Civil Rights Movement

1. Civil Rights Movement

2. Problems with Segregation • De Jure Segregation • Imposed by law • Common in the south • Backed by Plessey V Ferguson • Separate is ok as long as its equal • Impacted almost every aspect of life in the south

3. Problems with Segregation • De Facto Segregation • Segregation when there is no laws but enforced by customs or traditions • More common in the north • Most common was keeping African Americans out of certain jobs. • This made African Americans one of the lowest economic brackets in America.

4. The Civil Rights Movement Grows • WWII really got the ball rolling • Discrimination outlawed in defense industries during war • News articles about discriminations was bringing issues to light • CORE Founded (Congress of Racial Equality) • First group to push nonviolent protest for rights • First Major public breakthrough came in 1947

5. Jackie Robinson • Joined the Brooklyn Dodgers becoming the first African American to play professional baseball • Braved Death Threats • Violence • Hatred • Paved the way for integration in other sports.

6. Violence increased • Majority of violence came in the south when African Americans tried to register to vote • President Truman creates a Committee on Civil Rights • Found need for anti lynching laws and federal protection of voters • Truman couldn’t get congress to pass these regulations but he did use executive order to desegregate the military.

7. NAACP • Real push in civil rights came as the United States entered the 1950s • Lead by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) • Lead by a team of Lawyers who worked to get laws for rights for African Americans • Thurgood Marshall, an African American lawyer from Baltimore lead the charge in one of the biggest cases in American history

8. Brown V Board of Education • NAACP had won smaller cases getting rights but wanted to take on the unequal education in the United States • Brown V Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas • Attacked the concept of “Separate but Equal” • Supreme Court agreed that segregated public education violated the Constitution • Unanimous decision of the 9 judges • “In the doctrine of public education the doctrine of separate but equal has no place” • Chief Justice Earl Warren

9. Impact of Brown • One of the most significant and controversial decisions in American history • By agreeing it was unconstitutional the supreme court shifted its stance on civil rights to support more rights. • Later the Supreme Court stated that schools needed to fix the separate issue with “All Deliberate Speed” • But southern states had no intention of desegregating

10. Southern Pushback • “The Southern Manifesto” • 100 southern congressmen pledged to oppose the Brown decision stating the court had misinterpreted the constitution • KKK Revival • Many prominent white southerners and businessmen organized the “White Citizens Councils” declared that the south would not be integrated. • Used economic boycotts to encourage membership and prevent integration.

11. Little Rock • Historically Schools are under state control, not federal • Local schools resisted Brown decision • In Little Rock Arkansas the board proposed a plan to slowly integrate • 9 African Americans volunteered to enroll • Arkansas Gov OrvalFaubus opposed and ordered the state national guard to block the doors

12. Little Rock 9 • Angry white mobs surrounded the school and harassed the students • “I looked at into the face of an old woman and it seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her again she spat on me.” • Elizabeth Eckford • None of them made it into the school on the first day

13. Eisenhower steps in • President Ike was not great in civil rights • Not wanting to ruffle feathers • Stepped in only when he felt that state governments were resisting federal law • Stated that once Arkansas stopped resisting federal law he would withdraw federal troops. • Federal Troops would escort the 9 to and from school and guarding them on school grounds for then entire school year.

14. Civil Rights Act of 1957 • In 1957 congress passed the civil rights act and president Eisenhower signed it into law • Created the United States Civil Rights Commission • Had the power to investigate violations in civil rights • Gave the attorney General more power to protect the voting rights of African Americans • It really didn’t have any power to do anything, but it was a step forward in civil rights

15. Rosa Parks • On Dec 1 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American Seamstress, sat down in an empty seat on a bus in Alabama • A white passenger came and the bus driver told Rosa to move • It was law that a black person must give up their seat for a white passenger • Rosa Refused and was Arrested

16. Montgomery Bus Boycott • A Core of civil rights activists set to work after the arrest • Called upon the African American community to refuse to ride the buses as a way to express their opposition to the Arrests and to segregation in general • Became the Montgomery Bus Boycott • During which the NAACP got to work to change the laws

17. Dr Martin Luther King Jr • After the Boycott, the Montgomery Improvement Association had a meeting with King as the main speaker • Declared that there was no other option other than to protest • NON VIOLENT • Don’t become resentful it will lead to hatred but to love them instead • After King spoke the MIA agreed to continue the boycott, it lasted more than a year and won a supreme court case deemed segregated busses unconstitutional

18. Sit in Movement • Montgomery proved the power of a unified group of African Americans • On Feb 1 1960 in NC 4 African Americans ordered at a lunch counter and were refused service • The 4 sat at the stools blocking other customers and stayed until closing. • Word of the Sit in spread and sparked more sit ins. • Even had read ins in libraries, and wade in at public beaches

19. Freedom Riders • Activists now targeted interstate laws and transport • Supreme court ruled that segregation on interstate busses was illegal but they wanted to make sure it was going to be enforced • In spring of 1691 a freedom ride was staged through the deep south • Would use white restrooms on segregated bus stops • Violence increased as they made it into Alabama • Bus was fire bombed in Alabama • President John F Kennedy sent federal troops to intervene • Sent troops to protect people and worked a deal to get bus stops desegregated • Wouldn’t interfere with the arrest of the bus riders

20. Major Victories • James Meredith • Wanted to enroll at ole miss • Medgar Evers worked to get him into the all white school • Riots broke out, Kennedy addressed the nation • Free to disagree with the law but no disobey it • Meredith enrolled and graduated • Within 3 years both Meredith and Evers were assassinated • MLK Jail Letter • After being arrested King wrote a letter about “wait” meaning “Never” • JFK Backs Civil Rights • Kennedy was convinced that he needed to become more active • On June 11 1963 Kennedy called it a moral issue and sent congress a sweeping civil rights legislation • His brother Robert F Kennedy lead the charge

21. The March on Washington • To put pressure on congress for the new bill civil rights leaders prompted a March on Washington • August 28 1963 over 200,000 people showed up to a rally at the nations capitol • More than double expected numbers • Peaceful and festive event • Martin Luther King was one of the main speakers • Gave the “I have a dream” speech • A Great moment in Civil rights • Though others wanted a more militant protest

22. Civil Rights Battle Heats Up

23. The Need For More • While civil rights was taking small steps forward many called for a more radical and immediate change • Many started to look towards a more violent and forceful approach, contrary to what Martin Luther King preached. • This violence would help African Americans get more, but would also leave a legacy that is often looked down on

24. The Right to Vote • None of the legislation that had been passed in the late 50s and 60s touched voting rights • In Mississippi, not a single African American was registered to vote in five counties that had an African American Majority. • In 1964 the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) organized the Freedom Summer Campaign to getting African Americans to vote. • 1000 volunteers flooded Mississippi helping people register to vote

25. Freedom Summer • Prior to the volunteers entering Mississippi, three civil rights workers disappeared. • SNCC thought they were murdered • State authorities denied it • President Lyndon B Johnson ordered a massive search • 3 were found buried in a dam and had been shot at point blank range • Didn’t stop the Summer as almost all the volunteers still went. • Many people who registered still faced persecution • Many lost their jobs, were beaten, and kicked from their homes

26. March on Selma • The SCLC and Martin Luther king organized another campaign in Selma Alabama for voting rights. • “Bloody Sunday” march 7 1965 Heavily armed state troopers others attacked marchers as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge • They beat, gassed, attacked the marchers – all was caught on TV

27. President LBJ Responds • On march 15 LBJ went on a broadcast and called for federal voting rights laws • “it is wrong to deny any of your fellow citizens the right to vote. Their cause is our cause to, because its not just negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice, and WE SHALL OVERCOME”

28. Voting Rights Act of 1965 • Act banned literacy tests and gave the federal government power to oversee voting registration and elections in states that had discriminated against minorities • In 1975 this would be extended to Hispanics in the south west. • The 24th amendment – banned poll tax • The supreme court also forbid moving voting districts to cut out minorities – gerrymandering.

29. Violence Increases • In urban areas not much had changed, and while voting rights was good, many African Americans wanted more • In LA, Newark, and Detroit major Riots broke out • Violence, looting, and arson • 43 people killed in Detroit • Property damage reached over $50 million • Frightened many White Americans who lived in black neighborhoods.

30. Kerner Commission • To search for the cause of the Riots, LBJ created the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. • AKA the Kerner Commission • Determined the long term racial discrimination was the single most important cause of violence • Recommended discrimination could be solved by overcoming the problems of America’s urban growth • Many thought spending on this would reward rioters

31. Malcolm X • Many African Americans were moving towards the more violent action • Lead by a radical leader: Malcolm Little, more commonly known as Malcolm X, the X represented his lost African name. • From a childhood of drugs and prison at the age of 21 • Became converted to the Nation of Islam • Which believed in strict rules and demanded separation of the races. • Malcolm X preached not integrating at first • Left the nation of Islam and created his own sect • Then he took a pilgrimage to Mecca and was shifting his viewpoint when he was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam

32. Black Power • Many young African Americans saw themselves as themselves as heirs to Malcolm X • Began to move away from non violence • Integrating still places whites and blacks at different levels • In 1966 James Meredith set off on the “March Against Fear” across Mississippi • He was shot and left for dead by white supremacists • The SNCC, CORE, and SCLC finished the march, many were arrested. • Stokely Carmichael brought about the Idea of Black Power • The idea African Americans should collectively use economic and political muscle to gain equality. • Yet many thought that he meant black violence.

33. The Black Panthers • Huey Newton and Bobby Seal formed the group and it became the symbol of young militant African Americans. • Created armed guards to patrol neighborhoods to protect African Americans from police abuse • Also created aid programs for poor blacks • Got national news attention when they entered the Sacramento capitol carrying shotguns and wearing leather jackets protesting the restrictions that were trying to keep weapons from African Americans • A violation of the right to bear arms.

34. Martin Luther King • MLK didn’t agree with “Black Power” and wanted non violence • MLK was working for rights for people in Chicago and Memphis • While in Memphis he was responded to media concern about death threats and said he couldn’t focus on the fears he has to do gods will. • On April 4 1968 he was shot while standing on the balcony of his hotel room • James Earl Ray, a white ex con was charged with the murder • Robert F Kennedy who was working closely with King and campaigning for president urged people not to seek revenge • People didn’t listen as riots broke out in 100s of cities • And a few months later RFK was assassinated .

35. Lasting gains, controversial issues • The 1950s and 60s marked the height of the civil rights movement peaking around the time of MLKs assassination • Many advancements were made but problems still remained with the poverty gap and discrimination and racism

36. Advancements • End of De Jure segregation • Got voting rights and increased African American political involvement • Poverty rates fell • And the income of African American men and women increased rapidly • Graduation rates of African Americans jumped • In 1967 Thurgood Marshall became the first African American appointed to the supreme court • American housing act passed

37. Controversy • Forced desegregation for schools proved violent and dangerous • In order to achieve federal government forced students to ride the bus • Affirmative action was used to force schools to have racial integration • Reverse discrimination?