1. Taking on Segregation
Chapter 21, Section 1 Notes

2. Objectives
Explain how legalized segregation deprived African Americans of their rights as citizens
Summarize civil rights legal activity and the response to the Plessy and Brown cases
Trace MLK, Jr’s civil rights activities, beginning with the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Describe the expansion of the civil rights movement

3. Main Idea and Terms/Names
Activism and a series of Supreme Court decisions advanced equal rights for African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s
Thurgood Marshall
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Rosa Parks
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Sit-in

4. The Segregation System
Civil Rights Act of 1875
Outlawed segregation
Supreme Court overturned it in 1883
Plessy v. Ferguson
“separate but equal” did not violate the 14th amendment (equal treatment)
Allowed Southern states to pass Jim Crow laws (separating the races)
Allowed restrictions on inter-race contact

5. Civil Rights Movement WW2 set the stage for the civil rights movement
Opened new job opportunities
One million African Americans served
Came home and fought to end discrimination
During the war, civil rights organizations fought for voting rights and challenged Jim Crow laws

6. Challenging Segregation in Court
Campaign led by the NAACP
Focused on inequality between separate schools that states provided
Thurgood Marshall argued many of these cases
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Marshall’s most stunning victory
Supreme Court struck down segregation in public schools as a violation of 14th amendment
To be implemented “with all deliberate speed”

7. Reaction to Brown Official reaction was mixed
Within a year, 500 school districts had desegregated
Some areas resisted
Reappearance of KKK
Governor of Georgia – “Georgia will not comply”!

8. Crisis in Little Rock State had been planning for desegregation
Governor Faubus ordered the National Guard to turn away the “Little Rock Nine”
the 9 African American students who would integrate Little Rock Central High
A Federal judge ordered Faubus to let the students attend the school
Eisenhower placed the National Guard under federal control to watch the 9 attend school
A year later, Faubus shut down the high school

9. Montgomery Bus Boycott
African Americans were impatient with the slow speed of change
Took direct action
1955 – Rosa Parks refused to
give up her seat and was arrested
JoAnn Robinson suggested a boycott of the buses
Leaders of the African American community formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)
Elected 26 yr old Martin Luther King to lead

10. Montgomery Bus Boycott
Dr. King made a passionate speech and filled the audience with a sense of mission
African Americans boycotted the buses for 381 days and filed a lawsuit
Organized car pools
Walked long distances
1956 – Supreme Court outlawed
bus segregation

11. Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK called his nonviolent resistance “soul force”
Influences
Jesus – love one’s enemies
Henry David Thoreau – concept of civil disobedience (refusal to obey an unjust law)
A. Philip Randolph – massive demonstrations
Gandhi – non violent resistance

12. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
SCLC founded in 1957 by MLK and other civil rights leaders
Purpose – carry on nonviolent crusades against discrimination
Used protests and demonstrations
Helped organize a student protest group (SNCC) – Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Challenge the system!

13. Movement Spreads
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) staged the first sit-in in 1942
African Americans would sit at segregated lunch counters and refuse to leave until they were served
1960 – students in North Carolina staged a sit-in at a lunch counter
Television crews covered the protest
African Americans were non-violent, but white resistance was not
Movement spread across nation (sit-ins in 48 cities)

14. 21.2 Objectives Identify the goal of the freedom riders
Explain how civil rights activism forced President Kennedy to act against segregation
State the motives of the 1963 March on Washington
Describe the tactics tried by civil rights organizations to secure the passage of the Voting Rights Act

15. Main Idea and Terms/Names
Freedom riders
James Meredith
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Freedom Summer
Fannie Lou Hamer
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Civil Rights activists broke through racial barriers. Their activism prompted landmark legislation.

16. Freedom Riders
Civil Rights activists would ride busses to test the Supreme Court decision that banned segregation on buses and in bus terminals
Provoking a violent reaction to force the JFK administration to enforce the law
Riders were tormented and beaten

17. Freedom Riders
Newspaper coverage and the violence provoked JFK to send federal marshals to protect the riders
Segregation in all interstate travel facilities was banned

18. Integrating Ole Miss Air Force Veteran James Meredith
won a federal court case that allowed him to enroll in the all-white University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
Governor Ross Barnett refused to let him register
Kennedy ordered federal marshals to escort Meredith
Riots broke out and resulted in 2 deaths
Federal officials accompanied Meredith to class to protect him

19. Birmingham Strictly enforced its segregation
Reputation for racial violence
Reverend Shuttlesworth, MLK, and the SCLC tested their non-violence
MLK and others were arrested during a nonviolent demonstration
MLK wrote Letters from a Birmingham Jail

20. Birmingham
With MLK out of jail, the SCLC planned a children’s march in Birmingham
Police Commissioner “Bull” Connor arrested them
Later, the police met the marchers with high pressure fire hoses and attack dogs
TV cameras captured the scene
Birmingham officials finally ended segregation
Convinced JFK to write a civil rights act

21. Kennedy Takes a Stand
June 11, 1963 – JFK sends troops to force Gov. Wallace to desegregate the U of Alabama
He demanded that Congress pass a civil rights bill
Hours later Medgar Evers, an NAACP secretary was murdered
A new militancy developed – “Freedom Now!”

22. March on Washington
To show support for JFK’s civil rights bill, a march on Washington was formed
Aug. 28, 1963, 250,000 people assembled in Washington
MLK gave his “I have a Dream” speech
Appeals for peace and harmony

23. Violence Persists
Two weeks after the I have a Dream speech, four girls were killed in a Birmingham church
Two months later, JFK is assassinated
LBJ pledges to carry out JFK’s work
Passes Civil Rights Act of 1964
Prohibited discrimination
Gave equal access to public accommodations

24. Fighting for Voting Rights
CORE and SNCC worked to register as many African-American voters as possible
Project is known as Freedom Summer
Attempt to influence Congress to pass as voting rights bill
College Students were trained to help the project
Met with resistance and violence

25. A New Political Party African Americans needed a political voice
SNCC organized the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Fannie Lou Hamer spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 1964
Support poured in for the MFDP
Civil Rights leaders compromised with the Democratic Party (MFDP got two seats in Congress)

26. Selma Campaign SNCC led a voting rights campaign in Selma, Alabama
After a demonstrator was shot, MLK organized a 50 mile march to Montgomery
Mayhem broke out and TV crews caught police beating and gassing marchers
Johnson presented a voting rights act and gave marchers federal protection

27. Voting Rights Act of 1965 Eliminated literacy tests
Local officials could not deny suffrage
The percentage of African American voters tripled in the south

28. 21.3 Overview
Disagreements among civil rights groups and the rise of black nationalism created a violent period in the fight for civil rights.
New Leaders Voice Discontent:
Malcolm X
Stokely Carmichael
Black Panthers
Tragedies:
Malcolm X assassinated February 1965 in Harlem
MLK assassinated April 1968 in Memphis

29. About Malcolm X "…I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and the root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems we face as a race." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a telegram to Betty Shabazz after the murder of Malcolm X.

30. Malcolm X
Malcolm X ( )- controversial leader of the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm’s childhood was horrific. Father Earl murdered by White supremacists, mother Louise suffered mental breakdown; Malcolm left on his own.
Malcolm was a bright student, wanted to be lawyer.
Dropped out, led to period of crime.
"My High school was a black ghetto in Roxbury, right here in Boston. I've got my College education on the streets of Harlem in New York City and I took my Masters Degree in prison." -Malcolm X

31. While in prison, Malcolm joins Nation of Islam, preached Blacks should separate from Whites.
Follower of Elijah Muhammad (Leader of Nation of Islam).
Malcolm’s views frighten Whites and moderate Blacks because he called for armed self-defense.
Eventually split with Muhammad.
Pilgrimage to Mecca changes Malcolm’s views.
No longer a racial separatist.
Favored ballots over bullets.

32. MLK Malcolm X Conclusions
Both wanted a better life for African Americans.
King preached racial equality and nonviolence.
Initially, Malcolm X preached black separatism and armed self-defense.
MLK was understood, Malcolm X was misunderstood.
Both promoted pride in African American culture and education.