Civil Rights and Women’s Rights

Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) U.S. Supreme Court allowed for “separate, but equal” facilities/schools Separate educational facilities and resources for white and African American students Separate public facilities (e.g., restrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants) Social isolation of races

Civil Rights Movement Opposition to Plessy v. Ferguson: “Separate but equal” Brown vs. Board of Education: 1954 Desegregation of schools Schools could not be separated based on race

Martin Luther King, Jr. Passive resistance against segregated facilities Organized protests sit-ins: act of protesting by sitting down (i.e. at a segregated restaurant) Marches Nonviolent approach

Civil disobedience: refusal to obey laws that are considered unjust “I have a dream…” speech . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFcbpGK9_aw&safety_ mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Montgomery bus boycott (1955-56) Rosa Parks Did not give her seat to a white man She was arrested and fined African-Americans boycotted, or refused to use, the city bus system U.S. Supreme Court ruled it was illegal to segregate city buses

Freedom Riders 1960 U.S. Supreme Court ruled that buses traveling Interstate (crossing state borders) could not be segregated White and African-American people volunteered to ride interstate buses to see if law was being enforced These people were assaulted and buses were burned in Alabama

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Outlawed discrimination in hiring and stopped segregation in public places Voting Rights Act of 1965 Gave the federal government the power to force local officials to allow African-Americans to register to vote.

Expansion of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Changing role of women What were the problems women were facing… Workplace disadvantages Discrimination against women in hiring practices Lower wages for women than for men doing the same job

Improved conditions: National Organization for Women (NOW) Federal legislation to force colleges to give women equal athletic opportunities The Equal Rights Amendment, despite its failure, and a focus on equal opportunity employment created a wider range of options and advancement for women in business and public service.