The Civil Rights Movement

Brown vs. Board of Education Brought by 13 Kansas parents on behalf of 20 children; recruited by NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Thurgood Marshall: Black lawyer, who would become first Black on Supreme Court Topeka High and middle schools already integrated Separate elementary schools were of equal quality: argument based on racial segregation alone 1954: Landmark 9-0 Supreme Court decision, overturning its earlier ruling, declaring separate public schools for blacks and whites inherently unequal Paved the way for integration and the Civil Rights Movement

Arkansas Crisis 1957: Arkansas governor Faubus ordered National Guard to exclude “Little Rock Nine” from Central HS Eisenhower used federal troops to force high school to accept them 1957: national school desegregation placed under federal control : Faubus closed all high schools in Little Rock to avoid integration 1959: School re-opened, integrated Little Rock Nine sculpture now on steps of Arkansas capitol

Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955: Rosa Parks, NAACP officer, refused to give up bus seat when asked NAACP organized boycott of Montgomery busses, led by Martin L. King Boycott 381 days, supported by UAW, Blacks nationwide, sympathetic Whites 1956: Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation

Martin Luther King, Jr Baptist minister from Montgomery, educated in Boston Used Henry David Thoreau’s civil disobedience, Gandhi’s non-violence: conflicted with Malcolm X et al who at times advocated violent actions Through impassioned speeches, often with Christian rhetoric, sought to –force White majority to see injustice of racial policies –unite Black community behind struggle for equality –unify Americans of all races toward progress and peace 1963: “I have a Dream” speech – just three months before JFK killed

Malcolm X Malcolm X rose to oppose King’s non-violent approach. He believed: –Blacks should separate from White society –Blacks should arm themselves for self-defense against Whites –Blacks should identify with Africa and African culture Allied with Nation of Islam, a Muslim organization largely made of Black Americans 1965: Assassinated. 3 Nation of Islam members convicted, but all maintain their innocence. (All free after serving sentences.)

Civil Rights Acts under Johnson Civil Rights Act of 1964: prohibited discrimination on race, religion, origin, gender Voting Rights act of 1965: eliminated voter literacy tests Civil Rights Act of 1968: Prohibited discrimination in housing, made it a federal crime to harm civil rights workers

SNCC Organizes for Black Rights Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, “Snick”) Stokely Carmichael led marches in south for voter registration First used a black panther as logo in campaign to increase black vote in Alabama “Black Power” –"It is a call for black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It is a call for black people to define their own goals, to lead their own organizations.“ In Oakland, CA: Black Panthers party, to advocate black self-reliance and armed resistance to oppression