1. Civil Rights Movement
Chapter 21

2. Taking on Segregation Background: Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
Plessy bought a 1st class ticket and refused to moved to the “Jim Crow (colored)” car and was arrested.
Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the 14th amendment, which guarantees all Americans equal treatment

3. Jim Crow Laws Goal: separating whites and blacks by law
Separate schools, streetcars, no interracial marriages, public restrooms, etc.
Most facilities provided for blacks were inferior

5. Development of the Civil Rights Movement
3 main reasons for its development
1) during WWII the demand for soldiers led to a decrease in white male workers
2) over 1 million African-Americans fought in WWII and felt that they could fight discrimination
3) civil rights organizations fought during the war for the end to Jim Crow laws

6. Challenging Segregation in Court
NAACP led the desegregation fight in the courts
Separate is NOT equal
U.S. spent 10 times more $$ to educate a white child
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
Linda Brown (age 8) denied admission to all-white school 4 blocks away
Supreme Court struck down school segregation as a violation of the Constitution

7. Brown vs. Board of Education (cont)
Key players:
Thurgood Marshall: NAACP lawyer fighting for Linda Brown
Later becomes first African-American Supreme Court Justice
Chief Justice Earl Warren
“In the field of public education, the doctrine of separate but equal has no place”

8. The Little Rock Nine
1957- Nine African-American students volunteered to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School
Governor ordered the National Guard to turn the students away
President Eisenhower forced to get involved, media coverage
Teens attended class, but were harassed by classmates

9. The Montgomery Bus Boycott
1955- Rosa Parks refused to move from the front seat to the back of the bus
Arrested and led to the organization of a boycott
NAACP, MLK Jr. and leaders of the African-American community
Filed a lawsuit and refused to ride the bus for 381 days
Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation in 1956

11. Freedom Riders
Members of Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) tested the Supreme Court’s decisions on banning segregation on interstate bus routes
Rode through the South on two buses
Bus one was attacked at the Alabama border and stopped
Bus two was attacked and fire bombed in Birmingham
Other Freedom Rider attempts were attacked as well
President Kennedy promised to give the Freedom Riders his full support

12. Integrating Ole Miss
James Meredith given the right to enroll in the all-white University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), however, the Governor, Ross Barnett, refused to let him register
Riots broke out and after 2 deaths, 200 arrests, and 15 hours, the rioters were stopped
Meredith was allowed to go to school under the watch of federal officials

13. Heading into Birmingham
Martin Luther King, Jr. invited to Birmingham to help “desegregate” the city
April 12, 1963 MLK Jr. and a few marchers were arrested
He writes “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” while in prison
The demonstrations grew after King posted bail
Continued protests, boycotts, sit-ins, and negative media coverage led Birmingham officials to end segregation