Civil Rights Pt. 1

100 years prior… The 13th Amendment was ratified in 1865 and brought about an end to Slavery Though Slavery was now illegal, change came slowly African-Americans and other minorities faced discrimination for decades Beginning in the 1950’s the Civil Rights Movement – was organized to fight the injustices of society and bring about equality for African Americans and other minorities ADD PICTURE OF AMENDMENT- PROTESTS

Segregation The strict separation of races in public places Jim Crow Laws in the South- Laws that set forth a different system for African Americans, involving segregation, acceptable behavior and limits on freedom. The North had discrimination and prejudice too, but it was not as formalized and transparent as in the south. FIND SOME JIM CROW IMAGERY- EXAMPLES OF LAWS- NORTHERN DISCRIMINATION

NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People –Founded by W.E.B. DuBois in 1910 with intent to fight injustices against African Americans and improve conditions -membership grew 10X after WWII Began a Legal Defense and Education Fund- led by Thurgood Marshall - that set out to bring legal challenges to segregation. Marshall later became the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court. NAACP IMAGERY – MARSHALL PICS

Segregated Schools Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) declared segregated schools were unconstitutional NAACP challenged the practice with some success, but 21 states and D.C. allowed for segregated schools Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka Oliver Brown wanted his daughter to attend the closest school to home, it was a “white” school. They refused, he sued. NAACP’s legal fund took up the case and it went all the way to the Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall argued that “separate” could never be “equal” and violated the 14th amendment (equal protection) SCOTUS ruled in Brown’s favor and ordered that schools be “desegregated with all deliberate speed”

Armed Escorts The Governor of Arkansas did not want to comply with the order and he called out the National Guard to prevent African American teens from attending the “white” high school. President Eisenhower sent in the troops to provide an armed escort and forced the Gov. to back down A similar event occurred with a little 1st grader named Ruby Bridges…

Legal Challenges pt 2 Hernandez vs. Texas James DeAnda brought a case before the SCOTUS that argued Mexican-Americans in Texas were denied their equal rights because they were prevented from serving on juries SCOTUS agreed and ruled that Texas could no longer exclude them from the jury pool

Montgomery Bus Boycott Most people know Rosa Parks- -refused to give up her seat to a white man as required by Alabama law -She was an activist and secretary of the local NAACP chapter -Arrested, fingerprinted and jailed In response a letter went out asking all local African Americans to boycott the busses and send a $$$ message to the city/state Boycotters walked and organized car pools to get to and from work They were harassed, given trumped up traffic tickets and arrested in some cases.

Bus Boycott cont. The MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) was formed to support the boycotts and raise awareness – MLK, Jr. was chosen to head the organization. Martin Luther King, JR. – most famous and recognizable Civil Rights Leader- Baptist Minister -head of MIA -Great speaker - Encouraged civil disobedience (non-violent protests against unjust laws) MIA sued Montgomery and SCOTUS ruled that the segregation of busses was unconstitutional Montgomery ended the segregation and hired black bus driver

SCLC Southern Christian Leadership Conference- a group of African American leaders founded by MLK, Jr. with the goal of carrying on the fight for equal rights for all. Urged fighting against the Jim Crow laws of the South with Civil Disobedience