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Turning Points in Black History

Turning Points in Black History. 1619? 1793? 1877?. Slavery in American History (1619-1865). Slavery in American History. In 1619, the 1 st African slaves were introduced in Jamestown

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Turning Points in Black History

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  1. Turning Points in Black History • 1619? • 1793? • 1877?

  2. Slavery in American History (1619-1865)

  3. Slavery in American History • In 1619, the 1st African slaves were introduced in Jamestown • By 1660, slave labor replaced indentured servitude as the primary colonial labor system: • Northern domestic servants • Chesapeake tobacco plantations • Southern rice & indigo industries • By 1720, the African slave population became self-sustaining

  4. Slavery in American History • The American Revolution in 1776 revealed the hypocrisy of slavery • Nine states abolished slavery • NW Ordinance (1787) of the ArticlesofConfedbannedslavery • The Constitution ended the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1808, but did not abolish slavery • From 1790 to 1860, “King Cotton” spreadslaveryasfarWestasTexas

  5. Slavery in American History • From 1820-1860, slavery became a divisive issue in America: • Sectional disputes (1820, 1850, popular sovereignty, Dred Scott) • Slave uprisings (Prosser, Vesey, Nat Turner, & John Brown’s raid) • Abolitionists led by William Lloyd Garrison & Frederick Douglass • Civil War & Emancipation Proc

  6. The Failure of Reconstruction & the Rise of Jim Crow (1865-1954)

  7. The Failure of Reconstruction • During Reconstruction, Radical Republicans protected freedmen: • 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments offered blacks equal rights • The Civil Rights Act of 1875 outlawed racial discrimination • Freedman’s Bureau & KKK Act protected blacks in the South • The 1876 election of Hayes brought an end to Reconstruction

  8. Civil War Amendments Thirteenth Amendment (1865) abolished slavery Economic freedom (negative), but no resources Fourteenth (1868) defined citizenship (to include ex-slaves) required states to provide “equal protection” Social freedom in theory Fifteenth (1870) Extended right to vote to ex-slaves “Guaranteed” minimal political right 8

  9. The Jim Crow Era • Jim Crow laws created by state gov’ts legalized segregation: • Poll taxes, literacy tests, & grandfather clauses were used to deprive blacks of voting rights • Most blacks were sharecroppers • KKK enforced racial inequality • In 1896, the Supreme Court declared “separate but equal” in the Plessy v Ferguson case

  10. Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,Here is a strange and bitter crop Southern trees bear a strange fruit,Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze,Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant South,The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

  11. Jim Crow Laws

  12. Texas sign

  13. Jim Crow Laws

  14. The Jim Crow Era • Civil rights leaders demanded black equality in the Jim Crow era: • In the 1890s, WEB DuBois & Booker T Washington • 1909, NAACP was formed • Marcus Garvey in 1910s • Harlem Renaissance • The New Deal & military segregation in World Wars I & II promoted racial discrimination

  15. The Jim Crow Era • The 1940s brought some success: • The Great Migration helped break sharecropping in South • In WW II, FDR created the Fair Employment Practices Committee • A. Philip Randolph & “Double V” • In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the 1st black major league baseball player

  16. Civil Rights as a Political Issue • Truman was the 1st president to attempt to end any racial discrimination • Created a new commission on civil rights in 1946 • Called for an end to lynching • Truman’s lasting legacy was the desegregation of the armed forces in 1948

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

  18. 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 Separate waiting rooms Separate seats on trains & buses Separate & inferior schools Separate phone booths Separate water fountains Separate hospitals

  19. Desegregating the Schools Even “equal” schools, if separate, inflict profound psychological damage to black children • 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 14th Am. to attack school segregation & Plessy v Ferguson precedent

  20. 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 But…Pupil Placement Laws allowed for separate schools based on “aptitude” & “morality” 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

  21. Desegregating the Schools • Eisenhower’s silence on Brown sent a false message that he supported segregation • In 1957, Arkansas governor called the Nat’l Guard to prevent blacks to enter Central High • Ike sent in the army to force integration for the “Little Rock 9”

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

  23. The Beginnings of Black Activism • Instead of waiting for the gov’t to help, blacks pressed the issue • 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 MLK as a civil rights leader

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

  25. The Beginnings of Black Activism “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.” • MLK’s popularity led to the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 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

  26. The Beginnings of Black Activism • In 1960, students from NC A&T 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 Nonviolent Protest Legal Action Nonviolent Protest

  27. Tougaloo Sit-in Greensboro Sit-in • NC A&T Woolwoth’s sit-in in 1960

  28. Nashville Sit-ins led to jail

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

  30. Swim-In

  31. St. Augustine, Florida 1964 Swim In

  32. Moving Slowly on Civil Rights • JFK campaigned for civil rights, but his fear of alienating southern Democrats forced a retreat: • JFK deferred to Congress & sent his brother, Attorney Gen RFK, to help blacks in the South • The Justice Dept helped with voting rights lawsuits, but the FBI could not protect civil rights activists in the South

  33. Moving Slowly on Civil Rights • Civil Rights leaders refused to wait for JFK & the gov’t to respond • Congress of Racial Equality led a freedom ride in 1961 to protest segregated buses • Activists attempted to break a ban on black enrollment at Ole Miss & University of Alabama

  34. Freedom Rides, 1961

  35. University of Alabama students burn desegregation notice Alabama Governor George Wallace blocks black students’ entrance into University of Alabama

  36. 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.

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

  38. "I Have a Dream" • In 1963, CORE, SCLC, NAACP, & SNCC organized a March on Washington to pressure the gov’t 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 • The 1965 protest march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery led to policeviolence; “BloodySunday” shocked people in the North more than any other event

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

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

  44. 1964 – Freedom Summer • 1000’s of college students went to Mississippi to help with voter registration and participate in sit ins and marches.

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

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

  47. "Your work is just beginning. If you go back home and sit down and take what these white men in Mississippi are doing to us. ...if you take it and don't do something about it. ...then *%# damn your souls."

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

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