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The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement. Background History. Civil Rights Act of 1875 banned segregation - declared unconstitutional in 1883. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) declared “separate but equal” does not violate 14 th Amendment - Jim Crow Laws enforce separation of races in South.

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The Civil Rights Movement

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  1. The Civil Rights Movement

  2. Background History • Civil Rights Act of 1875 • banned segregation • - declared unconstitutional • in 1883 • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) declared “separate but • equal” does not violate 14th Amendment • - Jim Crow Laws enforce separation of races in South

  3. Civil Rights Movement Grows • World War II set the stage for the start of the civil • rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s • - Roosevelt banned discrimination in war industries at home • African Americans who fought for the U.S. during the war • return home unwilling to accept segregation in the U.S.

  4. Civil Rights Organizations 1. NAACP - founded in 1909 - civil rights organization aimed at ending segregation and gaining full racial equality • 2. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) • - founded in 1942 • - civil rights organization whose • goal was racial equality

  5. Civil Rights Organizations 3. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) - founded in 1957 by Martin Luther King Jr. - goal to gain full civil rights through the use of nonviolent methods • 4. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) • - founded in 1960 by students at • Shaw University. N.C. • - a national protest group whose • goal to give young blacks a role in • the civil rights movement

  6. Challenging Segregation in Court The NAACP Challenges Segregation - Thurgood Marshall  African American lawyer who led the legal challenges to fight discrimination Major Supreme Court Cases: 1. Morgan v. Virginia (1946) = mandated segregated seating on interstate buses is unconstitutional 2. Sweatt v. Painter (1950) = state “law schools” must admit blacks even if separate black schools exist

  7. 3. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) - father of 8-yr old African-American girl sue based on denial of admission to white school Outcome: - Supreme Court rules segregation in schools is unconstitutional based on 14th Amendment • Brown II: • Supreme Court orders • immediate desegregation

  8. Little Rock Crisis • Little Rock Nine: • 9 black students volunteer to • desegregate Little Rock’s • CentralHigh School • Gov. OrvalFaubus: • orders National Guard to deny • them entrance & turn them • away

  9. Little Rock Crisis • Federal judge orders Faubusallow the “Little Rock Nine” into school • President Eisenhower sends in troops to ensure them entrance & offer protection

  10. Civil Rights Act of 1957: (First Civil Rights Act since Reconstruction) • established the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, (has • the power to investigate violations of civil rights) • gave the Attorney General power to protect the • voting rights of African Americans

  11. Montgomery Bus Boycott: • Rosa Parks: • seamstress & NAACP officer • sits in front of bus in “whites • only” section, refuses to • move, & is arrested • Outcome: • Montgomery Improvement Association led by • Martin Luther King Jr. call for a “bus boycott” • for 381 days blacks do not ride public buses • file lawsuits in court

  12. Montgomery Bus Boycott: • Outcomes: • 1956 Supreme Court outlaws segregation on buses • Showed power of African-Americans if they join together • Proved MLK’s ideas of “nonviolence” & “civil disobedience”

  13. Racial Violence • Emmett Till: • 14 yr old black boy who is • murdered for “flirting” with • a white woman in 1955 Bob Dylan “Emmett Till Song” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OfCXaqieas • KKK carry out threats, beatings, and shootings • against civil rights workers • Police & Local Govt. do nothing to stop the violence

  14. Sit-Ins & Civil Disobedience • Greensboro Four: • 4 college students and SNCC members who sit at Woolworth’s lunch counter, denied service, & remain at counter till closing time • Outcomes: • Inspire more “sit-ins” & “pickets” • Inspire “Wade-ins” on beaches and “Read-ins” in libraries

  15. Civil Rights Activism Freedom Riders: PlanCORE & white civil rights activists ride interstate buses Goal was to test desegregation ruling & provoke violence to gain federal attention • Outcomes: • Freedom Riders were met with violence(one bus was • firebombed & the other was attacked by a white mob) • Kennedy Administration steps in & sends U.S. marshals • Interstate Commerce Commission bans segregation on all • interstate transportation and travel facilities

  16. Protests & Confrontations • James Meredith: • African-American Air Force veteran • Sues for the right to enroll at the • all-white University of Mississippi • Outcome he wins! • Results: • Federal marshals were assigned for protection • Riots occur w/ white students & federal marshals • Meredith does enroll, attend classes, & graduate

  17. Protests & Confrontations Birmingham, Alabama • MLK and SCLC targeted Birmingham because it was • considered the most segregated city in the South • Plan was nonviolent with marches and sit-ins • Result: • Birmingham used police dogs and fire hoses on protesters • MLK is arrested along with 959 more protestors • MLK writes “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” to white • religious leaders

  18. Outcome: • Birmingham used police dogs and fire hoses on protesters • Americans shocked by photographs & t.v. news coverage • Letters sent to the White House asking for action • JFK calls for a new civil rights act to end racial violence

  19. Civil Rights Rally March on Washington: • August 28, 1963, black & white demonstrators • rally for immediate passage of JFK’s Civil Right Bill • MLK Jr. delivers his “I have a dream” speech

  20. Passage of the Civil Rights Act • Civil Rights Act of 1964: • prohibited discrimination because of race, religion, national • origin, or gender • banned segregation in public accommodations • gave the federal govt. ability to compel state and local • school boards to desegregate • allowed Justice Dept. to prosecute individuals who • violated people’s civil rights • outlawed discrimination in employment

  21. Demand for Voting Rights • Problem: • right to vote for many African- • Americans was still not available • Solution: • Freedom Summer: SNCC campaign to register blacks to vote in Mississippi & draw attention to the need for a voting rights act • Result: • Racial beatings, murders, & burning of churches, businesses & homes

  22. Demand for Voting Rights • March on Selma: • MLK & SCLC organized voting • rights campaign in Selma, AL • Goal: pressure federal govt. • to enact voting rights act • Outcome: • state troopers & other authorities attacked the • marchers as they tried to cross into Selma • Television shows the violence • LBJ calls for states to allow all persons the right to vote

  23. Demand for Voting Rights • Voting Rights Act of 1965: • banned literacy tests to vote • gave federal govt. power to oversee • voting registration & elections in • states that had discriminated • against minorities • 24th Amendment: • banned the poll tax to vote

  24. New Voices in Civil Rights • Malcolm X: • Radical speaker & thinker • Advocates fro blacks to separate from • white society • Advocated for armed self-defense • Nation of Islam: • political movement which promotes • Islam & black separatism

  25. New Voices in Civil Rights • Assassination of Malcolm X: • Broke from the Nation of Islam • Supported “ballots or bullets” idea • Assassinated by 3 members of the • Nation of Islam February 1965

  26. New Voices in Civil Rights • Black Power Movement: • 1960’s movement that urged African Americans to use their • collective political and economic power to gain quality

  27. New Voices in Civil Rights • Black Panthers: • young militant African Americans • Advocated for self-sufficiency of black communities and • antipoverty programs • Organized armed patrols of urban areas to protect people • from police abuse

  28. Tragedy Strikes the Movement • MLK Jr was objected to the Black Power Movement: • believed violence would only • end in grief • Assassination of MLK Jr.: • April 3, 1968 in Memphis giving speech • April 4, 1968 shot & killed while standing • on his hotel balcony by James Earl Ray

  29. Legacy of the Movement • Civil Rights Act of 1968: • banned discrimination in housing • Affirmative Action: • Goal: to correct discrimination of the past • policy to ensure equal opportunity for • African-Americans • Opponents label“Reverse Discrimination”

  30. Legacy of the Movement • Civil Rights Are Advanced • Segregation banned • Discrimination banned • Voting Rights protected • More African Americans went to • high school and college • Political gains (elected officials) • Thurgood Marshall became the first African American Supreme Court justice in 1967

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