The Modern Civil Rights Movement (1954-1965)

1. The Modern Civil Rights Movement (1954-1965)

2. The Beginnings of Black Activism • Instead of waiting for the government to help, blacks pressed the issue • NAACP had fought segregation since 1909 • Congress of Racial Equality was organized in 1942 • Used sit-ins to desegregate restaurants • Soldiers returning home from WWII had expected appreciation. • Determined to change things led to the Civil Rights Movement

3. The Struggle Over Civil Rights • The modern Civil Rights movement began in 1954 with Brown v BOE & ended with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 • Blacks in the West & North had low-paying jobs & faced segregated neighborhoods • The Deep South was a totally segregated society due to Jim Crow laws

4. Schools became the primary target of early civil rights advocates in the 1950s • The NAACP 1st targeted unfair university graduate admissions • Thurgood Marshall, a NAACP lawyer, used the 14thAmendment to attack school segregation & Plessy v Ferguson precedent

5. Even “equal” schools, if separate, inflict profound psychological damage to black children

6. Desegregating the Schools • The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Brown v Board of Education (1954) ruled “separate facilities are inherently unequal” • Called for desegregation at “deliberate speed” by states • Border states complied quickly but the Deep South resisted—by 1960 less than 1% of blacks attended school with whites

7. Thurgood Marshall’s success in Brown made him the most famous black lawyer in America; In 1967, LBJ made him the 1st black justice to the Supreme Court

8. Desegregating the Schools • Eisenhower’s silence on Brown sent a false message that he supported segregation • In 1957, Arkansas Governor called the National Guard to prevent blacks to enter Central High

9. TV coverage brought national attention • Ike sent in the army to force integration for the “Little Rock 9” • 1000 soldiers remained at the school for a year

10. Integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957) Governor Orval Faubus

11. Montgomery Bus Boycott • 1955 • Began after the Rosa Parks arrest • Effective carpool system forced buses to stop segregation • Supreme Court ruled AL bus segregation unconstitutional • This success led to the rise of Martin Luther King as a civil rights leader

12. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) • Rosa Parks arrest • Carpool system

13. Southern Christian Leadership Conference • Formed to directly attack segregation • MLK’s passionate oration inspired blacks to support cause • Peaceful resistance & appeal to Christian love were the basis of these resistance efforts

14. “If cursed, do not curse back. If struck, do not strike back, but evidence love and goodwill at all times” • “We will match your capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. We will not hate you, but we will not obey your evil laws. We will wear you down by pure capacity to suffer.”

15. Sit-In at Woolworth’s • In 1960, students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University led a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, NC: • Inspired similar sit-ins, wade-ins, & kneel-ins across the South • Led to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee • SCLC & SNCC soon surpassed the NAACP for leadership of the civil rights movement

17. Tougaloo Sit-in Greensboro Sit-in

19. Not only were there sit-ins. . . • Swim-ins (beaches, pools) • Kneel-ins (churches) • Drive-ins (at motels) • Study-ins (universities)

20. Moving Slowly on Civil Rights • John F. Kennedy campaigned for civil rights, but his fear of alienating southern Democrats forced a retreat: • JFK deferred to Congress & sent his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, to help blacks in the South

21. The Justice Dept helped with voting rights lawsuits, but the FBI could not protect civil rights activists in the South • Civil Rights leaders refused to wait for JFK and the government to respond

22. Freedom Ride • Congress of Racial Equality led a freedom ride in 1961 to protest segregated buses • To draw attention to the South’s refusal to obey federal laws • In Anniston, AL – bus firebombed • In Birmingham, AL – riders were beaten with bats, chains, and lead pipes • Nation is shocked

23. Freedom Rides, 1961

25. In Jackson, MS, JFK struck a deal with Mississippi Senator, James Eastland, to allow the riders to be arrested as long as they did not face any violence. • He was meeting with Soviet Leader Khrushchev and did not want anything to disrupt the meeting

26. Once he returned from the Soviet Union, JFK ordered the Interstate Commerce Commission to tighten regulations. • Robert Kennedy ordered the Justice Department to take legal actions against cities allowing segregation in bus terminals • By 1962, interstate travel segregation had ended

27. School Integration • Activists attempted to break a ban on black enrollment at Ole Miss & University of Alabama • Mississippi Governor, Ross Barnett, stood in the way of James Meredith attempting to enter the University of Mississippi. • Kennedy dispatched 500 troops to escort Meredith • Was under protection for the remainder of the year.

29. When African American students attempted to desegregate the University of Alabama in June 1963, the new governor, George Wallace, flanked by state troopers, literally blocked the door of the enrollment office

30. JFK federalized National Guard troops and deployed them to the University of Alabama to force its desegregation • Two African American students–Vivian Malone and James A. Hood successfully enrolled

32. 16th Street Bombing • On Sunday morning in 1963, the KKK bombed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four girls. • This shocked the nation and electrified the civil rights movement.

33. Birmingham Marches, 1963 • MLK forced JFK to openly support the plight of African-Americans in 1963, via the Birmingham march • Police commissioner “Bull” Connor used brutal force to end the protests & MLK was jailed • Police brutality helped sway public sentiment & allowed JFK to begin civil rights legislation

36. MLK’s Letter From Birmingham Jail (1963) articulated the non-violent protest of the civil rights movement

37. "I Have a Dream" • In 1963, CORE, SCLC, NAACP, & SNCC organized a March on Washington to pressure the government to pass a civil rights act • 200,000 civil rights protesters heard MLK give the “I Have a Dream” speech for racial equality • The Kennedy Administration responded by laying framework for a Civil Rights Act

39. Civil Rights under LBJ • Lyndon Johnson made civil rights the major component of his presidency: • In 1964, the 24th Amendment was ratified banning poll taxes • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 declared segregation in public facilities illegal & officially ended the majority of Jim Crow laws

40. Civil Rights Act of 1964 • 1963 - supported by President Kennedy; after his assassination, President Johnson called for its passage as a tribute to JFK • Outlawed segregation in businesses, banned discriminatory practices in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin, and ended segregation in public places

41. Civil Rights under LBJ • Civil rights groups were not content & continued for equality: • Freedom Summer in 1964 led to the registration of thousands of Mississippi blacks to vote

42. The 1965 protest march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery led to police violence; “Bloody Sunday” shocked people in the North more than any other event

43. Voter Registration • CORE volunteers came to Mississippi to register Blacks to vote.

44. These volunteers risked arrest, violence and death every day.

45. 1964 – Freedom Summer • 1000’s of college students went to Mississippi to help with voter registration and participate in sit ins and marches.

46. The Fight • This man spent 5 days in jail for “carrying a placard.” • Sign says “Voter registration worker”

47. White victims of violence • This Rabbi was beaten with a tire iron for registering voters

49. Voter Registration • If blacks registered to vote, the local banks could call the loan on their farm.

50. Selma, Alabama (1965)