The Development of the Civil Rights Movement from 1945-1970

1. The Development of the Civil Rights Movement from 1945-1970 SSUSH22: The student will identify dimensions of the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1970.

2. E.Q. • Have you ever thought about what it took from others to get the freedoms you now enjoy?

3. (1945) Executive Order 9981 • "I believe in brotherhood….of all men before the law….if any (one)class or race can be permanently set apart from, or pushed down below the rest in politics and civil rights, so may any other class or race……and we say farewell to the principles on which we count our safety…….The majority of our Negro people find but cold comfortin our shanties and tenements. Surely, as free men, they are entitledto something better than this.“ • The armed forces now recognize all races and gender and the opportunities are opened for everyone to take advantage of. President Harry Truman signs an executive order to end segregation and discrimination in armed forces. He also banned discrimination in the hiring of federal employees.

4. 1947Jackie Robinson Breaks the color barrier in Baseball Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, called Jackie Robinson to his office in August 1945. Rickey wanted to challenge the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Rickey felt that Robinson had what it took to be the first African-American baseball player in the Major League. In 1947, Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers and faced many prejudices, but managed to become Rookie of the year in 1947, MVP in 1949, and His number 42 retired by all MLB teams. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. All sports have been opened to all individuals. Look at sports field today and see how many races are represented.

5. 1954Brown v. Board of Education Attorney Thurgood Marshall, working for the NAACP, brings a case before the Supreme Court for 13 parents from Topeka, Kansas. He argues that the segregation of Public schools is unconstitutional. The justices agree and their decision over turns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling of “separate but equal.” Thanks to Brown v. Board of Education everyone has an equal opportunity in schools. This paved the way for IDEA, so that even individuals with disabilities can go to public schools.

6. 1955Rosa Parks On the evening of December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, got on a bus after working all day and sat down in a seat at the front of the “colored” section of the bus for her ride home for the evening. At the next stop a white man got on the bus, but there were no more seats on the bus, so the driver told Mrs. Parks she must stand up and let the white man sit down. Blacks were required to sit at the back of the bus, but if there were no seats in the whites only section of the bus the African-Americans were required to give their seat to the white person. She refused to move and was arrested for violating the segregation laws. Her arrest sparked a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system.

7. 1957The Little Rock Nine • Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, was an all white school. The school was required to integrate (all races allowed to attend the school). Governor Faubus orders that nine black students not be allowed to enter the school. President Dwight Eisenhower sent the National Guard to the school so that the students could attend classes at Central High School. The nine students became known as the Little Rock Nine.

8. 1961Can I get served? On February 1, 1960, 4 African-American students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College go to the lunch counter at Woolworth. The group was allowed to stay at the counter; however, they are refused service. This event in Greensboro, North Carolina, began nonviolent sit ins all over the South that were effective in integrating many other public facilities including parks, swimming pools and theaters. Look at restaurants now, anyone can come in and expect to be served without harassment.

9. 1961 Freedom Riders Students begin to take bus trips through the South in the spring and summer of 1961. The students, of more than 1,000, called themselves “The Freedom Riders.” They wanted to test out the new laws that prohibited segregation. In Alabama, a mob of white men slashed the tires of the bus, held the door closed and then threw a fire bomb into a broken window of the bus. Riders escaped from the bus before it burst into flames, but the mob beat many of the students as the were escaping from the burning bus. The freedom rides were supported by The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and were composed of both black students and white students.

10. 1962A year of Turmoil • James Meredith enrolled at the University of Mississippi, as its first African-American student. So much violence surrounded his attendance that President Kennedy sent 5,000 troops to the University. • Martin Luther King was arrested in Birmingham during an Anti-segregation protest. While in jail he wrote, “Letter from a Birmingham jail,” where he argued that people have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws. • Commissioner Eugene Connor used fire hoses and police dogs on demonstrators in a civil rights protest in Birmingham that was televised around the world.

11. 1963I Have a Dream • Medgar Evers, the field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi was murdered outside of his home. The man that shot Evers was not convicted until 30 years after the fact. • Martin Luther King Jr., gave his “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C., to over 200,000 people. • Four young African-American girls were killed while attending Sunday School at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church when the church was bombed. • The 24th Amendment ended the poll tax which made it hard for many African-Americans to vote. • Freedom Summer: CORE,SNCC, and COFO (Council of Federal Organizations) set up a massive voter registration drive.

12. 1964Time for a change On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was the most inclusive civil rights legislation since the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War. The Act prohibited the discrimination based race, color, religion, or national origin. This law also provided the federal government with the power to enforce desegregation. African-Americans begin a march to Montgomery, Alabama, in support of voting rights. The group was stopped at the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, by a police blockade. The police used tear gas, clubs, and whips against the marchers, and 50 of the group had to be hospitalized.

13. 1965GET OUT AND VOTE! • August 10, 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Literacy test, poll taxes, and all other laws that states used to restrict African-American voters are made illegal. • President Johnson issues Executive Order 11246, that is known as “Affirmative Action,” which requires the federal government contractors to utilize affirmative steps towards prospective minority employees.

14. 1968a mixture of feelings April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot by James Earl Ray. Dr. King was standing on the balcony outside of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was shot and killed at the age of 39. April 11, 1968, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which prohibited the discrimination of individuals in the sale, rent, or financing of housing in the United States.

15. Closing • What did it take for individuals to step out and say a law was unjust? • How many times did the government need to create laws that would ensure that states would follow fair practices? • Was the price of your freedoms high? • Are we respecting the memory of those who gave so much for us?