The Civil Rights Movement Chapter 16

Essays for Chapter 16 Test 1. Compare and contrast the key leaders/groups of the Civil Rights Movement. Include Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party 2. Explain what the Brown v. Board of Education ruling was. Why was it SO significant to the Civil Rights Movement? 3. What were the 2 pieces of legislation below designed to accomplish? Explain the impact they had on life in the United States during the 1960’s

Racial History of the US Slavery – from very early on, slavery was used in the southern states for labor in their agricultural industry Civil War – believing the institution of slavery to be under attack, southern states seceded from the Union. Lincoln went to war to keep the Union together EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION – Lincoln freed the slaves in any state in rebellion Post CW – RECONSTRUCTION – 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments, laws to protect the rights of newly freed African Americans Post-Reconstruction South – after political deal, troops pulled from the South and they were allowed to go back to treating African Americans badly – KKK Southern states able to reinstate racial hierarchy that existed before CW Plessey v. Ferguson – “Separate but Equal” establishes legal segregation A Divided America – for the next 60 years, laws were used to separate races and keep African Americans in a state of 2nd class citizenship

Essays – Chapter 16 1. Compare and contrast the key leaders/groups of the Civil Rights Movement. Include Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party 2. Explain what the Brown v. Board of Education ruling was. Why was it SO significant to the Civil Rights Movement? 3. What were the 2 pieces of legislation below designed to accomplish? Explain the impact they had on life in the United States during the 1960’s

The Movement Begins Origins of the Movement Court Challenges Begin Plessey v. Ferguson – established to policy of “SEPARATE BUT EQUAL” For 60+ years, laws could legally separate by race (institutional racism) Areas without laws often had “defacto segregation” (by custom or tradition) Court Challenges Begin NAACP (Nat’l Assoc. for the Advancement of Colored People) used the courts to challenge laws they viewed as unconstitutional or unfair Will be successful in a few cases early on, but SC ruling was upheld in most New Political Power In North, as more African Americans voted, they saw new political power Politicians began to listen to their issues, wrote laws to stop segregation The Push for DESEGREGATION During WW2, African American leaders used political power to end segregation in factories and increased opportunities in the military CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) formed to push for desegregation using “sit-ins”

The Movement Begins Brown v. Board of Education Southern Resistance After WW2, NAACP began to look for cases to challenge segregated schools Thurgood Marshall will bring BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION to the SC Several cases combined, from states across the South, to challenge segregation On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled UNANIMOUSLY that schools must desegregate “with all deliberate speed” Southern Resistance The South viewed the ruling as a challenge to the traditions and systems their culture was based upon Many southern states viewed as a challenge to “States’ Rights” Massive resistance through out the South “Southern Manifesto” – 101 Southern Congressmen signed resisting the Supreme Court ruling as a clear abuse of judicial power and to use all lawful means to reverse the decision Not until 1969 did all school finally desegregate

The CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT Begins Montgomery Bus Boycott – ROSA PARKS - MLKing Jr. Rosa Parks arrested for sitting in wrong section, refusing to get up Dr. King chosen to lead a boycott of the bus company in protest Dr. King followed the example of Gandhi – peaceful protests only Boycott will last for over a year – S.C. will rule bus segregation (public facility) unconstitutional Many southern states will continue to resist desegregating public facilities African American Churches – SCLC Churches one of the few places allowed to gather in large numbers SCLC formed to coordinate the Civil Rights Movement Dr. King selected to lead the SCLC Goal was to challenge laws (voting, transportation, housing, dining, etc)

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Eisenhower Responds Eisenhower sympathized with African Americans, but he feared the impact of the Supreme Court ruling – forcing the South to desegregate He believed, given time, segregation would end gradually & peacefully But, he knew, as president, he had to enforce the Supreme Court ruling Eisenhower will be the first president since the end of Reconstruction to send federal troops into the South to protect the rights of African Americans

Little Rock Nine 1957 – Little Rock School Board under federal order to desegregate their schools Governor Orval Faubus was running for reelection – used issue to win votes He ordered Arkansas National Guard troops to prevent the 9 African American students from entering Little Rock High School Violence broke out as students tried to go to school Eisenhower could not allow a governor to defy the Supreme Court ruling Federal troops (1,000+) sent in to escort the students For the entire school year, the students were escorted to and from school and in their classes

New Civil Rights Legislation Eisenhower tried to get a strong voting rights bill passed but was blocked by Southern members of Congress Civil Rights Act of 1957 – intended to protect the African American right to VOTE L. Johnson worked out a weaker compromise bill Created Civil Rights Commission – with authority to use courts to stop those trying to block African Americans from voting After the bill passed, the SCLC announced a plan to get 2 million African Americans to register to vote

Challenging Segregration The Sit-In Movement “Jim Crow” laws of the South had long segregated most of society Using CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE – they intentionally broke the laws by entering eating cites and sitting at the counter until served Woolworths’s was the first chain store targeted They would sit until they were served or arrested The next day – others would join. When they were arrested and removed, others would take their place – effectively stopping business Within 2 months, the movement spread to 54 cities in 9 states It spread from restaurants to hotels and movie theaters SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee) led these demonstrations NAACP and SLCL were not in favor, they feared violence on their children SNCC tapped into the enthusiasm of the young people and began a push to register people to vote

Challenging Segregation Despite S.C. rulings, southern buses still segregated From the North, teams of activists (both black and white) boarded buses heading into the South They hoped to get off the bus and reason with the leaders of each community as they passed through They were met by mobs of angry southerners They slashed tires and threw rocks at the windows In Birmingham, they blocked the bus, armed with bats, chains and pipes The passengers were beaten viciously The police commissioner said no police were present because it was Mothers’ Day and he had given them all the day off Evidence later uncovered showed he had given orders to the KKK to attack the bus and its passengers The violence made the news – shocking the American public

Freedom Riders (freedom riders history) youtube.com

Kennedy and Civil Rights Kennedy promised to work on Civil Rights when campaigning in 60 Civil Rights leaders were excited when he won But Kennedy quickly realized he needed to work with the Southern Congressmen and that meant he had to proceed very slowly Kennedy did appoint more than 40 African Americans to posts He appointed Thurgood Marshall to a federal judgeship He created the CEEO (Comm. On Equal Employment Opportunity) The Department of Justice (led by his brother Bobby) actively supported the Civil Rights Movement and tried to help people in the South register to vote The violent attacks on the Freedom Riders had Kennedy urging a “cooling off” period CORE leaders rejected this, saying they had done nothing wrong The cost of bailing “Freedom Riders” out of jail left CORE without funds. NAACP/Thurgood Marshall step in with funding to keep the riders going The DOJ was told to enforce desegregation laws for bus terminals and by the end of 1962 – segregation on buses was mostly over

Violence in Birmingham In 1963, MLKing decided to lead a march in Birmingham, ALA He knew it would provoke violence, but believed it was the only way to effect change and to get Kennedy to use the federal government to back their cause PACKED THE JAILS – one of the strategies was to get arrested, in large numbers, and over crowd the jails. They would have to release prisoners, who would then go back out and join the protests King was arrested and, while in jail, wrote letters to his supporters, many of whom were asking him to be patient and back off King wrote of reasons for protests and the urgency for change

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Violence in Birmingham only fueled the fires of the South Gov. George Wallace ran on SEGREGATION He will literally stand in the doorway of a university to prevent a student from entering THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON – August 23, 1963 Key leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans who had succeeded in Entertainment, Sports, Business, etc came to speak, to push for the passage of the Civil Rights Act in Congress SCLC got word out of the march, hoping for more than 20,000 250,000+ were present for MLK’s famous speech I HAVE A DREAM handout/listen to speech

Civil Rights Act of 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 Despite the HUGE turnout, the Congress failed to pass the Civil Rights Act pushed by President Kennedy After the death of JFK, President Johnson worked to get this legislation passed. The House passed it but it spent weeks in the Senate (filibuster). The Senate finally voted on and passed. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 Law made segregation illegal in most public facilities Law gave people of all colors equal access to public facilities Law gave the Attorney General the power to force compliance through law suits or intervention Law established the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) Forced employers to NOT discriminate in the work place

Struggle for Voting Rights Voting remained a stubborn issue – especially in the South 15th Amendment recognized the right to vote for black men 24th Amendment outlaws poll taxes in federal elections Dr. King decided to take the issue to the states THE SELMA MARCH Jan. 1965 – Selma selected as the first protest location for voting rights To prevent African Americans from voting, tricky testing was used. If that did not work, violence used to intimidate King’s demonstration led to the arrest of more than 3,000 (including kids) To keep up the pressure on Congress, the President and the states, Dr. King called in SNCC. They set out on a march of 50 miles As the march went on, more and more joined in As they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were brutally attacked in front of the national TV cameras Watching these events horrified and angered people across the country, including LBJ 8 days later, LBJ proposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Within a year of its passage, 250,000 new voters had registered in southern states The number of elected African Americans went up quickly The Civil Rights Movement had achieved 2 of its main goals 1. Segregation Laws had been outlawed 2. Voting Rights had been achieved After 1965, the movement shifted its focus Poverty became the new issue, not race African Americans, Native Americans, Caucasians, etc who were trapped in poverty had little or no hope for their future

URBAN PROBLEMS The Watts Riots RACISM was still common in most of America. Changing the laws did not change the hearts or minds of people 70% of African Americans lived in urban areas and were stuck in low paying jobs Poor neighborhoods were overcrowded and dirty Rate of infant mortality and illness were higher than in other areas Rate of crime/juvenile delinquency was much higher Broken families were more common (single parent homes) The Watts Riots Allegations of police brutality caused riot (just 5 days after VRA passed) For 6 days, the area near San Francisco known as Watts was ablaze National Guard and Law Enforcement called in, but they were targeted As American was Watts burn, riots broke out across the US

URBAN PROBLEMS Kerner Commission – LBJ opened a study on causes of urban riots and to make recommendations Racism blamed for most of the problems “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black and one white – separate and unequal.” Creating of inner city jobs, public housing were suggested Shift to Economic Rights – MLK shifted sites to all poor His involvement shed light on the horrid conditions the poor lived in Dr. King led marches through Chicago, hoping to embarrass the government into action Mayor Daley and Dr. King met – promised changes, but little changed

Black Power Despite his efforts, many saw Dr. King’s efforts to push for change nonviolently as a waste of time or that it would take too long Other points of view began attracting angry young African Americans who wanted change NOW CORE and SNCC believed the change had to come from the African American leadership alone “BLACK POWER” Some took this idea of “BLACK POWER” to mean physical power – to fight back or to fight for Stokely Carmichael (leader of SNCC) said it meant African Americans should control the social, political and economic direction of their struggle BLACK POWER stressed PRIDE in the African American culture It emphasized ethnic distinction rather than conforming to the cultural norm New African-style hair & clothing became all the rage

Malcolm X – Quick History Childhood Father/Mother Aunt Prison Years Intro to Nation of Islam – Name Change Nation of Islam Teachings Nat’l Spokesman, Challenges Honorable Elijah Mohammad Year of Quiet - Hajj Post – NOI Challenged separatist idea Legacy Gave VOICE to the voiceless, challenged Dr. King Change of Mind is OK, Good – evolving beliefs with new information

MALCOLM X Malcolm X became the symbol of BLACK POWER Became a leader for the Nation of Islam church after prison The Nation of Islam preached BLACK NATIONALISM Separate Black Nation, maybe even return to Africa Had to take their rights, because white America would never given them After a falling out with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X no longer viewed all whites as the enemy – assassinated His teachings, both before and after his Nation of Islam days, molded a generation of African American leaders BLACK PANTHERS – called for an end to racial oppression and for control of major institutions like schools, law enforcement and hospitals

Dr. King Assassinated March 1968, Dr. King in Memphis to support African American sanitation workers who had been on strike for over a year “Poor Peoples March” – campaign to improve economic conditions for impoverished Americans of all color Pushed for government to invest billions of dollars to end poverty and unemployment Mountain top speech April 4, 1968 – on a balcony of a motel in Memphis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated by James Earl Ray Dr. King’s death will push Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1968 – which contained fair housing provisions

Ch 16 Test Essays 1. Compare and contrast the key leaders/groups of the Civil Rights Movement. Include Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party 2. Explain what the Brown v. Board of Education ruling was. Why was it SO significant to the Civil Rights Movement? 3. What were the 2 pieces of legislation below designed to accomplish? Explain the impact they had on life in the United States during the 1960’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 Voting Rights Act of 1965