1. Fighting Segregation

2. The Civil Rights Movement prior to 1954 Pre-1900 Opposition to slavery in colonial days Abolition movement in Civil War Legalized racism following reconstruction (Jim Crow Laws) 1896- Plessy v. Ferguson allowed segregation- Separate but equal To 1930 Founding of NAACP in 1909 Roosevelt was unwilling to push too hard for greater African American rights To 1940 A. Phillip Randolph forced federal ban against discrimination in defense work President Truman desegregated armed forces Brooklyn Dodgers put first African American player on roster- Jackie Robinson

3. The NAACP attacked racism through courts Brown v. Board of Education Brown v. Board of Education Major player: Thurgood Marshall- (lawyer, later first African American Supreme Court Judge) Marshall focused first on desegregating the nation’s elementary and high schools in the 1950’s First target, Plessy v. Ferguson The legal basis for segregation- “separate but equal ”

4. Supreme Court heard arguments over a course of a two year period Decision issued in 1954 All nine justices agreed that separate schools for African Americans and whites violated Constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law

5. The Problem We All Live With- Norman Rockwell- Ruby Bridges- First African American child to attend integrated elementary school in south

6. Some states integrated quickly, others very slowly Virginia passed laws that closed schools that planned to integrate Little Rock, Arkansas- Gov. violates federal order to integrate Central High School September 4, 1957- Sends AR National Guard to block entrance to Little Rock Nine –prevents entrance for three weeks Eisenhower sends US soldiers to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school

7. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference Formed to protest activities taking place throughout the South Martin Luther King Jr. was elected leader of the SCLC Group was committed to mass, nonviolent action Civil Disobedience

8. 1955- Rosa Parks –Refused to give her seat to white riders –Her arrest lead to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which African Americans refused to ride public busses for a full year –Boycott will lead to Supreme Court ruling that segregation on buses was unconstitutional The Montgomery Bus Boycott

9. Civil rights workers used several direct, non-violent methods to confront discrimination and racism in the 1950’s and 1960’s Boycotts Sit-Ins FreedomRides Many of these non-violent techniques were based on those of Mohandas Gandhi and Thoreau

10. Four college students in Greensboro, N.C., stayed in their seats at a Woolworth’s counter after being refused service due to their race Over the next few days, protesters filled 63 of 66 seats at lunch counter Citizens were well behaved and ended each sit-in with a prayer Protesters began to use sit-in tactic in about 50 southern cities

11. 1960- Supreme Court orders that all interstate bus station facilities must be open for all riders –This ruling was not enforced Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists who rode busses throughout the south to make sure that the ruling was being enforced Mobs firebomb bus in Anniston, Alabama Protesters will attack riders with metal bats and pipes in Birmingham, Alabama

12. Birmingham, Alabama was known for its strict enforcement of segregation Led by MLK, Jr., volunteers began sit-ins and marches Protesters are quickly arrested Fewer African Americans were willing to join movement and risk jobs through arrest SCLC leader convinced King to use children for protests More than 900 children between the ages 6 and 18 arrested

13. Events encouraged President Kennedy to act on civil rights issues –Medgar Evers- Head of NAACP in Mississippi shot dead in his front yard. KKK member Byron De La Beckwith tried for crime, but all white juries failed to convict –August 28, 1963- March on Washington Largest civil rights demonstration ever held in the US More than 200,000 people listened to MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech Kennedy announced he would ask for legislation to finally end segregation in public accommodations

16. President Johnson supported passage of a strong civil rights bill Some southerners fought hard to kill the bill Johnson signs Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on July 2, 1964 The law banned discrimination in employment and in public accommodations

17. 24 th Amendment Passed Passed by Congress in August 1962 Banned states from taxing citizens to vote- poll taxes

18. President Kennedy was worried about the violent reactions to the non-violent protests –Bobby Kennedy encouraged SCLC leaders to focus on voter registration rather than protests –Promised federal protection for civil rights workers Hundreds of college students volunteered to spend the summer registering African Americans to vote- Freedom Summer Most volunteers were white, northern, and upper middle class

19. June 21, 1964 –Three Freedom Summer workers go missing –President Johnson orders massive manhunt for men –Bodies discovered near Philadelphia, Mississippi –Edgar Ray Killen found guilty in 2005

20. As a result of the Freedom Summer of ’64, more than 17,000 African Americans applied to vote in Mississippi State election officials accepted only 1,600 applications Helped to show that a federal law was needed to secure voting rights for African Americans

21. To protest lack of voting rights for African Americans, MLK, Jr. organized a 54 mile march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama King and many other marchers will be arrested 600 African Americans begin march City and state police block their way out of Selma TV Cameras capture police using clubs, chains, and electric cattle prods on marchers President Johnson pushes through Voting Rights Act: Ends literacy tests

22. Conflict among the diverse groups of the civil rights movement develop as the 1960’s progress Stokley Carmichael becomes leader of the SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee) Abandons the philosophy of non- violence Black power becomes the rallying cry Emphasized racial distinctiveness rather than assimilation Encouraged African Americans to show pride in heritage by adopting Afro hairstyles and African-style clothing Black Power

23. Black Muslim Movement –Led by Malcolm X –Preached black nationalism –Viewed themselves as their own nation –Did not advocate violence, but did encourage self-defense –Malcolm X breaks with Nation of Islam- visits Mecca and comes to conclusion integrated society was possible after all –Members of the Nation of Islam will shoot and kill Malcolm X in Feb. 1965

24. Black Panthers –Formed in Oakland, CA in 1966 –Called for violent revolution as a means of African American liberation –Members carried guns and monitored African American communities to guard against police brutality

25. King went to Memphis to help lead a march on city hall James Earl Ray shot and killed King as he stood on his hotel balcony Within hours, rioting erupted in more than 120 cities