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The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement. From Jim Crow to Black Power. Emergence of the Civil Rights Movement. Despite rights created by the 13 th , 14 th , and 15 th Amendments, discrimination and segregation continued in the United States.

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The Civil Rights Movement

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  1. The Civil Rights Movement From Jim Crow to Black Power

  2. Emergence of the Civil Rights Movement • Despite rights created by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, discrimination and segregation continued in the United States. • Jim Crow laws were created to separate blacks and whites socially, economically and politically. • In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson created “separate but equal” which allowed for the legal separation despite not being equal.

  3. School Desegregation • 1952, the NAACP, led by Thurgood Marshall brought Brown v Board of Education to the Supreme Court. It was argued that segregation was bad for BOTH blacks and whites. • 1954, segregation in public school is ruled unconstitutional • Southern whites oppose integration and claim it as the mogrelization of the races and that the NAACP was part of a communist plot. • The Southern Manifesto was created by congressional representatives and supported by White Citizen Councils to close schools and delay segregation as long as possible.

  4. The Little Rock 9 • Governor Orval Fabus led a resistance of 9 black students who sought to enroll in Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. • Facing protests, threats and racial slurs the 9 went began school. • President Eisenhower was forced to call in 10,000 national Guardsmen and 1,000 paratroopers to calm the city. • The students continued to attend and Earnest Green was the first black student to graduate from Central High School in 1958.

  5. Montgomery Bus Boycott • December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the middle of the bus to a white man. She was arrested and bailed out of jail. • Organizers of the boycott believe the bus company would change its policies since 75% of its passengers were black. • At the end of a year long boycott, the Supreme Court ordered the end of bus segregation.

  6. Sit-In Movement • Began at an all white lunch counter in Greensboro, NC in 1960. • The SNCC (snick) Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was created with the motto of “justice permeated by love”. • Students were trained to resist reacting to harassment and violence. • Eventually, businesses sought changes in segregations policies to end the protests.

  7. Freedom Rides • Despite the desegregation of interstate busses in 1947, it was still a common practice. • James Farmer sent CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) volunteers to ride the busses from Washington D.C. to New Orleans. • Black and white riders were beaten, arrested, fire bombed, and a few were even murdered. • The Federal government finally stepped into protect the riders as they traveled through Mississippi.

  8. Birmingham in 1963 • Targeted because of the oppressive police commissioner Bull Conner. By gaining national attention and federal support leaders sought to legitimize their movement. • Hundreds of protestors were jailed including MLK Jr. • In May, children began to march. Conner ordered the fire department to hose down the protestors and let police dog attack protestors and bystanders. • The televised events forced Kennedy to respond to this “moral evil”. • Despite some improvements in desegregation, violence and retaliation against blacks continued for some time.

  9. Selma March • The March was promoted to draw attention to voting rights in Alabama. • As protestors crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were attack by state police. • The brutality of the attacks were broadcast on national TV. • President Johnson addressed the nation and pushed through the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

  10. March on Washington • Organizers wanted to continue the pressure on the government. • Over 250,000 marchers showed up. • MLK Jr. gave his infamous “I have a dream” speech. • Eventually, the Civil Rights Act on 1964 was passed. • Allowed government to enforce school desegregation • Ended segregation in all public facilities • Created the Fair Employment Opportunities Commission.

  11. Freedom Summer of 1964 • 1000’s of volunteers descended on Mississippi to register black voters. • Many were run off, beaten, jailed and a couple were murdered for their efforts. • Fannie Lou Hammer created the Mississippi Freedom Democratic party to provide blacks a more effective political voice.

  12. Race Riots • Frustrated by a lack of progress and rising tensions, violence erupted in several urban cities from Los Angeles (Watts), to Detroit to Harlem. • The Kerner Comission reported that much of the blame needed was from white racism, particularly from local police. • The report however, did not offer many solutions except for the need to improve urban areas for African Americans.

  13. Shift to Radicalism • Frustrated by the lack of progress, many blacks white participation in the movement was ineffective. • In 1966, Stokely Carmichael used the term Black Power to instill pride and a more positive image for blacks. • Huey Newton and Bobby Seal created the Black Panther Party. • Used to promote Black Power • Militant views of separatism • Acted as watch dog group • Promoted better education opportunities

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