The Civil Rights Movement

1. The Civil Rights Movement An overview of key events, people, and movements

2. Fighting Segregation

3. The Fight for Equality Prior to 1954 • After 1896 Plessey v. Ferguson ruling, legalized segregation was common in the South • Segregation: separation of racial groups in daily life • Jim Crow Laws VERY common! • Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. DuBois pushed for Civil Rights in the early 1900s • NAACP formed in 1909 • Attacked racism in the courts • CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) founded – nonviolent protesting • 1940s- Progress is made • Banned discrimination of armed forces • Brooklyn Dodgers put an African American—Jackie Robinson—on its roster.

4. The Key Supreme Court Decision • Brown v. Board of Education 1954- A unanimous decision by the Supreme Court that held that separate schools for African Americans and whites violated the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. • Chief Justice Earl Warren • Overturned Plessey v. Ferguson • “Education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments…it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity...is a right that must be made available to all on equal terms…Does segregation of children in schools solely on the basis of race…deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does.”

6. Struggles to Integrate • The Brown decision declared school segregation illegal, but did not offer any firm guidance about how or when desegregation should occur…… • Left it up to the states to determine.. • Many Southern states practiced massive resistance – officials at all levels pledged to block integration

7. Crisis in Little Rock • Arkansas governor ordered the National Guard to prevent the integration of Central High School in Little Rock Little Rock Nine - YouTube • September 4, 1957- a crowd of angry whites harassed 9 black students as they arrived for their first day of school – they were kept out, spit at, and insulted by the white crowd • The Little Rock Nine were kept out for nearly 3 weeks until President Eisenhower sent federal troops to end the standoff

8. “I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the mob – someone who maybe would help. I looked into the face of an old woman and it seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me…” • “I don’t intend to quit. We’ll try again. Its still my school, and I’m entitled to it”

11. Wallace and Alabama • The struggle for school integration occurred all throughout the South • Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, went himself to stop two Blacks from entering the University of Alabama • “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”

12. From Schools to Buses • The Brown decision only impacted schools, but African Americans were inspired to push for the integration of all public facilities • African Americans were required to sit in the back of buses, could not share a row with a white, and had to give up their seat if all the white rows were filled • One African American woman, Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat and was arrested – the NAACP took on her case

13. Montgomery Bus Boycotts • The NAACP organized a bus boycott – African Americans made up 2/3 of all Montgomery bus riders • African Americans boycotted the used of buses even through the hardships it caused them and the use of violence to try to stop it. • Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled the segregation of buses was unconstitutional • Another victory for African Americans

15. The March to Freedom & Rights

16. Birth of the SCLC • January 1957- African American leaders met to form a new group that would organize protest activities  Southern Christian Leadership Conference • Leader  Martin Luther King Jr. • A Christian based organization that promoted nonviolent protests

17. Sit Ins • February 1, 1960- Greensboro, North Carolina • 4 college students entered a restaurant for lunch • They were denied service, but stayed in their seats until close • Returned the next day with dozens more protestors • Sit-Ins became a popular form of nonviolent protest

18. Freedom Rides • During the summer of 1961, members of CORE began Freedom Rides around the South to prove the segregation still taking place in bus stations • Riders would enter “white-only” bus station rooms almost all were beaten and/or arrested at almost every stop • After 4 months, the Interstate Commerce Commission finally issued tough new rules forcing integration of bus and train stations

19. The Campaign • Martin Luther King raised money to fight Birmingham’s segregation laws. • Volunteers began with sit-ins and marches and were quickly arrested. • King hoped this would motivate more people to join the protests. • King wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” • Fewer African Americans were willing to join and risk their jobs. The Results A SCLC leader convinced King to use children for his protests. More than 900 children between ages six and eighteen were arrested. Police Chief Eugene “Bull” Connor used police and fire fighters to break up a group of about 2,500 student protesters. The violence of Connor’s methods was all over the television news. Federal negotiators got the city officials to agree to many of King’s demands.

20. MLK Jr. Takes Action • Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. became involved in several movements in Albany, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama – getting arrested in both. While not fully successful, brought nationwide attention to issues • August 1963, led a march of 200,000 in Washington, DC to push for Jobs and Freedom • Here he delivered his famous, I Have a Dream speech

21. MLK’s Speech in Washington • Short Version of I Have A Dream Speech - YouTube

22. Major Legislation • Once nationwide attention of the violence and inequality, including that of President Kennedy (& Johnson), emerged, legislation began to pass • Civil Rights Act 1964 • Banned discrimination in employment & public accommodations • Prevented tax dollars from going to groups that publicly discriminated • Was successful in ending popular Jim Crow Laws • 24th Amendment • Banned states from taxing citizens to vote • A way to rid the South of poll taxes..

23. Voting Rights • Selma to Montgomery March • 600 African Americans began the 54-mile march. • City and state police blocked their way out of Selma. • TV cameras captured the police using clubs, chains, and electric cattle prods on the marchers. • Voting Rights Act 1965 • Congress passed the act after the urging of President Johnson • Federal law that outlawed discriminatory voting practices – such as literacy tests • Successful at ending discriminatory practices and African Americans around the South took to the polls in large numbers

24. Freedom Summers • Hundreds of college students volunteered to spend the summer registering African Americans to vote. • The project was called Freedom Summer. • Most of the trainers were from poor, southern African American families. • Most of the volunteers were white, northern, and upper middle class. • Volunteers registered voters or taught at summer schools. • Crisis in Mississippi • 3 volunteers went missing • Members of the KKK were accused of their murders

26. Black Power • Fractures began to emerge in the movement. • Many grew tired of the nonviolent movement and were growing tired of the violence • Black Power Movement: a call to action for African Americans to depend on themselves to solve problems • Not fully a violent movement, but many abandoned nonviolent tactics

27. Black Panthers & Black Muslims • Black Panther Party • Appealed to young African Americans • Rejected nonviolence; called for a violent revolution • Called for violent revolution as a means of African American liberation. • Members carried guns and monitored African American neighborhoods to guard against police brutality. • Black Muslims • Based on the Islamic religion • Message: black nationalism, self-discipline, and self-reliance • Malcolm X offered message of hope, defiance, and black pride.

29. Martin v. Malcolm • Highly popular Black Muslim, Malcolm X, attracted a large following in the 1960s • Initially seen as a direct contrast to Martin Luther King Jr. • Malcolm called for revolution and violence, while Martin asked for nonviolence • After 1964, Malcolm began to have talks with other civil rights leaders • He was assassinated in 1965

30. Assassination of MLK Jr. • While in Memphis, Tennessee in March 1968 to aid African Americans sanitation workers on a strike, MLK Jr was assassinated by James Earl Ray

31. An end to the movement? • Martin Luther King Jr.’s death created an uproar and desire for more • However, the movement lost its most popular and influential leader • The national government, especially the FBI, became to encroach upon the Black Panthers and other organizations causing issues with their activities.

32. Cumulative Gains

33. Changes & Victories • Civil Rights Act 1968 • Fair Housing Act • Banned discrimination in the sale or rental of housing • Busing • Housing discrimination had not fixed the school issue – neighborhoods were segregated • Cities began ‘busing’ students to schools outside of their district to ensure more equality • Affirmative Action • Gives preference to minorities and women in hiring for jobs or admissions to colleges