Mr. Huffman’s U.S./Global History
AU5C19S1-2 (Leaders and Strategies & The Struggle Intensifies)
1) There were several events of WWII & the post-war period that spotlighted
racial concerns in the US, including the success of the various non-white units
in the war, as well as the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954
a) One of the driving forces behind the Brown case was the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which
had been formed in 1909 to promote legal equality for all Americans
i) The NAACP was an interracial organization, allowing any race
ii)The NAACP's goals included opposition to laws that prevented blacks
from exercising their rights, & they supported lawsuits & legislation
iii) In particular, they supported anti-lynching laws & desegregation, &
pushed hard on these issues in the 1920s and 1930s with mixed success
iv) Brown, argued by Thurgood Marshall, was one of their big successes
b) Another org. which tried to help blacks & other minorities was the National
Urban League, which focused more on supporting the average black or
immigrant families moving into Northern cities in search of work
c) Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was another interracial org.
dedicated to change, & advocating peaceful protest & confrontation
2) The Philosophy of Nonviolence
Mr. Huffman’s U.S./Global History
AU5C19S1-2 (Leaders and Strategies & The Struggle Intensifies)
a) With the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a group of Sn black
ministers got together & formed the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) in ’57- This group emphasized non-violent protests,
where protesters were not to resist even if confronted with violence
i) This movement shifted the focus of the Civil Rights movement from the
North to the South, & put black clergy in the forefront of the movement
ii)The most significant leader was Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
3) Martin Luther King, Jr.- King had been born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929
a) His father & grandfather had both been Baptist ministers, & he went to
college, getting a divinity degree & then a Ph.D. in Theology
i) While in college, King read about the Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi,
who had led the Indian independence movement against the British
ii)When the bus boycott occurred, King was put in charge of coordination
iii) After the success of that effort, King trained volunteers to travel on Sn
bus routes, teaching them Gandhi's philosophies & showing them success
iv) He became a key player in Civil Rights movements across the nation,
and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964
b) In Apr ‘68, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39
Mr. Huffman’s U.S./Global History
AU5C19S1-2 (Leaders and Strategies & The Struggle Intensifies)
4) The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) started as an
offshoot of the SCLC in 1960, when Ella Baker expressed her concerns that
NAACP and SCLC were not adequately meeting the needs of black youth
a) She held a meeting to gauge interest, and over 200 students attended
i) At the meeting, they & some of the SCLC & CORE leaders discussed the
viability of a separate youth organization, & it was decided to go ahead
ii)SNCC was more aggressive in its efforts, although still non-violent
5) Sit-ins- The idea was to go to a segregated area & wait to be served or dealt
with, & it was effective because targeted businesses had to decide whether to
fight & lose business or to give in and allow the protesters to win
a) This practice evoked strong reactions from whites, who would often abuse
both blacks & whites who engaged in sit-ins, both physically & verbally
b) Since the act of sitting in was technically a violation of the law, protesters
were often arrested, even when their tormentors were not
6) The Freedom Rides- In Boynton v. Virginia, the USSC ruled that since busses
were no longer allowed to be segregated, neither could interstate bus terminals
a) Despite the ruling, many states dragged their feet in enforcing the law, and
CORE and SNCC organized the Freedom Rides to force the issue
Mr. Huffman’s U.S./Global History
AU5C19S1-2 (Leaders and Strategies & The Struggle Intensifies)
b) The 1st bus departed from Wash., D.C. in May ‘61, & headed for Atlanta
i) While not always pleasant, the group did alright reaching Atlanta, then
split into two smaller groups to head in different directions
ii)In Anniston, Alabama, the bus was stopped by an angry mob, who
slashed the tires & threw firebombs into the bus- The riders escaped the
burning bus, only to be beaten by the mob, which included police officers
iii) The riders were beaten in other cities, then arrested in Jackson, Miss.
iv) The public was aghast at the violence, but it did not abate
v) AG Robert Kennedy was eventually forced to put federal marshals on the
busses with the riders to protect them, & JFK finally convinced the
Interstate Commerce Commission to desegregate all interstate transport
7) The next year, a black student & Air Force veteran named James Meredith
attempted to apply to the University of Mississippi, known as "Ole Miss"
a) He was rejected because Ole Miss all white, but USSC ruled in his favor
b) The governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, refused to let him apply anyway
c) President Kennedy was eventually forced to send in the Army to enforce the
court ruling, & federal marshals escorted Meredith to & from his classes
Mr. Huffman’s U.S./Global History
AU5C19S1-2 (Leaders and Strategies & The Struggle Intensifies)
8) In 1963, a Birmingham minister invited MLK to visit Birmingham, which
King had referred to as "the most segregated city in the country"
a) King planned a protest campaign throughout the city, but the city police
commissioner, Eugene "Bull" Connor, was a dedicated segregationist, &
vowed to arrest as many as necessary to stop the protests
b) King was arrested with many of his followers, & was then criticized by a
group of white ministers as an outsider & an ill-timed troublemaker
i) From his cell, King replied that all such moves were considered ill-timed,
unless one had been told to wait all his or her life
ii)When released, King went back to work, this time allowing children to
join the marches- Despite the presence of children, the police used fire
hoses, tear gas, & dogs to break up the protests
c) Horrified, the nation watched on national television as protesters were
beaten, gassed, attacked by dogs, & hauled off to jail
i) Eventually, a compromise was set up by the Assistant Attorney General,
& a commission was appointed to settle the problem amicably
ii)Non-violence was again seen in a positive light, although its victory was
not definitive