The Civil Rights Movement VUS.14

Civil Rights Movement Foundations By interpreting its powers broadly, the Supreme Court can reshape American society. African Americans, working through the court system and mass protest, reshaped public opinion and secured the passage of civil rights. Spurred by the Double V Campaign African American GIs sought freedoms now at home after WWII Desegregation of the Military in 1947

Condition of the South post WWII Jim Crow was the rule of the land Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) Segregated conditions in public facilities (schools, trains, movie theaters, etc.) Individual acts of resistance begin as well as coordinated efforts

Individual Events Rosa Parks (1955): bus seat in Montgomery Alabama Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56) Emmitt Till Lynching (1955) Greensboro, NC Lunch Counter Sit-in (1960)

NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Organized legal challenges of segregation through course cases in several states hoping for a single chance to argue in front of SCOTUS Started by W.E.B. Dubois at the Niagara Movement in 1909

Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that segregated schools are unequal and must desegregate “With all deliberate speed” 1954 Included Virginia case “Davis vs. Prince Edward County School Board” 5 Total combined cases Only case to be initiated by “Student Protest” over school conditions

Key People in Brown vs. Board Thurgood Marshall: NAACP Legal Defense Team Oliver Hill: NAACP Legal Defense Team in Virginia

Virginia Response: 1956 “Massive Resistance:” Governor endorsed program Closing some schools Establishment of private academies White flight from urban school systems

Responses in Other States Arkansas (1957) The “Little Rock Nine” Little Rock Public Schools National Guard sent in by President Eisenhower Mississippi (1962) University of Mississippi President Kennedy used US Marshals to enroll James Meredith, first Black Student to the university

Responses in Other States Alabama (1963) Governor George Wallace “blocked” door Did not want two Black students to register at the University of Alabama “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” Symbolic attempt to keep his promise of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever"

Civil Rights Movement Changes Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam Malcolm X was a member of the Nation of Islam Advocated “armed self-defense” instead of non- violence Suggested that blacks should remove themselves from white society After a pilgrimage to Mecca, he changed his violent views and began to work for voting rights (“ballots or bullets”) February 21, 1965: Malcolm X was assassinated by other Black Muslims

Divided Leadership of Movement Malcolm X’s only meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., March 26, 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King, JR Malcolm X Promoted more peaceful means of protest Emulated Gandhi in approaches of protest Assassinated in 1968 Promoted more violent means of protest Broke with Nation of Islam in 1964 Assassinated by 3 members of the Nation of Islam in 1965

1963 March on Washington March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom August 28, 1963 Over 250, 000 people attended Participants were inspired by the “I Have a Dream” speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The march helped influence public opinion to support civil rights legislation The march demonstrated the power of nonviolent, mass protest

1963 March on Washington

1963 March on Washington

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Following his speech at the Lincoln Memorial Dr. King met with President Kennedy Started the legal push for a Civil Rights Act The act prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. Desegregated public accommodations ONLY President Lyndon B. Johnson played an important role in the passage of the act Lost the Democratic South “Southern Strategy” of Richard Nixon in 1968

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Voting protests continued in the South AFTER the Civil Rights Act was passed! Congress went further to guarantee rights The act outlawed literacy tests Federal registrars registered Southern voters Resulted in increase in African American voter participation

The Civil Rights Movement Changes Black Power Stokely Carmichael (from SNCC) called for “black people to begin to define their own goals” Black Panther party — formed to fight police brutality in the ghetto; preached armed revolt Watts Riots August 11 - 16, 1965: 34 people are killed in riots in the Watts section of Los Angeles after a young black man was arrested for drunk driving April 4, 1968: MLK is shot on a hotel balcony in Memphis, TN

Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement Ended de jure segregation Passed the most important legislation since reconstruction: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Voting Rights Act The 24th Amendment The Civil Rights Act of 1968 (ended discrimination in housing) Many AAs went to high school and finished college. Gave AAs greater pride in their racial identity. Increase of black studies programs AAs began appearing more frequently in movies and television. More AAs were registered to vote. A dramatic increase in the number of AAs holding public office.