The Civil Rights Movement

Early Struggles for Equality

Strange Fruit – Billie Holiday Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant south, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh. Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Early Battles to End Segregation

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): Embraced a pacifist, non-violent approach to fighting racial segregation Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC): Adopted a nonviolent mass action strategy; open to all, regardless of race, religion, or background Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): A multi-racial, student-run organization that followed non-violent resistance tactics

Segregation was illegal in state-funded public schools Segregation was illegal in state-funded public schools Argued by Thurgood Marshall Argued by Thurgood Marshall

“People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” -Rosa Parks Autobiography

How the Youth of America Helped End Segregation

Four black college students attempted to desegregate the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina Students not served; refused to leave Movement grew to over 50,000 across the South in a few months Woolworth's chain desegregates five months later, serving blacks and whites alike.

Sit-in Rules: Be friendly Be friendly Sit straight and always face the counter Sit straight and always face the counter Don’t block entrances Wear your Sunday best Don’t block entrances Wear your Sunday best Don't strike back, or curse back if attacked. Don't strike back, or curse back if attacked. Don't laugh or hold conversations Don't laugh or hold conversations Other students will take your place so you can attend class Other students will take your place so you can attend class

Freedom Rides: CORE volunteers aimed to desegregate the interstate bus lines, waiting rooms, and lunch counters from Washington D.C. to Birmingham Arrested by police for breaking local segregation laws and other minor offenses Provoked violent reactions throughout the South, often supported by police Caught national attention to the disregard of federal law and violence towards blacks in the South

Organized by MLK and the SCLC to bring attention to the unequal treatment for black Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. Goals: Better employment, end to segregation of businesses and public facilities Boycotts, sit-ins, and marches Led to mass arrests

“A Call for Unity”: An open letter by eight white clergymen to MLK to stop protests Solve it in the courts, not the streets Called MLK a rabble-rouser who caused the trouble in Birmingham A Letter from Birmingham Jail Written by MLK after being arrested during the Birmingham Campaign The conflict existed before he arrived Nonviolent disobedience was necessary for change

Birmingham campaign ran low on adult volunteers Students were trained by the SCLC to take on the campaign Violently attacked by the police, led by Eugene “Bull” Connor Students were hauled off to jail, and later holding pens at the state fairgrounds when the jails were full Media coverage of these events brought intense scrutiny on racial segregation in the South.

Parker High School student Walter Gadsden had been attending the demonstration as an observer for a local newspaper, but was arrested for "parading without a permit.” Published in The New York Times on May 4, 1963

After witnessing Gadsden’s arrest, Commissioner Connor remarked to the officer, "Why didn't you bring a meaner dog; this one is not the vicious one.” JFK called the scenes "shameful”, and said the photo made him “sick.”