The Civil Rights Movement

Justice Delayed Although freed under the 13 th Amendment African Americans were restricted under things like the Jim Crow Laws in the Southern States Open racism In the North the racism was still there; just not as open Segregation was the general reality – in the South it was codified, in the North it was not Had to “learn” to rules

The Organisations NAACP –National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People Founded by W.E.B. DuBois in 1909 CORE - Congress of Racial Equality (1942) Promoted non-violent challenges to segregation. Legal challenges - Supreme Court decision that outlawed interstate bus segregation

First Challenges After World War Two The federal government recognised that it was promoting racism in the maintenance of a segregated military After the Korean War, the US military ended segregation Started a review of all federal policies to limit racist practices  States were left to their own  Some reformed  Others did not  African Americans began to mobilise and challenge the status quo

Goals The goals of the Civil Rights Movement were to: Desegregation: schools, restaurants, buses & other public accommodations Freely exercise the right to vote End systemic intimidation & violence on African Americans

boycotts, marches, sit- ins, mass meetings and lawsuits Used rhetoric of the founding fathers all men were created equal. Encouraged white participation, mainly from the North Many participants were willing to risk their lives. Common Strategies

Broad Support Many Americans had no opinion on segregation – did not see it, did not care However, the reaction of Southerners galvanized many “This is not the America I want to live in”

Brown v. Board of Education: Topeka, Kansas 1954 The grievances of Black parents regarding their children’s schools were: ride long distances to a run-down black school when there was a better white school in the neighborhood ride for 2 hours each day Black schools operated on 1/4th the amount of $ given to white schools Southern governments vowed to prevent it – Arkansas called out the military Some schools got rid of compulsory attendance Formed white committees to mobilise parents

Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 In the city of Montgomery Alabama African Americans made up 75% of the bus riders forced to enter the front of the bus to pay and re-enter the bus from the rear. had to sit in designated “coloured” seats in the back If all white seats were full, blacks had to give up their seats.

Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 Rosa Parks was a department store seamstress that refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested. She was tired of being a 2nd class citizen Her emotional response was normal, but her courage to act on that response was extraordinary

Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 The Women’s Political Council organized a bus boycott and formed The Montgomery Improvement Association with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as their leader

Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 The boycott lasted 381 days The boycott was successful because of individual commitments They had an economic impact (75% of the bus riders) They won a legal victory that outlawed bus segregation