Civil Rights Movement: Eisenhower Years How are Jim Crow laws being slowly dismantled during the Eisenhower Years?

Jim Crow South Plessy v. Ferguson was 1898 ruling by the Supreme Court that allowed for “separate but equal” facilities and accommodations for blacks and whites Everything in south was segregated 1955 Emmett Till case opened the eyes to America how bad things were in the South for African-Americans

Brown v. Board of Education Lawsuit brought by Linda Brown (black) and others against the Topeka, KS Board of Education Brown wants to enroll in a school much closer to her home (white) instead of taking a bus to her all black school Brown’s argue that the equal protection clause of the 14 th Amendment to the Constitution is being violated A Federal court in Kansas rules against the Browns

Separate is not equal 1955: Browns appeal to the Supreme Court (Chief Justice  Earl Warren  “Warren Court”) Ruling: “In the field of education, separate but equal has no place & separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” Court states that plaintiffs have been deprived of the equal protection laws guaranteed in the14 th Amendment Brown II orders the desegregation of public schools with “deliberate speed”

Little Rock Crisis: “The Little Rock Nine” 1957: twenty-seven black students attempt to enroll in Little Rock, Arkansas public schools Governor Orval Faubus defies court’s ruling, orders the Ntl Guard to prevent the nine students from entering Central HS

Eisenhower steps up President Eisenhower sends in 101 st Airborne (Army) to escort students into Central High An angry mob gathers at the scene creating mayhem

Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa Parks, refuses to give her bus seat (in the black section) to a white man and is arrested Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a boycott of Montgomery, public buses  very successful –MLK becomes well known 1956: Supreme Court outlaws bus segregation

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) MLK is the President of SCLC Staged NONVIOLENT protests & demonstrations against inequality Used black churches to spread the word and gain support – goal: work with whites to end segregation Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Began in 1960 at a Black university in Raleigh, NC More confrontational than SCLC 1960 Sit-In at Woolworth’s lunch counter, Greensboro, NC, sparks other sit-ins Eisenhower publicly supports students