THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

1. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

2. CAUSES • millions of blacks served in World War II • new militancy and restlessness after 1945 was generated by the war • a large and strong black middle class had developed by that time • television had allowed many blacks to see what racism was depriving them of

3. Eisenhower & CIVIL RIGHTS

4. Support for Civil Rights • Eisenhower • had criticized President Truman’s call for establishing a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission • attitude toward racial justice = notinclinedtoward promoting integration

5. 1950s • most governmental advances in civil rights came from the judicial branch & the Supreme Court • Congress had abdicated its responsibilities by refusing to deal with the issue

6. 1954

7. 1954: Brown v. Topeka Board of Ed. • declared that the concept of “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites was unconstitutional • ruled racially segregated school systems were “inherently unequal” was • overturned its earlier decision in Plessy v. Ferguson • ordered desegregation “with all deliberate speed” (no timetable)

8. 1955

9. 1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott • Trigger : the arrest of Rosa Parks • Results : the bus line was desegregated • Supreme Court (1956) declared segregation on public transportation illegal • most significant accomplishment: • led to Martin Luther King , Jr., as aprominent civil rights leader

10. “massive resistance” • Slogan associated with Arkansas Governor, Orval Faubus and southern opposition to the Brown decision

11. 1956

12. 1956: Southern Manifesto • written by southern members of Congress in response to the Brown decision • Two southern congressmen who did not sign this : • Al Gore Sr. (TN) • LBJ (TX)

13. 1957

14. 1957: Little Rock • Resistance to integration of Little Rock High School (Arkansas) • Governor Orval Faubus refused to stop the resistance • Forced Eisenhower to send in federal troops • Little Rock Nine • African American Students escorted to school with federal troops

15. 1960

16. The “sit-in” movement • early 1960s • 1960 – North Carolina • First “sit-in” • launched by young southern blacks • resulted in the integration of some public eating facilities • SNCC (pronounced snick) • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee • outgrowth of the “sit-in” movement • Stokely Carmicheal • SNCC leader

17. KENNEDY & CIVIL RIGHTS

18. Support for Civil Rights • JFK • moved very slowly at first • needed the support of southern legislators to pass economic and social legislation • By mid-1963 , committed • to finding a solution to this moral issue

19. 1961

20. 1961: Freedom Riders • aimed at the desegregation of bus stations • Kennedy sent federal marshals to protect the Freedom Riders

21. 1962

22. 1962: James Meredith • Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett refused to enforce federal court order to enroll James Meredith ( first black student) in the University of Mississippi (“Old Miss”) • Kennedy ordered use of federal troops to force the racial integration of University of Mississippi

23. 1962 • Voter registration drives in deep south • Jackie Robinson inducted into baseball Hall of fame

24. 1963

25. 1963 • (April- May)Birmingham, Alabama • “bombingham” • Eugene “Bull” Connor • Children’s March • SCLC • MLK • Letter from a Birmingham Jail • (June)Medger Evers murdered • NAACP leader • (August)March on Washington

26. August 28 1963: March on Washington, D.C. • high-water mark of peaceful interracial civil rights demonstrations • MLK delivers his “I have a Dream” speech

27. Following the racial violence in Alabama and Mississippi in 1962 and 1963, President Kennedy introduced legislation to end segregation in public accommodations • At the time of his death, President John Kennedy’s civil rights bill was making little headway

28. JOHNSON & CIVIL RIGHTS

29. 1964

30. 1964: Twenty-fourth Amendment • The common use of poll taxes to inhibit black voters in the South was outlawed

31. Civil Rights Act of 1964 • landmark legislation • creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission • banning racial discrimination in most private facilities open to the public • banning sexual as well as racial discrimination • prohibiting discrimination based on gender

32. 1964: Freedom Summer • the chief goal • secure the right to vote • voter registration in the deep south • “Mississippi Burning” • Three Civil Rights workers murderedby KKK • Andrew Goodman • James Earl Cheney • Michael Henry Schwerner • Resulted in FBI investigation

33. 1964: Selma to Montgomery March • Protest march in Alabama • After marchers violently stopped (“bloody Sunday”) • completed w/ protection of federal troops

34. 1965

35. Voting Rights Act of 1965 • designed to enfranchise black voters • ensure the voting rights of blacks • Results: white southerners began to court black votes

36. 1965: Watts Riot • Los Angeles • symbolized the more militant and confrontational phase of the civil rights movement

37. 1968

38. March ,1968: Kerner Commission “This is our basic conclusion: Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black , one white –separate and unequal.”

39. 1968: MLK Assassinated • By James Earl Ray • massive racial unrest and rioting erupted in more than sixty American cities as a result of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

40. April,1968: Eulogy for MLK by RFK “For those of you who are black – considering the evidence … that there were white people who were responsible – you can be filled with bitterness , with hatred, and a desire for revenge . We can move in that direction as a country , in great polarization – black people amongst black , white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort as, Martin Luther King did , to understand and comprehend , and to replace that violence , that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land ,with and effort to understand with compassion and love.” …

41. George Wallace • 1968 third party presidential candidate who promoted: • fewer social welfare programs • a halt to the forced bussing of students

42. Race Riots • erupted in • New York • Los Angeles • Detroit • 1968 : The Commission on Civil Disorders issued a report that recommended massive spending to improve conditions in the ghettos

43. Civil Rights Leaders • Medger Evers • NAACP leader • Martin Luther King , Jr. • SCLC leader • advocate of peaceable resistance • Stokely Carmichael • SNCC leader • advocate of “Black Power.” • Malcolm X • Black Muslims Leader • favored black separatism

44. Black Power • In late 1960s, Black Power advocates in the North focused on economic demands • Some advocates of Black Power insisted slogan stood for • emphasizing African – American distinctiveness • pride in black identity and culture • exercising their political and economic rights • black control of black communities • the attempt to exclude sympathetic whites from the movement

45. 1968: Stokely Carmichael “This is the twenty-seventh time I have been arrested – and I ain’t going to jail no more !… We been saying freedom for six years – and we ain’t got nothin’. What we’re gonna start saying now is BLACK POWER.”

46. 1964 :Malcolm X “Concerning nonviolence: It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks . It is legal and lawful to own a shotgun or a rifle. We believe in obeying the law…The time has come for the American Negro to fight back in self-defense whenever and wherever he is being unjustly and unlawfully attacked.”

47. 1965 :Malcolm X “Well, if you and I don’t use the ballot , we’re going to be forced to use the bullet. So let us try the ballot.” • Ballots or Bullets Speech

48. Malcolm X : 1925-1965 Gunned down three months before his 40th birthday, Malcolm X's life was cut short just when his thinking had reached a critical juncture.

49. 1966:Black Panthers • Emerged from the Black Power movement • Influenced by the ideas of • Malcolm X • Founders included • Huey Newton • Bobby Seale

50. Black Panther Leader: Bobby Seale