Why did the Civil Rights
campaign develop after 1945?
Issue 5
Issue 5
Continued
prejudice
Experience of
black servicemen
in WWII
Civil
Rights
after 1945
Role of
Martin Luther
King Jr
Emergence
of effective
black
organisations
Emergence
of effective
leaders
Continued Prejudice post WWII
1. WWII brought democracy and liberty to the
forefront of society – yet in the USA AfricanAmericans were not experiencing equality e.g.
Jim Crow laws
2. Education – Brown Vs. Board of Education, Little
Rock 9
3. Violence – Racially motivated murder of Emmet
Till
4. Transport – Rosa Parks and Montgomery Bus
Boycott
• Historian Dr Stephen Tuck believes WWII was
“absolutely key”. The increase in defence
industries led to greater economic and
political power of blacks as well as greater
safety in the cities away from white
supremacy.
• US racism was very similar to Hitler’s racism –
what they were fighting against!
March on Washington Movement – called for ‘ten, twenty, thirty thousand
negroes on the white house lawn’ if their demands to end SEGREGATION and
discrimination in federal and defence jobs were not met.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 8802 1941 – No discrimination in
defence industry because of ‘race, creed or natural
origin’
Brown Vs Topeka Board of Education,
1954
• The Supreme Court ruled
in favour of Linda Brown.
Her father campaigned
for her to go to the
nearest and best school
in her area regardless of
whether it was for white
pupils.
• This was landmark
legislation as it
overturned the ‘separate
but equal’ ruling of 1896.
Little Rock Arkansas 1957
Read p39-41
• How did the NAACP challenge the Brown Vs
Board of Education decision?
• How were the Little Rock 9 received?
• Why would this encourage a civil rights
campaign to develop?
State government can no longer ignore Federal law. Publicity of Little Rock
9 encouraged the movement and increased determination
Murder of Emmet Till, 1955
• 14 year old Emmet
supposedly wolf whistled
at a white woman. His
mutilated body was found
in the Tallahatchie river in
Mississippi.
• His mother held an open
casket funeral.
The case was the first in Mississippi to accuse white men of a
racially motivated murder. However they were found not guilty. This
encouraged many to join the civil rights movement. White
extremism often strengthened black unity.
1955 Rosa Parks and the Montgomery
Bus Boycott
This was seen as the real beginning of the Civil Rights movement.
Read p42-45
Why?
.
Where?
Who?
What happened?
Success/Failure?
Overall
importance of
this event?
Quick Quiz
1. Name the man who first planned a March on
Washington Movement?
2. What was the name of the ruling passed by
FDR in response?
3. What was the name of the court case that
led to the Supreme Court declaring that
segregation in education unconstitutional?
4. Name the two organisations involved in the
Montgomery bus boycott?
5. What was the name of the boy who was
brutally murdered and in which state did it
happen?
HISTORIOGRAPHY
Historian David Garrow argues that
the Bus Boycott was the start of the
civil rights movement
However, Historian Mark Newman disagrees
and said it “did not spark a mass movement”
because the SCLC group that formed as a result
achieved little in the 3 years after the bus
boycott
Experience of Black
servicemen in WWII
1. DOUBLE V CAMPAIGN SHOWED DETERMINATION- Segregation
in armed forces unit and separate facilities in army camps further
increased demands for equality – the Double V campaign was a call
for Victory in the war and Victory for Civil Rights. They returned to
white hostility instead of respect and jobs.
2. GREATER ACTIVISM shown by formation of CORE (Congress of
Racial Equality) during WWII in 1942. They introduced the principal
of peaceful protest. More also joined the NAACP
3. IMPROVED EDUCATION for demobilised African-American soldiers
given government aid for education therefore made them more
articulate in demanding equality.
4. A. PHILLIP RANDOLPH’S EFFORTS proved to be a persuasive
leader and that the Federal government would take action if pressure
was applied.
HISTORICAL ARGUMENT
Historian Newman said
the WWII acted as a
catalyst for the
movement because of
the experiences of Black
servicemen
How important is WWII
experience in
developing a civil rights
campaign?
HISTORICAL ARGUMENT
Historian Neil Wynn said that the
movement of the 1950s and 1960s was
“born out of frustrated expectations
from the previous decades”
A Black soldier put it simply:
“At the end of the war, we just kept
fighting. It’s that simple.”
Emergence of effective black organisations
1942
Congress of Racial
Equality (CORE)
p37
1957
Southern
Christian
Leadership
Conference (SCLC)
p46-47
1960
The Student NonViolent Co-ordinating
Committee
(SNCC)
p47-48
• For each organisation note down why they
were established and list their
achievements/protests
Organisation vid clips!
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwYOBmn
cyZ4 MLK and SCLC
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc8r97KZKk James Farmer and CORE
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6L1Hyoh
3rY SNCC