CIVIL RIGHTS/MINORITY
ACTIVISM
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
FYI: Many people believe that the Civil
Rights Movement began with Rosa Parks
refusing to give up her seat. But the
struggle for civil rights began when the
first 20 Africans were brought to
Jamestown in 1619 and it wasn’t until 346
years later that the law began to protect
Blacks and ensure that the rights
established in the U.S. Constitution didn’t
just apply to Whites, but applied to
everybody in the U.S. While the Civil
Rights Movement is seen as an AfricanAmerican struggle, EVERY SINGLE PERSON
IN THE U.S. BENEFITTED!
I. The early Civil Rights Advancements:
A. 13th Amendment: abolished slavery
B. 14th Amendment: freed slaves were
given American citizenship (FYI: Native
Americans didn’t become U.S. citizens
until the 1920’s.)
C. 15th Amendment: all men were granted
the right to vote, regardless of color,
land ownership, etc.
D. Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
E.Booker T. Washington
and W.E.B. Dubois: early
civil rights activist.
FYI: Remember, we’ve discussed this earlier….
…refer to your SATP Review Packet.
II. Civil Rights during the Truman
Years
A. He formed the Committee on Civil Rights in
1946 to examine the status of civil rights.
B.Truman desegregated the Armed Forces with
E.O. 9981 in 1948.
C.Southern Dems. Create the Dixiecrats.
E. In 1947, Jackie Robinson was the first
African American to integrate MLB.
FYI: Why was Robinson selected as the first Black MLB?
F. Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia,
1946
1. Irene Morgan arrested in 1944 for
refusing to move from her seat.
2. In a 6 -1 decision, the Court ruled in
her favor.
3. The South continued to disregard the
law.
FYI: Interstate buses were supposed to already be
desegregated, but the existing law was not enforced.
III. Civil Rights during the
Eisenhower Years
A. Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka,
Kansas, May 17, 1954:
1. Class action lawsuit argued by
Thurgood Marshall, challenging the
“separate but equal” doctrine.
2. Supreme Court ruled that “..separate
is inherently unequal.”
FYI: What does “class action” mean.
3. Brown II: A year later the court ordered
the desegregation of schools “with all
deliberate speed.” (FYI: What’s wrong
with this time frame?)
FYI: Thurgood Marshall will be appointed by LBJ as the first Af-Am.
Supreme Court Justice in U.S. History.
B.
Emmitt Till August 1955:
1. A 14-year-old visiting from Chicago
was lynched in Money, MS.
2. Two brothers were arrested and
charged with his murder.
4. Mississippi (?) and the nation were horrified.
5. An all white, all male jury found the two
accused not guilty.
FYI: as horrified as Mississippi was, the continued
criticism by the Northern Press resulted in the whites
circling their wagons around the two accused.
C.
Montgomery Bus Boycott, December 1955:
1. Rosa parks refused to give her seat up
to a white man, and was arrested.
2. The result was a 380+ day boycott of
the bus line.
(FYI: A 26 year old MLK was asked to lead the
boycott.)
3. The boycott didn’t end until the SC upheld
the decision of Browder v. Gayle, which
ruled that bus segregation was
unconstitutional.
4. This will be the start of MLK’s extensive
work as a civil rights leader
(FYI: What happened to the bus company?)
D. “Little Rock Nine” (Arkansas)
1957: (handy dandy worksheet)
1. Little Rock School Board
integrated their school district
in 1957-58 school year.
2. In response to public
response, the AK NG was
ordered to keep the Black
students out.
3. So Eisenhower nationalized the AK
N.G., who were then ordered them to
protect the students as they attended
CHS.
FYI: Why did Eisenhower intervene in Little Rock?
FYI: White society resisted school integration
physically, verbally and psychologically.
E. Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC) est. 1957: Southern Black ministers
committed to the CR struggle using nonviolence.
F. Civil Rights Act of 1957: first civil rights
act since Reconstruction. Created the Civil
Rights Commission.
G. Sit-ins 1960:
1. In the modern CR Movement, sitins began in Greensboro and Nashville.
2. Non-violent protesters would take a
seat at segregated lunch counters &
wait to be served.
3. Sit-ins often turned violent and
protestors were beaten and arrested.
FYI: Protestors had to go through
training before they participated
in sit-ins, wade-ins,kneel-ins, etc.
H.
Student Non-violent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC), 1960:
1. college students who embraced
the non-violent protest movement.
IV. Civil Rights during
Kennedy’s years
A.
Freedom Riders, 1961:
1. 1st campaign organized by the
SNCC.
2. Activists traveled through the
deep South to desegregate busing
companies' terminals, as required
by federal law.
3. To say it was dangerous is an
understatement.
B. In 1962 James Meredith became the first
Af.-Am to integrate Ole Miss (University of
Mississippi).
1. His enrollment was met with rioting
and the necessity for the federal gov. to
send in U.S. Marshalls, the Army, the
National guard, and even U.S. border
patrol to control the rioting.
a. Two people were killed.
FYI: Meredith was initially admitted, but then denied when
they realized he was Black. He filed a lawsuit, which
reached the Supreme Court who ruled in his favor.
C. Medgar Evers, 1963:
1. The first NAACP Field Secretary in MS
was killed in his front yard by Byron
De la Beckwith.
2. De La Beckwith was tried twice for
the murder of Evers in 1964, each
resulted in a mistrial.
3. In 1994 De La Beckwith was tried again,
with new evidence, and found guilty. He
got a life sentence, and died in prison in
2001.
FYI: Even though it took 30 years to convict De
La Beckwith, why were his two original mistrials
historical in the state of MS?
D. March on Washington, August 28, 1963
1. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a group
of over 200,000 people of all
races to Washington DC.
2. This put the country on notice
that people were serious for
change.
FYI: MLK delivered his famous, “I Have A Dream
Speech”, ranked by many as one of the greatest
speeches ever delivered.
E. Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
1. September 15, 1963, four girls, whose
ages ranged between 11-14, were killed
and 20 people were injured when their
church was bombed.
FYI: In 1977 one man was found guilty of the
bombing (Chambliss). And between 20012002 two additional men were convicted of
murder and sent to prison (Blanton &
Cherry).
FYI: Why did justice take so long for many of the
atrocities committed against Blacks?
V. CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER THE
JOHNSON PRESIDENCY
1.
24th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution1964
A. abolished the poll tax in federal elections.
B. Its passage brought about MS Freedom
Summer-1964.
1. Civil rights workers came to MS to
register blacks to vote.
FYI: Volunteers from the North (90% were
White) worked along side several thousand
Black activists in Mississippi.
C: Three civil rights CORE workers
went missing in Philadelphia MS during
the Freedom Summer.
1. Chaney, Goodman &
Schwerner.
2. It took the an informant
to tip off the FBI to the
location of the bodies.
B.
Civil Rights Act of 1964:
1. outlawed segregation in public
accommodations.
2. gave the government broader
powers to enforce desegregation in
schools, and
3. est. the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to
prevent job discrimination.
C.
Voting Rights Act of 19651. Passed after a series of marches in
Selma, Al., which were broadcast
nation
wide.
2. removed literacy requirement
3. Last legal obstacle blocking Blacks
from being full members of southern
society.
FYI: The first march has been infamously
named “Bloody Sunday”. Non-violent
protesters were beaten and attacked by dogs.
4.
Watts Riot, Los Angeles: Broke out 5 days
after the Voting Rights Act was signed. It
lasted 6 days and took 14,000 National
Guardsmen and 1500 law officers to restore
order.
a. 34 deaths, 900 injuries, and
$250,000,000 + in damages.
FYI: Johnson ordered a
study/investigation into the riots, the
Kerner Commission. The findings?
Continued racism, discrimination, and
oppression at the hands of whites.
5.
The Black Power Movement evolved in the
mid 60’s from the belief that the nonviolent/marching route was taking too long
and for what.
a. it promoted the idea that Blacks
should control their social,
economic and political direction.
6.
Malcolm X: a minister and spokesperson
for the Nation of Islam and a symbol for
the Black Power Movement.
a. X preached that Blacks should
create their own communities, be
self-reliant, and not depend on
mainstream society, i.e. whites,
for anything.
b. X, initially very publically critical of the CR
Movement and MLK, slowly changed some
of his views. But he is assassinated before
they are fully realized.
FYI: Malcolm X was a minister
with the Nation of Islam, but
split with them over ideological
reasons. He will go on hajj and
embrace truer Islamic beliefs and
practices, which many believe
contributed to his death.
7.
Black Panthers were a group inspired by
Malcolm X , and initiated a series of goals.
Examples were:
(a) black empowerment
(b) end to racial oppression,
(c) control of major institution and
services within the African American
community, such as hospitals,
schools,etc.
FYI: Sooo, how do you
think this went over with
mainstream society?
8.
For all intents and purposes the collective
CR Movement ended in Memphis,
Tennessee, April 4, 1968 when MLK was
assassinated by James Earl Ray.
a.Despite the efforts of many other charismatic
and powerful civil rights activist, they just
couldn’t continue the momentum.
FYI: Quite eerily MLK delivered two speeches shortly
before his death that hinted that he knew the end
was near.
** “The Drum Major Instinct” 2/4/68- ……. I don't want a long
funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them
not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want
them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace
Prize, that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have
three or four hundred other awards, that's not important. Tell
him not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to
mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his
life serving others…..
** “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” 4/3/68 - Like anybody, I would
like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not
concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's
allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And
I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I
want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the
Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about
anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the
glory of the coming of the Lord.
a. Two months later, June 6, 1968, Robert
Kennedy (JFK’s brother) was assassinated in
California, after winning the state primary.
1. Robert Kennedy served as Attn. General
from 61-64, and played a major role in
helping his brother and then LBJ’s
admn. pass and enforce civil rights
legislation.
FYI: Robert Kennedy had
11 children, and they have
produced 33
grandchildren!!
VI. STRUGGLES OF
OTHER MINORITY GROUPS
A.Cesar Chavez- United Farm Workers:
1. Migrant farmers received low pay, and
worked and lived in deplorable
conditons.
FYI: Why did commercial farmers ignore the
complaints of the migrant farmers?
2. Cesar Chavez, along with Delores Huerta, founded
what would become the United Farm Workers.
a. They would go on to lead successful strikes
of migrant workers and encourage nation
wide participation by boycotting certain
crops.
B. American Indian Movement (AIM):
1. AI formed AIM and fought to regain land
that had been taken from their ancestors by
the govt;
a. AIM occupied Alcatraz for 18 months.
FYI: They offered to buy it with some beads and
cloth….why is that historically significant?
b. AIM would also seize Wounded Knee,
South Dakota in 1973 for 71 days, with
gun shots fired between AIM and the FBI.
3. C. National Organization for Women (NOW)1. Feminist organization co-founded by
Betty Friedan (author of Feminine
Mystique) and Gloria Steinem, that
fought for women’s rights and the
passing of Equal Rights Amendment
which did not pass.