Civil Rights Movement

1. Civil Rights Movement Chapter 18

2. Jim Crow Laws • Laws passed by southern states to limit blacks’ behavior. • Segregation de facto: practiced segregation • Segregation de jure: legalized segregation of the races • Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 • Homer Plessy (1/8 black) • Louisiana train car rider • Arrested/jailed

3. Troubled times • Late 1800’s: southern states passed laws to keep blacks from voting (disenfranchisement) • Restrictive laws violated civil rights of blacks: • Back of bus • Separate waiting rooms • Separate public buildings/facilities

4. Birth of Civil rights movement • 1940’s: Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) • James Farmer • Organized protests against segregation in Detroit, Denver, and Chicago • Saw non-violence as answer • 1 of their successes: • Jackie Robinson • First African American baseball (broke color-line) • Brooklyn Dodgers

5. Committee on Civil Rights • Pres. Truman created this to investigate violence occurring in the south. • Recommendations: • Anti-lynch laws • Federal protection of voting rights • 1948: Truman ordered the desegregation of the military

6. Rosa Parks • Dec. 1, 1955 • Seated in a “black row” • Ordered to move • Give seat to white man • Arrested, found guilty • No trial; fined $14 • Appealed • Led to Montgomery Bus Boycott • Dec. 5, 1955

7. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. • Dec. 6, 1955 • Montgomery Improvement Association • MLK (Baptist minister) spoke • Motivated crowd to non-violent protest • Chosen leader of MIA • Soon after, MLK’s house fire-bombed • No one hurt

8. Montgomery Bus Boycott • To cripple bus system • Cities’ largest % population used buses • Choose not to ride buses after arrest of Rosa Parks • Lasted until Dec. 20, 1956 • Browder v. Gayle • Supreme Court said segregation • of buses not legal anymore

9. Brown v. Board of Education, 1957 • Topeka, Kansas • NAACP assisted with $$$/support • Thurgood Marshall, attorney • Case won; schools now had to desegregate • Led to other public facilities being desegregated

10. Little Rock 9 • 1957, Little Rock, Arkansas • Virgil Blossom, Supt. Planned gradual integration • 9 kids (black school) chosen • Academic performance/perfect attendance • Gov. of Ark. Orval Faubus • Called National Guard to keep black kids out • Students heckled/spit on as they approached school • Threatened with lynching

11. Little Rock 9, pt. 2 • Pres. Eisenhower • Angry with Arkansas • Nationalized Ark. National Guard (under federal rule) • Sent them home • Told Gov. “You must obey federal law” • Send army to escort 9 kids into school

12. SCLC • Southern Christian Leadership Conference • Made up of southern black ministers • Established by Martin Luther King, Jr. • Pursued non-violent protest • Prayer Pilgrimage in Washington • Helped Congress pass Civil Rights Acts Martin Luther King, Jr.

13. Civil Rights Act 1957 • Eisenhower pushed this… • Established the US Civil Rights Commission • Had power to investigate civil rights violations • Also gave US federal government more power to protect voting rights of blacks • **first Civil Rights act since Reconstruction

14. “Sit-ins” • Feb. 1, 1960 • Woolworth’s lunch counter • Four black students ordered coffee/donuts • Greensboro, North Carolina • White waitress refused to serve them • Word of sit-in spread • “wade-ins” at white beaches • “read-ins” at libraries • Newspapers and letters were sent to support growing student movement

15. SNCC-1960 • Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee • Ella Baker (organizer) • 175 students (30 states) • Grass-roots movement to include all classes of blacks to defeat white racism and to obtain equality

16. Freedom Riders - 1960 • Group of white & black students from north toured the south in buses • Usually arrested for trespassing, unlawful assembly, & violation of Jim Crow laws • Sponsored by CORE • Their actions considered criminal in southern states; some were jailed for crossing state lines • Buses were stopped, people beaten

17. Ole Miss • 1962… • James Meredith (black student) • Refused admittance to Univ. of Miss. • Gov. of Mississippi • Said he’d “rather go to jail than allow blacks into that college” • Rioting broke out • Pres. Kennedy sent federal marshals to escort Meredith into college • Kennedy also sent 5,000 federal troops into Miss. To restore order

18. Same treatment..Alabama • Gov. George Wallace • Personally guarded door of Univ. of Alabama to prevent black students from entering • Federal authorities came down, forced him to move aside

19. Kennedy for Civil Rights • June 11, 1963 • Televised statement by Kennedy • Called civil rights a “moral issue” • Said America had obligation to all citizens (regardless of skin color) • Brother (Atty. Gen.) Robert F. Kennedy worked with Congress to push civil rights laws.

20. March on Washington • August 28, 1963 “For Jobs & Freedom” • March began at Washington Monument and ended at Lincoln Memorial • +250,000 people attended • +2,000 buses + 21 trains + 10 planes • MLK • Gave “I Have a Dream” speech • Page 597 Textbook • Called for racial harmony + non-violence

21. Civil Rights Act 1964 • Signed by Pres. LB Johnson • It ended racial segregation in public facilities & worksites • It also: • Outlawed major forms of discrimination • Against: • Racial • Ethnic • national or religious minority • Women

22. Civil Rights, pt. 2 • Allowed Justice Dept. to prosecute people who violate rights of others • Also, created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): • Enforced provisions for non-discrimination in worksites • Employers cannot discriminate in hiring against • Race, color, sex, or national origin

23. Selma, Alabama • “Bloody Sunday” • March 7, 1965 • Edmund Pettis Bridge (linked Selma to Montgomery) • March from Selma to capital to push for voting protection • Led by MLK • State police attacked marchers; fired tear gas on them • Clubs/whips used March 15, 1965 President Johnson ordered federal action against Alabama leaders.

24. Voting Rights Act 1965 • Passed due to Selma violence… • Outlawed discrimination in voting • Prohibits any state from imposing qualifications to vote • Specifically, Literacy Tests CANNOT be used • No state can disqualify someone based on race • This act renewed 4 times • Last time, Pres. George W. Bush renewed for 25 years

25. Watts Riots • I week after Voting Rights passed… • Worst race riot in US history in Watts (Los Angeles) • Violence, looting, and arson – several days • National Guard sent in to restore order • Other riots followed across nation: • Newark, NJ • Detroit, MI – Summer 1967 • Caused over $50 million damage

26. Malcolm X • Malcolm Little, born 1925 • As teen, moved to Boston • Then to NY • At 21, got trouble with law • Sent to prison; there converted to Islam • They ruled no drugs/alcohol + separation of races Came to be “radical” leader of black movement against Racial injustice. Feb. 1965, Malcolm shot & killed by 3 Islamic members.

27. Black Panthers • Huey Newton & Bobby Seale created • Symbol of young, militant blacks • Sent armed patrols through neighborhoods to protect blacks from police abuse • Black Panthers use of military style dress and ways led to violent fights with police.

28. Sudden Death • MLK, on nation-wide “Poor People’s Campaign” : to pressure federal government to help poor people • Memphis, TN • Met with garbage workers who were on strike • April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot as he stood outside hotel room by James Earl Ray (white ex-con) • Ray was convicted of King’s murder.