The Civil Rights
Movement
We Shall
Overcome
Civil War / Reconstruction
• The Civil War freed
over four million
people who had
been held in
bondage. Slavery
had been a part of
American life for over
two hundred years.
• 13th Amendment –
No More Slaves
• Free
• 14th Amendment –
Who is a Citizen!
• Citizens
• 15th Amendment –
Voting
• Can Vote
During reconstruction great
strides were made in granting
civil rights to former slaves.
The rights of citizenship….
the right
to vote…
But when Reconstruction Ended – Jim Crow
began and became the law of the land for
blacks.
Plessey vs. Ferguson
• Homer Plessy – 7/8th
White and 1/8th
Black. When he sat in
a rail car reserved for
whites he was
arrested.
• He fought this arrest
all the way to the
Supreme Court
Plessey v Ferguson
In 1896 the
Supreme Court
decided that
“separate but
equal” was a fair
way to deal with
two races living
side by side.
The National
Association for the
Advancement of
Colored People, or
NAACP, an
interracial
membership
organization, was
founded in 1909,
and is devoted to
civil rights and
racial justice.
1890’s – 1930’s
• During this period
Blacks followed both
WEB DuBois and
Booker T. Washington
in their efforts to
attain equality.
• Neither plan made the
progress one would
hope.
Many African
American Men
served in WWI .
In Europe they were
treated as Equals.
Thought they would
come home to the
respect and dignity
they had earned.
WWI
They were mistaken..
Race
Riots
• The summer of
1919 brought
about numerous
RIOTS around the
country regarding
race and especially
jobs that Blacks
had taken while
WWI was going
on.
Tulsa Race Riot - 1921
• May 1921 – Race Riot
broke out in the
Greenwood District of
Tulsa, OK. Greenwood
was referred to as the
“Black Wall Street” of
it’s day.
• Just as the oil boom
had been good to
White businesses in
Tulsa – Blacks too had
benefitted.
• Whites started a
and burned out
the entire
district.
• Destroying all
the wealth and
growth Blacks
had made in
Tulsa.
• This Riot was
hidden (covered
up) for many
years – and it
left a deep
division in Tulsa
of Blacks and
Whites.
Tulsa Race Riot
KKK
The KKK
was it’s
strongest
yet in the
1920’s
• Even boldly
Marching
the streets
of
Washington
DC
•
Lynchings
• An outside the
law execution.
• While these
may not have
occurred
everyday, there
was always the
threat of one.
The 1920s were
followed by the
depression
years of the
1930s and just
keeping food on
the table was
the concern of
most people.
The 30’s
Jim Crow Laws Segregation was the law
of the land in the South
World War II
took the United
States out of the
depression and
lots of African
American men
and women into
the military
service.
WWII
These young
men and
women
thought that
FINALLY they
would come
home to
respect and
gratitude for
their service.
Again they were
wrong, but this
time they were
ready to fight
segregation and
discrimination
head on, where
ever they
encountered it.
Executive Order - 9981
• In Executive Order #
9981 President Truman
ordered the equal
treatment of all in the
military
• When asked if he was
desegregating – He
responding strongly
YES!
• While Truman hoped
this would be a major
step in desegregation of
the nation… it was just
the beginning of a long
hard fought battle.
Brown v Board of Education of
Topeka Kansas
The Brown children
had to walk through
dangerous areas to
get to the “colored”
school. Their father
sued to end school
segregation.
Segregation of public schools was
legally banished in 1954
The Supreme
Court decision
did not mean
that things
were going to
be easy for
those first
students who
integrated
white schools.
Even with the court ruling, it takes
President Eisenhower sending federal
troops to Little Rock to force school
integration there.
Oklahoman’s Fights for
Civil Rights
• Two Major Court
• McLaurin vs.
Cases helped in
Oklahoma State
desegregating
Board of Regents
Higher Education
before Brown V. • Sipuel vs. University
of Oklahoma Board
Board ever
of Regents
occurred.
Sipuel vs. University of
Oklahoma Regents
• Ada Lois Sipuel (female) – applied to the University of Ok
Law School in 1946.
• Denied based on Race
• Sued all the way to Supreme Court – Ruled that the state
must provide equal instruction.
• Oklahoma creates the Langston University Law School on
the grounds of the State Capitol.
• Additional Lawsuits to prove that the new Law School
was not Equal.
• June 18, 1949 – Sipuel will be admitted – Students and
professors welcomed her and helped her catch up on
missed time. The University did not welcome her.
McLaurin vs. Oklahoma State Regents
• George McLaurin – Applied to OU to work on a
Doctorate Degree in Education.
• Was admitted but forced to use completely
separate facilities - desk in hall, special section in
library, special table roped off in the Cafeteria,
not allowed to use facilities that other students
could.
• Sued and Supreme Court ruled that a University
could not provide separate treatment solely
based on Race.
• End of Separate but Equal in Graduate and
Professional Education.
Rosa Parks – Montgomery
Bus Boycott
In December of
1955 Rosa Parks
refuses to give up
her seat on the
bus to a white
man. The
Montgomery Bus
Boycott begins.
The boycott lasts
for more than a
year, and the black
citizens of
Montgomery
finally win, when
the Supreme Court
rules against
segregation on
public
transportation.
• The Oklahoma City Sitin Movement was led
by NAACP Youth
Council leader Clara
Luper, a local high
school teacher, and
young local students.
• The group quickly
desegregated the Katz
Drug Store lunch
counters.
• It took several more
years, but she and the
students, using the
tactic, integrated all of
Oklahoma City's eating
establishments.
Sit Ins – Katz Drug
Store
This triggers many similar nonviolent protests
throughout the South. This form of protest
becomes effective in integrating swimming
pools, theaters, libraries and other southern
public facilities.
Freedom Riders
One of the first
two groups of
"freedom riders,"
as they are called,
encounters its first
problem two
weeks later, when
a mob in Alabama
sets the riders' bus
on fire.
1963 – March on Washington
Around 200,000
people joined Martin
Luther King Jr. and
other Civil Rights
Leaders in
Washington D.C. to
protest for Equality.
It is here that MLK
gives the famous “I
Have a Dream”
Speech
Birmingham Church Bombing
• 16th Street Baptist Church –
September 15, 1963 – Bomb
explodes during Sunday
School – killing four young
girls.
• This is the same church that
was used during the
Children’s March.
• An Act of Terror
th
24
Amendment - 1964
The 24th Amendment abolishes the poll
tax, which originally had been instituted
in 11 southern states after Reconstruction
to make it difficult for poor blacks to
vote.
Civil Rights Act - 1964
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of
1964. The most sweeping civil rights
legislation since Reconstruction.
The Civil Rights Act
prohibits
discrimination of all
kinds based on race,
color, religion, or
national origin. The
law also provides the
federal government
with the powers to
enforce
desegregation.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
making it easier for Southern blacks to register
to vote. Literacy tests and other such
requirements that were used to restrict black
voting are made illegal.
Selma
• March 1965 – Tensions
were very high in Selma –
82 year old male
protestor had been
beaten by a state trooper.
• Trooper wasn’t done
though – He follwed the
older mans son into Café
were he was trying to
help his father and the
trooper shot Jimmy Lee
Jackson in the stomach
(he died 7 days later)
Montgomery
• Protestors
decide it is time
to head to the
capitol to force
the issue with
the Governor of
Alabama.
Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in
support of voting rights but are stopped at
the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade.
Fifty marchers
are hospitalized
after police use
tear gas, whips,
and clubs against
them. The
incident is
dubbed "Bloody
Sunday" by the
media.
Selma to Montgomery
• Two days later – March 9 will become known as
“Turnaround Tuesday” – King led the marchers
across the bridge and once again they faced state
troopers – so rather than another assault they
turned around.
• Thanks to Media – This would be like no other Civil
Rights Incident.
• People began pouring into Selma from all over the
Country (whites and blacks).
• Six days later 4,000 marchers would leave from
Selma to Montgomery – by they time they arrived
25,000 people were with them.
MLK - Assasination
April 4, 1968
Martin Luther King, at age 39, is shot as he stands
on the balcony outside his hotel room. Escaped
convict and committed racist James Earl Ray is
convicted of the crime.
Split in the Movement
• On “Turn Around Tuesday” in Selma – When met
with another round of potential violence, MLK
asked the marchers to kneel in prayer together
and then turned and walked away.
• To many young black males this was a sign of
weakness (gesture of defeat). Some began to
fall away from the Non-Violence movement and
became a part of a more militant group.
Malcolm X
Malcolm X will be one
of the most
charismatic leaders
of the more militant
group.
He said that some
individuals were
willing to claim racial
justice “by any
means necessary.”
•
Malcolm X was
originally Malcolm
Little.
• He went to prison
for burglary and
while in prison
became a follower
of Elijah
Muhammad
(Leader of the
Lost-Found Nation
of Islam 0r Black
Muslims)
Malcolm X
• Malcolm Little would reject his “slave name”
and become Malcolm X.
• When released from prison he electrified many
in the black community – giving them a sense of
pride, purpose and potential.
• Move away from Non-Violence to Militant
Action – Advocating for the Total Separation of
Blacks and Whites (whom he called a race of
DEVILS)
• While on pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964 – Malcolm
X broke with the Black Musslims and found the
Organization of Afro-American Unity – changing
his message to one of a socialist solution.
Black Panthers - 1966
The militant Black
Panthers are founded
by Huey Newton and
Bobby Seale. Young
African Americans
think the older
protesters are too
slow and these young
people are willing to
use violence.
1957
Martin Luther King,
Charles K. Steele,
and Fred L.
Shuttlesworth
establish the
Southern Christian
Leadership
Conference, of
which King is made
the first president.
The SCLC
becomes a
major force in
organizing the
civil rights
movement and
bases its
principles on
nonviolence
and civil
disobedience.
SNCC - 1960
The Student
Nonviolent
Coordinating
Committee (SNCC)
is founded at Shaw
University,
providing young
blacks with a place
in the civil rights
movement.
The Congress of
Racial Equality
(CORE) begins
sending student
volunteers on bus
trips to test the
implementation of
new laws
prohibiting
segregation in
interstate travel
facilities.
CORE
Women
• Reconstruction Amendments –
Gave all males rights. (late 1860’s)
• Not until 19th Amendment (1920)
do women Vote.
• WWII – Most women enter the
workforce – but as soon as the
soldiers came home – expected to
stay home and raise children (baby
boom).
• In the 1960’s Women’s Rights Activist will begin to
challenge this expected Roles of Women.
• Betty Friedan – “The Feminine Mystique” 1963
• NOW – National Organization for Women – Goal – “True
Equality for all Women”
– Often seemed to Radical to many American’s but they kept
the issues front and center in America for two decades.
• ERA – Equal Rights Amendment – First proposed in the
1920’s now being raised again in an effort to provide
Gender equality under the law.
– Reproductive Rights
• Gloria Steinem – most prominent feminist leader
of the 1970’s. More radical path – Used mass
media – co founded Ms. Magazine.
• Phyllis Schlafly – Opponent – lawyer –
Said that “feminism attempted to
repeal and restructure human nature”.
• Roe V. Wade – 1973 Supreme Court
Decision – Assured women the right to an
Abortion. Highly controversial decision even today.
Latino Movement
• Population continues
massive growth in the US.
• Cesar Chavez – Formed the
National Farm Workers
Association (UFW).
Incorporated Migrant Farm
Workers.
• Chicano Movement –
Focused on knowing Latino
heritage and culture.
Native Americans
• AIM – American Indian Movement (1968) –
helped Native Americans in all aspects –
became very militant in their stance against
the government.
• Siege at Wounded Knee – Feb. 1973 AIM
took over the village and refused to leave
until the government agreed to investigate
the condition of reservation Indians.
• Federal authorities – put wounded knee
under siege, where two AIM members died
from government gunfire.
• Siege ends in May on 1973 with the
government pledging to reexamine native
treaty rights.