Chapter 25.2 Continued

The March on Washington Following the death of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, civil rights leaders kept the pressure on legislatures to pass civil rights bills One such way they did this was through planning a large scale march through Washington D.C 250,000 demonstrators (both white and black) descended on Washington and marched toward the Lincoln Memorial There they heard passionate speeches (I have a dream speech) and sang songs of solidarity, in hopes of convincing legislatures to pass a civil rights bill.

The march on Washington https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDWWy4CMhE What does this speech mean to you today? And what do you think this speech accomplished? How?

The bill becomes a law Kennedy tried and failed to win passage of civil rights legislation After Kennedy's assassination Johnson worked to get Kennedy’s civil rights legislation through congress. On July 2nd 1964 Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law

The Civil rights act The law made segregation illegal in most places of public accommodations It gave citizens of all races and nationalities equal access to public facilities Gave the US attorney general more power to bring lawsuits to force school desegregation And required private employers to end discrimination in the workplace

The struggle for voting rights

The Selma march Although African Americans made up the majority of Selma, Alabama’s population, they only accounted for 3% of the registered voters. Selma’s Sheriff, Jim Clark, was a racist who had openly beat and used cattle prongs on protesting African Americans in previous protests During king’s demonstration (protest) more than 3,000 African Americans were arrested by Sheriff Clark To show his displeasure with the outcome of the protest, King organized a march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery As they attempted to cross the bridge Sheriff Clark ordered them to disperse, when they didn’t he and his deputies launched a brutal attack that left 70 marchers hospitalized The nation was shocked when it viewed law enforcement officers beating peaceful protesters on the news

Chapter 25.3: New Civil rights issues

Urban problems  In 1965 approximately 70 percent of African Americans lived in large cities n 1960 only 15 percent of African Americans held professional, managerial, or clerical jobs, compared to 44 percent of whites. The average income of African American families was only 55 percent of that of the average income for white families. Almost half of African Americans lived in poverty, with an unemployment rate typically twice that of whites.

The Watts Riot Just five days after President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, a riot erupted in Watts, an African American neighborhood in Los Angeles.  Allegations of police brutality served as the catalyst for this uprising. It lasted for six days and required more than 14,000 members of the National Guard and 1,500 law officers to restore order.

Black power Dr. King’s lack of progress in Chicago seemed to show that nonviolent protests could do little to solve economic problems Many young African Americans called for black power,  A few, including Robert F. Williams and H. Rap Brown, interpreted black power to mean that physical self-defense was acceptable. To most, including Stokely Carmichael, the leader of SNCC in 1966, the term meant that African Americans should control the social, political, and economic direction of their struggle

Malcolm X Malcolm X had become a symbol of the black power movement. The Nation of Islam preached black nationalism.  Malcolm X’s criticisms of white society and the mainstream civil rights movement gained national attention for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X’s speeches and ideas influenced a new generation of militant African American leaders who preached black power, black nationalism, and economic self-sufficiency.

Malcolm X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxhkXaXe7ls