1. CHAPTER 21 – CIVIL RIGHTS

2. RIDING FOR FREEDOM
Civil rights activists ride buses across the South (Washington D.C. to New Orleans)
CORE in 1961 tests Supreme Court decisions banning segregation on interstate bus routes
They wanted a violent reaction from white southerners– why?
Beaten in Alabama by white mobs and by cops in Birmingham
Attorney General, Robert Kennedy, makes bus drivers continue driving
Pres. Kenney sends 400 U.S. marshals to protect the riders

4. INTEGRATION OF SOUTHERN SCHOOLS
James Meredith is accepted to Uni. Of Mississippi (1962)
Gov. Ross Barnett refuses to let him register
Pres. Kennedy sends federal marshals
Riots break out
Federal officers had to accompany him to class

5. Birmingham, Alabama “Bombingham”
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and MLK Jr. are invited to help desegregate the city
King is arrested during a demonstration on April, 1963

7. How did King feel about white religious leaders who felt he was pushing too fast?

8. Birmingham, Alabama King gets out of jail after two weeks
Helps plan demonstrations
African-American children march
2,000 black kids are shown on t.v. being beaten, attacked by dogs, sprayed by fire houses
Pres. Kennedy demands Congress pass a civil rights bill

9. Questions 1. What did the freedom riders hope to achieve?
2. What events led to desegregation in Birmingham?
3. Why do you think many white southerners used violent means to oppose (fight) the civil rights movement?