black people to begin to define their own goals…and to lead their own organizations.” • MLK believed he would provoke blacks to violence & antagonize whites • Black Panthers • Huey Newton & Bobby Seale • protest police brutality in ghettoes • self-sufficiency for blacks, full employment, decent housing, & draft exemption • secured free day care, breakfasts, medical clinics

  21. 1968 – A TURNING POINT • April 3, 1968 • Assassination of Martin Luther King • Memphis, Tennessee • James Earl Ray • Sparked riots in 100 cities • worst riots in American history • Stokely Carmichael called for violent retaliation by the black community • Conspiracy? • Wiretapping http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g379nEkAspE

  22. LEGACY OF CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT • Kerner Commission • study causes of urban violence • white racism – “moving toward 2 separate societies, one black, one white –separate but unequal” • LBJ ignored commission’s recommendations • Civil Rights Act of 1968 • ended segregation in housing • Civil Rights movement: • ended de jure segregation • instilled greater pride in racial identity • brought about political gains (100/1972; 7,000/1992) • affirmative action • reverse discrimination?

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