Civil Rights Movement 1950s-Present

The 1950s Civil rights movement began Ike showed little interest, but Supreme Court Justice Warren led court in Brown v. Board of Education decision Segregation overturned in public recreational facilities, transportation, and housing “Urban renewal”- wanted to keep money in cities after whites had moved to suburbs Denied both vote and education

Events of the 1950s 1948: Desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces 1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 1955: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1957: School Desegregation Battle in Little Rock, Arkansas and Southern Christian Leadership Conference Founded (SCLC)

The 1960s JFK needed southern support, reluctant to pass civil rights legislation After violent treatment of protesters in Birmingham, forced to propose sweeping civil rights legislation LBJ got Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed- barred discrimination in public accomodations and employment on basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin Freedom Summer (1964)- Tried to register black voters

Kennedy and Civil Rights Civil rights groups sent thousands of pens to to the White House in an “Ink for Jack” protest against the president’s slowness Needed support of south to pass economic and social legislation, believed that these measures would eventually benefit African-Americans Washington dispatched federal marshals to protect the Freedom Riders when southern officials refused to do so Sent 400 federal marshals and 3,000 troops to enroll James Meredith at University of Mississippi

King and Civil Rights 1963: Civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama horrified public when they saw violence on television- civil rights marchers repeatedly repelled by police with attack dogs, electric cattle prods, high-pressure water hoses “March on Washington” showed support for Kennedy’s proposed legislation Helped 1/3 of blacks rise above the poverty line

Johnson and Civil Rights Passed landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964- banned racial discrimination in many public places, strengthened the federal government’s power to end segregation, created Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) War on Poverty helped black population- over 40% suffered in poverty More schools integrated in the South than in the North

The Black Revolution 24th Amendment abolished poll tax, which was used in South to prevent voting by blacks 1964: three civil rights workers murdered, but white juries refused to convict whites LBJ passed Voting Rights Act of 1965 in response to violence at Selma In 1970s, for first time, black migrated to South

…Black Power… Watts explosion in Los Angeles began new era of militant confrontation, aimed not at interracial cooperation but at black separatism Malcolm X called for black separatism, killed by rival Nation of Islam gunmen Carmichael, leader of Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee urge abandonment of peaceful demonstrations and instead promoted “Black Power” In North, focused more on economic demands rather than civil rights

Events of the 1960s 1960: Sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina 1961: Freedom Rides 1963: Civil Rights Protest in Birmingham, Alabama, March on Washington 1964: Freedom Summer, Civil Rights Act

More Events of the 1960s 1965: Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Voting Rights At, Malcolm X assassinated 1966: Stokely Carmichael Proclaims Black Power 1967: Race Riots in Detroit and Newark 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated

1970s-Present Nation of Islam argued against integration into white society and emphasized black pride “Black Power”- militant organization Black Panthers rises Waves of riot led to diminished white support National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders called to investigate riots Affirmative action branded “reverse discrimination”, as seen in Bakke v. University of California

Events of the 1970s 1971: Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Institutes Busing Programs 1974: Busing Controversy in Boston 1978: Bakke v. University of California Limits Affirmative Action

Today Has desegregation worked? Though segregation may have diminished, racism remains Native-Americans and Chicanos adopted the strategies of African-Americans to fight discrimination Large disadvantaged urban city population still remains