The Civil Rights Movement 1954-1968

Chapter 18

The Segregation System Plessy v Ferguson Supreme court case

that the separate but equal is legal

What did this case lead to in many states?

Answer-Led to the establishment of Jim Crow Laws (segregation)

Segregation Continues into the 20th Century After the Civil War,

many African Americans moved north

Tried to escape segregation

Still encountered racism and segregation

Eisenhower believed people had to allow racism and segregation to end gradually

A Developing Civil Rights Movement WWII set the stage

for Civil Rights 3 Reasons

1 provided job opportunities for blacks

2. Many blacks fought for other people’s freedom

3. Civil Rights organizations won rights during the war

Challenging Segregation in Court Campaign led largely

by NAACP The NAACP Legal

Strategy Charles Hamilton

focused on inequality in schools

Placed his best students under Thurgood Marshall

Began arguing and winning many cases

Brown v Board of Education 1954 Linda Brown and Board of

Education of Topeka Kansas

Thurgood Marshall argued and won the case

What was the importance?

Answer-The Supreme court unanimously struck down segregation

Thurgood Marshall first African American appointed to the supreme Court

Brown v. Board of Education- 1954 State officials had

a variety of responses No problem Take some time Never

Resistance to School Desegregation Within a year 500

school districts desegregated

What was the importance of the Brown II ruling in 1955

Answer-The Supreme Court ordered schools to desegregate faster

Crisis in Little Rock Governor Oval

Faubus publicly showed support for segregation

Who were the Little Rock 9?

Answer- 9 black students who volunteered to integrate Central High School

Crisis in Little Rock President

Eisenhower sent in troops

First time since the Civil War

Protect the students in school

Faubus eventually shut down the school Did this to prevent

integration

Montgomery Bus Boycott December 1, 1955

Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat for a white passenger

Parks arrested Montgomery

Improvement Association organizes a bus boycott

Montgomery Bus Boycott Martin Luther King

chosen as their leader Reason- King’s

speaking ability How Long did the

boycott last and was it successful?

Answer-It lasted 381 days and it was successful (Supreme Court ruled in favor of the boycott)

Martin Luther King and the SCLC Montgomery bus

Boycott proved that African Americans could unite and organize.

Proved to the world a successful protest movement

Changing the World with Soul Force King based his

ideas on Ghandi Pushed for non-

violence called “soul force”

Identify Emmit Till Answer-young boy

killed for talking to a white woman

From the Grassroots Up- Identify and Describe the following

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Answer-Organization of Christians ministers used non-violent protests against racial injustice

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Answer-Organization of college studetns organized to fight for civil rights

The Movement Spreads- Demonstrating for Freedom Sit ins

Organized by CORE (Congress on Racial Equality)

African Americans sat at segregated lunch counters

Refused to give up their seats Most famous was in

Greensboro, North Carolina-Greensboro 4

What was the significance of this action

Answer-This non-violent act was covered by TV and began to spread all over the south

The Triumphs of a Crusade

Riding for Freedom Freedom Riders ride

buses across the South

Testing Supreme Court on segregating buses

What Happened? Answer-Black and

white college students volunteered to test ruling of riding buses across the south

Arrival of Federal Marshals Riders reach

Alabama Angry white mob

attacks and beats them

This is exactly what the riders wanted-why?

Answer-The violence brought attention and sympathy for the movement

Civil Rights Workers Encounter Opposition and Violence Integrating Ole Miss-

September 1962 James Meredith won a

federal case Allowed him to enroll

in all-white University of Mississippi

JFK ordered Federal Marshalls to escort Meredith when he registered

What was the result of this action?

Answer-Riots broke out on campus to protest Meredith but he did attend and graduate

Heading into Birmingham Considered the most

segregated city in the US

MLK went there to protest and was arrested

How did the police, led by Bull Connor, deal with protestors?

Answer-Police used fire hoses and attack dogs to stop the protest march

Kennedy takes a Stand JFK sends troops to

Alabama Force George Wallace

to honor court orders to segregate University

JFK called Congress to pass Civil Rights bill

Identify Medger Evers Answer-NAACP field

agent who was killed in the driveway of his home

Marching on Washington

Planned march on Washing to support Civil Rights bill

August 23, 1963- 250,000 people converge on capitol

MLK gives famous “I have a dream speech”

More Violence 2 weeks after King’s speech

4 young girls killed in Birmingham

Church bombed JFK was assassinated Lyndon Johnson successor

passed the Civil Rights Bill What were the key

provision of this bill? Answer-

Prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and gender.

Gave all citizens equal; access to all public accommodations

Fighting for Voting Rights The next big step Freedom Summer

Name of project led by college students

1964 get African-Americans registered to vote

3 workers killed by local KKK

The Selma Campaign

Voter Registration drive

Jimmy Lee Jackson was killed

MLK announced a 50 mile protest

March from Selma to Montgomery

Marchers met by violence

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Ten weeks after Selma

march Major piece of

legislation passed What were the

provisions of this bill? Answer-No more

literacy tests to vote and gave Federal government more power to enforce election laws

Challenges and Changes in the Movement

By 1965 Civil Rights leaders were taking movement to new areas.

African Americans Seek Greater Equality Northern

Segregation De facto

segregation- this exists by practice or custom

How is du jure segregation different?

Answer- Du jure is segregation by law

Northern Segregation Activists wanted to

share economic and social power (more difficult

Besides equal access to lunch counters and busses

De facto segregation was the result of white flight syndrome

Urban Violence Erupts 1960’s clashes

between white authority and black civilians spreads

Discuss the riots in Harlem and Watts

Answer- Clashes between police and blacks led to some of the worst rioting in US history

New Leaders Voice Discontent Several African

American leaders wanted followers to take complete control of their

communities Livelihoods Culture Ex. Malcolm X

African American Solidarity Malcolm X was a

member of the Nation of Islam (black Muslims)

What was his message to other blacks?

Answer- Blacks should separate from white society and also that blacks should arm and defend themselves

Thought the X was a symbol of his African ancestors

Ballots or Bullets Malcolm made a

pilgrimage to Mecca Changed his thinking Started to preach

racial equality Broke from nation of

Islam Malcolm was

assassinated by members of Nation of Islam 2-21-65

Black Power Tension building

among Civil Rights groups

Many younger groups were impatient

Wanted quicker results

Who coined the phrase “Black Power”

Answer-Stockely Carmichael

Black Panthers Oakland, CA- Huey

Newton and Bobby Seale founders

Fought police brutality in the ghettos

What were some of the goals of this group?

Answer-End police brutality- exempt blacks from military service- provide services for the black

Turning Point in Civil Rights

MLK objected to Black Panther movement

Believed that preaching violence would end in grief

King was planning Poor People’s march on DC

Kings Death

King was in Memphis to support a garbage strike

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968

By who? Answer-James

Earl Ray, caught and sentenced to 99 years

Reaction to King’s Death

Led to worst urban riots in US History

100 cities exploded in flames

Civil Rights Gains

Civil rights act of 1964 ended discrimination in housing

Other gains included Pride in racial

identity Political Increased schooling

Unfinished Work Needed to equalize

education White flight led to

segregation again Needed to equalize job

opportunities Define affirmative action- Answer-Policy seeks to

correct the effects of past discrimination by favoring certain groups who were previously disadvantaged