Struggles & Triumphs: African Americans in Civil Rights History

1. Ch. 28, Section 1“The Civil Rights Movement takes Shape”

2. African Americans Freed from Slavery • Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 freed all slaves in Confederate held territory during the Civil War • Reconstruction following the Civil War readmitted southern states into the Union • 13th Amendment – freed slaves • 14th Amendment – gave former slaves citizenship • 15th Amendment – protected the right to vote for former slaves

3. African Americans at end of 19th Century • Redemption – with the end of Reconstruction in 1876 and the removal of federal troops from the South, the Southern Democratic Party sought to regain control (often with the support of groups like the KKK) • Jim Crow laws – set up segregation in public places in the South • Plessy v. Ferguson– US Supreme Court case that said that “separate but equal” segregation was legal • Restrictions on voting – in violation of the 15th Amendment Southern states passed laws to restrict their right to vote (Grandfather’s clause, literacy tests, poll taxes)

4. Early Civil Rights Leaders • Booker T. Washington • Lived in the South • Wrote “Up from Slavery” • founded the Tuskegee Institute • Encouraged blacks to lift themselves up economically and through education before asking for full political rights • W.E.B. DuBois • Lived in the North • Graduated from Harvard • One of the founders of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) which fought discrimination in the courts • Wanted full rights immediately

5. The Great Migration • The economic opportunities of the era (during WWI and the prosperous 1920s) triggered a widespread migration of black Americans from the rural south to the industrial centers of the north - and especially to New York City • In New York and other cities, black Americans explored new opportunities for intellectual and social freedom • Black American artists, writers, and musicians began to use their talents to work for civil rights and obtain equality

6. Marcus Garvey • African American civil rights leader in New York in 1920s • Encouraged black people around the world to express pride in their culture and to unite to build strength • Encouraged African Americans to build economic independence by building their own businesses and supporting other businesses owned by black people • Founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association to help spread black nationalism (what his ideas are collectively known as)

7. Harlem Renaissance • The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of African American social thought which was expressed through • Paintings • Music • Dance • Theater • Literature

8. Effects of the Harlem Renaissance • The Harlem Renaissance helped to redefine how Americans and the world understood African American culture. • It integrated black and white cultures, and marked the beginning of a black urban society. • The Harlem Renaissance set the stage for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s.

9. Civil Rights in the 1940s and 1950s • A. Phillip Randolph – Activist who convinced FDR & US Gov. to say that African Americans could not be discriminated against in hiring by defense contractors during WWII • Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League baseball in 1947 • President Truman integrated the armed forces and ended discrimination in hiring for federal government jobs in 1948

10. Brown v. Board of Education • Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – a Supreme Court case that ruled that segregation in schools and public places was unconstitutional (overturned Plessy v. Ferguson case) • Public schools were to integrate the following school year, though few schools in the South did so • Thurgood Marshall – led the NAACP attorneys who argued the case before the Supreme Court

11. Rosa Parks • Black passengers were required to sit in the back of city buses, and were to give up their seats if the whites-only section were full • An NAACP worker in Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her seat on December 1, 1955 and was arrested

12. Montgomery Bus Boycott • In protest of the arrest of Rosa Parks local African American leaders called for a boycott of the Montgomery city buses • Thousands supported the boycott and city buses lost 70% of their riders • It lasted 381 days • In November 1956 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public buses was illegal

13. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. • MLK was the 26 year old minister who was asked to lead the bus boycott • He believed in non-violent protests to bring the wrongs of segregation to the nation’s attention • Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) – formed by King and other ministers to lead campaigns for civil rights throughout the South

14. Little Rock Nine • To test the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, nine honors students applied for and were admitted to Little Rock Central H.S. in September, 1957 • Arkansas Governor OrvalFaubus called in the National Guard to turn the students away • Eight of the students arrived early and were not allowed in • One student, 15 year old Elizabeth Eckford, arrived later and faced a screaming mob before being escorted to safety

15. Little Rock Nine Admitted • For weeks the nine students were kept away from school • President Eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort the students to class • The students still faced harassment and threats all year • In May of 1958, Ernest Green became the first African American graduate at Little Rock Central High School

16. Greensboro Sit-in • 4 students of North Carolina A&T University decided to challenge segregation in the city of Greensboro in 1960 • They sat down at the lunch counter in Woolworth’s department store (which only whites were allowed to do) and refused to give up their seats until they were served • More students joined them the next day

17. Results of Sit-Ins • Students at sit-ins faced violence from angry whites and were often arrested • Boycotts of businesses and the sit-in protests led many restaurants and businesses (like Woolworth’s) to integrate • The sit-ins showed young people that they could be a force in the civil rights movement • The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed by the student leaders of the sit-ins to continue the struggle for civil rights