Civil Rights Year by Year Review, 1954-1968

1. Civil Rights Year by Year Review, 1954-1968

2. 1954 • Brown v. Board of Education decision • School segregation is unconstitutional

3. 1955 • Emmett Till murdered • Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat

4. 1956 • Montgomery Bus Boycott in full swing • Boycott succeeds • MLK becomes national figure

5. 1957 • Central High School in Little Rock is integrated • SCLC founded • Civil Rights Act of 1957 • 1st since 1875

6. 1960 • Lunch Counter Sit Ins • Greensboro, NC, etc. • SNCC founded • Kennedy Elected • Black vote may have made the difference

7. Lunch Counter Sit-Ins • Feb 4, 1960—four black students in Greensboro, NC sit at segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter and demand service • More arrive in following days • Lunch counter sit ins spread to dozens of cities • Also protests at pools, parks, theaters, etc. • Other Americans boycott the stores • Woolworth’s was a national chain • Leads to ending of lunch counter segregation

8. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) • Civil rights group founded amidst the lunch counter sit ins • Mostly appreciated and respected King and the SCLC • Differences • Mostly younger people; a little more impatient • Were afraid of over reliance on King • “Don’t join SNCC to be a leader; join SNCC to train new leaders”

9. 1961 • Freedom Rides • Federal government is forced to protect the riders

14. 1962 • James Meredith enrolls at University of Mississippi • Kennedy administration enforces this right

15. James Meredith, shot on a 1966 walk across Mississippi

16. 1963 • Medgar Evers assassinated • Project C in Birmingham • The March on Washington • JFK assassinated

18. Birmingham, AL (1963) • King organizes “Project C” • C for “Confrontation” • Massive protests and boycotts • Boycotts to hurt Birmingham economically • Protests to create a reaction from white • Thousands are arrested • The “Children’s Crusade” • Bull Connor attacks with dogs & water cannons • America & world are horrified

19. Birmingham, 1963

22. The “March on Washington”, August 1963 King delivering his “I have a dream” speech

23. The March on Washington • 250,000 gathered • More than half were white • The Movement is now the majority! • King delivers his “I have a dream” speech • Leads directly to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 • FINALLY enforcement of 14th Amendment

24. 1964 • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Mississippi Summer Project • Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

25. Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Kennedy assassinated in November 1963 • Lyndon Johnson (TX) is now president • Southern president can convince southern whites • Enforces the 14th Amendment • No more segregated facilities, public or private • Also provides for equal hiring for women

26. Mississippi Summer Project, (1964) • A massive voter registration drive in Mississippi • Northerners came South to volunteer • For protection of blacks • To bring media attention • Freedom Schools • To register and educate blacks for voting

27. MSP volunteers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, & Michael Schwermer were arrested & released • Murdered and buried in a dam • Police authorities were involved

28. "The only thing they could do to me was to kill me, and it seemed like they'd been trying to do that a little bit at a time ever since I could remember.“ --44 year old Fannie Lou Hamer on her willingness to register to vote in Mississippi “I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired.” --Fannie Lou Hamer

29. Robert Moses (SNCC & MFDP)

30. Miss. Freedom Democratic Party Fannie Lou Hamer

31. 1965 • Malcolm X assassinated • Selma March • Voting Rights Act of 1965 • Watts Riot

32. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam Elijah Muhammad Malcolm X

33. The Nation of Islam • Also called “Black Muslims” • Elijah Muhammad was spiritual leader • Teachings • Islam is the true religion of blacks • The white race is inherently evil and inferior • Separation of the races is the goal • “Black Nationalism” • Malcolm X became national spokesman in 1950’s

34. Malcolm X • Born Malcolm Little • X symbolized his lost African name • Street thug & inmate as youth • Conversion to Islam turned him around • Based in New York • No Jim Crow laws, but still inequality • Separation and freedom “by all means necessary” • By end of life began to denounce separation • Split from NOI in 1964 • Assassinated in 1965 (by NOI?)

36. "Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks." "We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us."

37. "You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom." "Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world."

38. "I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don’t believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn’t want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I’m not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn’t know how to return the treatment."

39. "I want Dr. King to know that I didn't come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I couldmake it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King." "I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color."

40. Rev. James Reeb Jimmy Lee Jackson

41. Selma – Montgomery March (1965) • Voting rights activists attempt to stage a 60 mile protest march in Alabama • Governor George Wallace’s troops attack the marchers • TV audiences are horrified • King comes to lead 2nd march • They are turned back • 3rd march succeeds • President Johnson announces Voting Rights Act of 1965 • FINALLY enforces 15th Amendment

43. Alabama Governor George Wallace “Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!”

45. The Watts Riots, August, 1965

46. Voting Rights Act of 1965 • Enforced the 15th Amendment • “de jure” (legal) segregation is dead • “de facto” (actual) segregation continues

49. 1966 • SNCC expels white members • Black Panther Party formed

50. The Black Panther Party • 1966—SNCC kicks out white members • Black Panther Party forms • A political party that rejects white cooperation • Also does community work • Reputation as violent • But more a victim of government violence • Fred Hampton assassinated in 1970