28.1 Fighting Segregation

Focus Your Thoughts... What are ‘civil rights’? Give examples. The Supreme Court case Brown v the Board of Education replaced what other Supreme Court case? Hint: it stated that African-American’s should receive “separate but equal” treatment. What did Brown v the Board accomplish?

The Evolution of the Civil Rights Movement The Triangle Trade Colonial Slavery 3/5 Compromise The Harlem Renaissance The Abolition Movement Jim Crow Laws “Separate but equal” The Civil War

The 1940’s: A Decade of Progress Integration of Major League Baseball by Jackie Robinson Desegregation of armed forces 1942 Founding of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) NAACP Legal Defense Fund founded by Thurgood Marshall Ban against discrimination in defense industry

Seeking Change in the Courts 1930 Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall began an NAACP campaign to attack the concept of “separate but equal” 1938 The NAACP successfully argues against Missouri’s refusal to offer a law school education to African Americans 1950 Separate law schools at The University of Texas are not “equal”, therefore, they are not allowed

Brown v Board Early successes focused primarily on post-secondary settings; Marshall then turned his sights to public education Millions of students attended segregated, inferior schools during this time period... What Topeka, Kansas, student would be made famous by this legislation? Thurgood Marshall

The Supreme Court hears Brown While lower state courts upheld the practices of segregation; Marshall and the NAACP would not be stopped They appealed the case of Linda Brown to the Supreme Court of the United States, where arguments went on for over two years What would they decide??

The Supreme Court’s Considerations When considering Brown v Board, the Supreme Court also considered research that suggested segregation had harmed the self-esteem of black children; when given the choice between “black” dolls and “white” dolls, black children preferred to play with the white baby dolls, which researchers stated proved they perceived themselves to be inferior.

1954 Chief Justice Earl Warren issued the Court’s unanimous decision: “Education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments... it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity... is a right that must be made available to all on equal terms... Does segregation of children in schools solely on the basis of race... deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does.”

The Brown Decision “We conclude that in the field of public education, the doctrine separate but equal has no place; separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

The Little Rock Crisis Little Rock Central High School The Little Rock Nine In 1957, Governor Orval Faubus violated a federal court order to integrate schools He warned that white extremists were threatening violence, and called in the national guard to prevent “The Little Rock Nine” from entering the school African-American students arrived on September 4, 1957: They were met with harassment They were denied entrance to the school by the soldiers

The Little Rock Crisis On September 24, 1957, President Eisenhower went on national television and indicated he was sending in federal troops to end the standoff The next day, under the protection of U.S. soldiers, the Little Rock Nine entered the high school for the first time

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rosa Parks Background In 1955, NAACP member Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery bus after a long day at work She sat in the African-American section As the bus began to fill up, she was asked to stand so a white man could sit down Rosa refused and was arrested; this kick-started the bus boycott

The Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa’s arrest was seen as an opportunity Under the direction of a young civil rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr., ninety-percent of African- Americans in Montgomery stayed off the buses, crippling the economy In 1956, the Supreme Court ruled on the subject... Segregation on buses was banned!

Birth of the SCLC Because of the success of the Montgomery bus boycott, African- Americans felt inspired They organized a group – the Southern Christian Leadership Conference – to protest activities taking place all across the region They elected MLK, Jr., their leader, a clergyman who was committed to the ideals of peaceful protest Martin Luther King, Jr.