The Civil Rights Movement
1945-1970
Chapter 28
Brown v. The Board of Education
• Charles H. Houston – Dean of Howard
University Law School
• Traveled all over the south to gather the
evidence that separate was NOT equal
• Found that for every dollar spent
education a black child, $5 dollars was
spent on a white child
• This is NOT equal!
Brown v. The Board of Education
• In 1954 the case was decided
• The Supreme Court outlawed racial
segregation in schools
• The case was argued before the Supreme
Court by Thurgood Marshall
• BUT they never decided HOW schools
should be desegregated or WHEN
Southern Manifesto
• Southern representatives in Congress
• Called the Brown decision a “clear abuse
of judicial power”
• Argued that it increased the power of the
federal government
Emmett Till
• 1955, visiting his uncle Mose Wright in
Mississippi
• Murdered by two white men for allegedly
talking to or whistling at a white woman
• Mr. Wright testified in court that they were
the men who took Emmett in the middle of
the night (this was VERY brave)
• The two men were acquitted anyway
Emmett Till
• The pictures of Emmett’s body attracted a
lot of attention around the country
• The story of the court case and the
acquittal made people all over the country
angry
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• In 1955 Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to move
on the bus for a white man
• She was arrested
• The 50,000 black citizens of Montgomery
united behind a boycott of the busses and
refused to ride until they were
desegregated
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• The boycott lasted for 11 months
• It was led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Leaders were arrested and charged with
conspiracy
• Blacks formed car pools and walked
everywhere, and the police harassed them
• Reverend King’s home was bombed
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• 10,000 white citizens formed the White
Citizens Council
• These councils were formed throughout
the south to oppose integration
• The Supreme Court ruled that segregation
on busses was illegal
• The boycott ended in 1956 and they WON!
Confrontation at Little Rock
• 1957 – Little Rock Central High School in
Arkansas
• Governor Orval Faubus opposed the plan
• He surrounded the school with the
Arkansas National Guard to prevent the
black students from entering
• President Eisenhower sent federal troops
to escort the black students for the rest of
the school year
Confrontation at Little Rock
• 1958 – Governor Faubus closed the public
schools to prevent integration
• The Supreme Court ruled that he could not
do that
• 1959 – The schools re-opened peacefully
Lunch-Counter Sit-Ins
• February 1, 1960
– David Richmond
– Franklin McCain
– Ezell Blair
– Joseph McNeil
• Went to a whites only lunch-counter in
Greensboro
• They knew that this could get them
arrested
Lunch-Counter Sit-Ins
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•
•
•
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The waitress did not serve them
They stayed until closing
The next day 23 more students joined
The day after 66 more students joined
By the end of the week 1,000 students
were participating!
• By the end of 1960 there were sit-ins in
over 100 southern cities!
Nashville Sit-Ins
• Led by Diane Nash, age 21
• A large protest to city hall
• When the mayor came out to talk, she
asked:
• “Mayor West, do YOU feel it is wrong to
discriminate against a person solely on the
basis of their race or color?”
SNCC
• Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee (pronounced snick)
• Founded by Diane Nash and others who
felt that SCLC was too cautious
• What is SCLC?
• Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, led by Martin Luther King Jr.
Other “Ins”
• Sleep-ins at all white motels
• Kneel-ins at all white churches
• Wade-ins at all white beaches
CORE
• http://www.core-online.org/index.htm