The Modern Civil Rights Movement

I. The Litigation Phase

The great civil rights struggles taking place in courtrooms The NAACP – est. 1909 Dozens of lawsuits to end legal discrimination – Jim Crow Chipping away at legal discrimination and “separate but equal.”

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas 17 May, 1954 – unanimous ruling Separate but equal” facilities were inherently unequal Overturns “separate but equal” Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Thurgood Marshall Chief Justice Earl Warren

II. The Mass Movement Phase

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things Little Rock Central High School, 1957 University of Mississippi, 1962 James Meredith Confronted by angry white mobs

Rosa Parks 1 December 1955

The Montgomery Bus Boycott Dec. 5, 1955 thru Dec. 20, 1956 Martin Luther King, Jr. 26-year-old pastor Dexter Ave. Baptist Church Non-violent civil disobedience

Southern Christian Leadership Conference Clergy-led organization Martin Luther King, Jr. Consolidate resources Coordinate protests Non-violent civil disobedience

February 1, 1960 Four black students stage sit in Lunch counter in North Carolina Inspired protests across the South “kneel-ins” at churches “wade-ins” at public pools Peaceful, non-violent civil disobedience

Other organizations use non violence Congress of Racial Equality est. 1942 Freedom Rides, 1961 Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee SNCC – “Snick” est. 1960

Protestors often met with violence Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 Images broadcast on television Northern newspapers offer daily coverage A “southern” problem becomes a “national” issue.

I Have A Dream 28 August 1963 Washington DC King is now in international figure Nobel Peace Prize, 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson A federal law that prohibited discrimination in employment, education, public facilities and public accommodations July 2, 1964 The crowning legislative achievements of the Civil Rights movement It triggered a major realignment of America's two major political parties.

Voter registration drives An effort of empower African Americans Many whites resisted their efforts Selma, Alabama, March 1965 Planned march to Montgomery Marchers arrested President sends military escort State vs. federal power

Congress reforms voting laws 24th Amendment, 1964 ◆ Outlawed poll taxes Voting Rights Act of 1965

III. Black Power Phase

The Selma to Montgomery march was the last major civil rights protest to receive substantial white support For many whites, the Civil Rights movement was becoming too militant.

“Black Power” 1966 Stokely Carmichael Black pride and self reliance

The Black Panther Party Oakland California – 1966 Bobby Seale (L) and Huey Newton (R) Urban revolutionary movement Socialist Goal: Self defense Goal: Revolutionary change in America A reputation for violence Terrified the (white) majority Attracted a small minority of Blacks

Advocates stressed economic reforms Civil rights laws didn’t address the economic problems Economic frustrations trigger urban riots 11 August 1965 – Watts district of Los Angeles

Decline in Civil Rights protests Success Loss of leaders Whites alienated riots black power rhetoric affirmative action black separatism calls for reparations