Demands for Civil Rights

1. Demands for Civil Rights

2. Jackie Robinson • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLnP3fWh1tE • August 1945:Branch Ricky asks Robinson to be the 1st to break the color barrier in Baseball • 1947 Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodger, becoming the first African American to play in the Major Leagues

3. The Rise of African American Influence • After WWII the campaign for civil rights began to accelerate • Many people felt that it was time for the nation to live up to its creed, “ All men are created equal”

4. Contributing Factors • African American Migration • After the Civil War African American migration to the north increased • Prominent African American citizens rose up • Formed alliances with political machines and used their votes in return for social gains The New Deal -During the Depression Roosevelt began seek support from African Americans World War II -Increase demand for labor in the north = increase African --American voting power -Holocaust • Rise of the NAACP • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People- fought in the courts & challenged segregation laws • Thurgood Marshall- “ Mr. Civil Rights”

5. Brown V. Board of Education • 1951 Oliver Brown sued the Topeka Kansas Board of Education to allow his 8-year old daughter Linda to attend a nearby school for whites only. Everyday Linda walked by that school on her way to a bus stop where she traveled a long distance to an all black school. • The case reached the Supreme Court and there Thurgood Marshall argued on behalf of Brown and against segregation • May 17th 1954: Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas, the Supreme Court issued its historic ruling: • “ Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprive the children of a minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe it does. ..We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of “Separate but Equal” has no place”

6. Reaction to Brown v. Board • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGHLdr-iak • African American’s rejoiced • Many whites, even if they did not agree, accepted the decision and hoped that the desegregation could take place peacefully • President Eisenhower disagreed with Brown v. Board but he upheld the Supreme Court ruling • Many white southerners reacted with fear and anger • Governor Herman Talmadge- “would not tolerate the mixing of races in public schools”

7. The KKK became more active • “Southern Manifesto”- 90 members of congress from southern states expressed written opposition to the Brown v. Board ruling • The Little Rock Nine • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGjNqrQBUno

8. The Montgomery Bus Boycott • 1955: interest shifted away from the courts and to the streets • Rosa Parks: member of the NAACP for 12 years refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. Parks was arrested and ordered to stand trial.

9. The Montgomery Bus Boycott: called for African Americans to refuse to use the entire bus system until the bus company agreed to change its segregation policy. • Martin Luther King Jr. became the spokesperson for the movement • Over the next year 50,000 African Americans walked or used bikes to avoid city buses. • The bus company refused to change Its policy until the Supreme Court ruled against segregation on buses in 1956

10. Resistance in Little Rock • 1957 the Governor of Arkansas declared he could not keep order if he had to enforce integration • Used the National Guard to keep African American students out of white schools • This was a direct challenge to the Constitution and President Eisenhower’s authority so he sent soldiers down to protect the students

11. Leaders and Strategies

12. NAACP • Group responsible for Brown v. Board • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People • Formed in 1909 as an interracial organization : one with both white and African American members • W.E.B Du Bois was one of its founding members • Focused on Challenging laws • Succeeded in getting two anti-lynching bills passed in the 20’s & 30’s

13. National Urban League • Took on economic issues • Founded in 1911 • Assist people moving to major cities • Help African Americans move out of the south, find homes & jobs and jobs

14. CORE • Founded in 1942 • Congress of Racial Equality • Wanted to bring about change through peaceful confrontation • Interracial • During WWII organized demonstrations against segregation in cities

15. Dr. King • Baptist preacher • Leader of the African American civil rights movement • A symbol of nonviolent protest all over the world • Followed the beliefs of Gandhi • King trained both Black and white students to fight against violence and discrimination without fighting • Played a major role in the Montgomery Bus boycotts

16. SNCC • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee • Formed in 1960 • Geared toward young students • 200 students showed up to the first meeting • Separate from other civil rights groups • Started as interracial but that changed over the years • Sought immediate changes • Robert Moss: leader

17. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL1vMFwZEus

18. Political Response

19. In October of 1960, weeks before the Presidential elections JFK had the opportunity to make a powerful gesture of goodwill toward African Americans. • He offered to release Dr. King from jail • Word spread quickly and many African Americans changed their vote from Nixon to Kennedy • As a senator, Kennedy voted for Civil Rights but never pushed the issue

20. As Kennedy ran for President he spoke about how he wanted to take a stand for Civil Rights, yet once he became president he moved very slowly on issues so he would not anger southern Democrats • He did appoint many African Americans to prominent positions. For example, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American Supreme Court Justice • As the Civil Rights movement gained momentum, the violence increased

21. Kennedy was deeply disturbed by the violence and could no longer ignore the issue • As Kennedy met with leaders from other countries to speak about freedom around the world he was embarrassed at what was taking place in the South in 1961-1963 • Just hours after Kennedy spoke to the country about the need for freedom in America civil rights leader Medgar Evers was gunned down outside his home

22. Beckwith was charged with the murders but was never found guilty and eventually set free ( the case was re-opened in 1994 and he was eventually charged and convicted of murder) • After the crisis in Birmingham Kennedy introduced stronger civil rights bills

23. March On Washington • To help give national attention to the civil rights bills, civil rights leaders proposed a march on Washington • The march took place in August 1963 more than 200,000 people came to march • “Jobs and Freedom” • It was at this march that Dr. King gave his famous speech

25. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Three months after the March on Washington Kennedy was assassinated • The new president, Lyndon Johnson was finally able to move the civil rights bill along • He used his political power to push the country by saying, ‘nothing could more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory than the earliest passage of the civil rights bill’ • The bill included: • The banning of different standards for black and white voters • Discrimination in public facilities • Withholding funds for programs based on race • Discrimination by employers because of race, sex, religion or national origin

26. Freedom Summer • Changed happened slowly • 1964 civil rights groups organized a voter registration drive in Mississippi this came to be called Freedom Summer • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMdSYxZqIXc

27. The Selma March • Black southerners were still having a hard time obtaining the right to vote • Selma Alabama people were arrested for just standing in line to vote • King and other leaders decided to organize a protest march from Selma to the state capital 50 miles away in Montgomery • Marchers were beaten with whips and clubs

29. TV images of the attacks shocked viewers and Johnson put the Alabama National Guard under federal control and sent troops to protect the marchers • Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 • A year later more than 400,000 African American registered to vote in the south

30. A Change in Civil Rights

31. Setting the Scene • James Baldwin wrote essays and novels about the African American experience • In his 1963 book, The Fire Next Time, Baldwin talks about how African Americans were tired of promises and their anger was ready to erupt

32. Malcolm X and Black Nationalism • Out of Baldwin’s ideas more radical civil right movements • Malcolm X who was born Malcolm Little in 1925 grew up in the ghettos of Detroit and New York • He turned to a life of crime, at the age of 20 he was arrested and served seven years in prison for burglary • While in prison he joined The Nation of Islam, a group often called the Black Muslims, they preached black separation from an oppressive white society

33. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRSgUTWffMQ&feature=related

34. Black Nationalism • Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam taught that Allah would bring about a Black Nation or a union among all nonwhite people and that the key to self-knowledge is to know one’s enemy; in this case, white society • Once released from prison in 1952 Malcolm Little changed his name to Malcolm X ( little had come from slave owners) and spent 12 years preaching about black nationalism

35. Opposition to Integration • Malcolm X disagreed with the goals of the civil rights movements including the idea of “non-violent” protests • Instead of preaching brotherly love, he rejected the idea of integration he couldn’t understand why anyone would want to “beg” to be apart of white society • Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad came to disagree about many things so Malcolm left the Nation of Islam in 1964 and started his own religious group called the Muslim Mosque

36. Malcolm X made a religious pilgrimage to Mecca and when he returned he was more ready to work with other civil rights leaders • Malcolm X only had 9 months to spread his new beliefs; he was shot to death at a rally in New York February 1965 • Three members of the Nation of Islam were charged with the murder • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSm1t3Uv9QI

37. The Black Power Movement • One person who heard Malcolm’s message was Stockely Carmichael • He became actively involved in SNCC and eventually became a leader of the organization • He became tired of nonviolent protests and called for SNCC workers to carry guns and started rejecting white activists from joining

38. The split was clearly seen at a march in Mississippi where Kings supporters were singing “we shall overcome” and Carmichaels supporters were singing “we shall overrun” • Carmichael started the idea of Black Power • In 1966 Bobby Seale and Huey Newton formed a new political group called the Black Panthers

40. The Black Panthers wanted African Americans to lead their own communities and demanded the government to rebuild the nations ghettos • One of their biggest goals was to stop the police brutality in the ghettos. To do this they would monitor the police as a result they became engaged in direct confrontation with white authority • Newton always repeated the words of the Chinese communist leader, ‘power flows from the barrel of a gun’ • Though the organization did a lot for the community they had many violent encounters with the police • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMnc2KjS7Vw

41. Riots in the Streets • Early Civil Rights battled: de jure segregation or racial separation created by law • De facto segregation or segregation created by social conditions • Segregation only existed in the north because of social conditions • People in black communities feared the white police

42. Frustration turned to anger and violent riots erupted • 1965 riots: NY, NJ, Los Angeles, • They included looting, smashing cars and windows, burning buildings • The government responded with the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders

43. Tragedy Strikes 1968 • In 1968 King turned his attention to economic issues, convinced that poverty was the cause of the problem • King called it the poor peoples campaign and traveled around the country looking for support • King was assassinated during this tour

44. Robert Kennedy is Assassinated • Senator Robert Kennedy who served with his brother in the fight for civil rights • Kennedy also fought against Vietnam • He won a key victory in the primaries but after giving his victory speech he was assassinated • This ended many peoples hopes for an inspirational leader

45. Legacy of the Movement • Despite the violence changes were made, segregation was illegal and African Americans could now vote • African Americans were elected as officials • In 1966 the first African American was elected to Senate