Civil Rights Movement Chapter 21
Taking on Segregation Background: Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 Plessy bought a 1st class ticket and refused to moved to the “Jim Crow (colored)” car and was arrested. Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the 14th amendment, which guarantees all Americans equal treatment
Jim Crow Laws Goal: separating whites and blacks by law Separate schools, streetcars, no interracial marriages, public restrooms, etc. Most facilities provided for blacks were inferior
Development of the Civil Rights Movement 3 main reasons for its development 1) during WWII the demand for soldiers led to a decrease in white male workers 2) over 1 million African-Americans fought in WWII and felt that they could fight discrimination 3) civil rights organizations fought during the war for the end to Jim Crow laws
Challenging Segregation in Court NAACP led the desegregation fight in the courts Separate is NOT equal U.S. spent 10 times more $$ to educate a white child Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) Linda Brown (age 8) denied admission to all-white school 4 blocks away Supreme Court struck down school segregation as a violation of the Constitution
Brown vs. Board of Education (cont) Key players: Thurgood Marshall: NAACP lawyer fighting for Linda Brown Later becomes first African-American Supreme Court Justice Chief Justice Earl Warren “In the field of public education, the doctrine of separate but equal has no place”
The Little Rock Nine 1957- Nine African-American students volunteered to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School Governor ordered the National Guard to turn the students away President Eisenhower forced to get involved, media coverage Teens attended class, but were harassed by classmates
The Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955- Rosa Parks refused to move from the front seat to the back of the bus Arrested and led to the organization of a boycott NAACP, MLK Jr. and leaders of the African-American community Filed a lawsuit and refused to ride the bus for 381 days Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation in 1956
Freedom Riders Members of Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) tested the Supreme Court’s decisions on banning segregation on interstate bus routes Rode through the South on two buses Bus one was attacked at the Alabama border and stopped Bus two was attacked and fire bombed in Birmingham Other Freedom Rider attempts were attacked as well President Kennedy promised to give the Freedom Riders his full support
Integrating Ole Miss James Meredith given the right to enroll in the all-white University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), however, the Governor, Ross Barnett, refused to let him register Riots broke out and after 2 deaths, 200 arrests, and 15 hours, the rioters were stopped Meredith was allowed to go to school under the watch of federal officials
Heading into Birmingham Martin Luther King, Jr. invited to Birmingham to help “desegregate” the city April 12, 1963 MLK Jr. and a few marchers were arrested He writes “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” while in prison The demonstrations grew after King posted bail Continued protests, boycotts, sit-ins, and negative media coverage led Birmingham officials to end segregation