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Civil Rights Movement
Do Now: What was Jim Crow
The “Jim Crow” South
State laws
established in the late 1800s
Why segregation?
Sociological/Psychological
Economics
Politics
Jim Crow Laws
Texas sign
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws
Plessy v. Ferguson
Late1800s
African Americans lawsuits to end segregation
railroad cars, disfranchisement of voters, and denial of access to schools and restaurants.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
constitutional grounds for segregation.
Reactions From the Black Community
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Creation of Organizations.
1890-- The National Afro-American League -W.E.B. Du Bois
helped create the Niagara Movement in 1905
1909--National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)—Du Bois
African American and Whites to secure equal participation in politics
1911-- National Urban League
created to help African Americans make the transition to urban, industrial life.
1942--Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
was founded to challenge segregation in public accommodations in the North.
Do Now:
Relate WWII to the Civil Rights Era
NAACP fought in the courts
Thurgood Marshall was hired by the NAACP to argue in the Supreme Court against school segregation. He won.
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He was later the 1 Black Supreme Court Justice.
Brown v. Board
1951 Oliver Brown (father of 8-year-old Linda Brown) sued the board of education for not allowing his daughter to attend school
May 17, 1954 supreme court overturned Plessey v. Ferguson
No changes immediately
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2 court case in 1955 calling for prompt desegregation “with all deliberate speed”
States ignored the ’54 Brown decision, so Feds were sent in.
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Federalism
When Federal troops are sent to make states follow federal laws, this struggle for power is called federalism.
The Civil Rights Movement was mostly getting the federal government to make state governments follow federal law.
Murder of Emmett Till
Murder caused outrage among community that helped bolster the movement
Do Now
What two events prompted the Civil Rights movement?
Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955
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Rosa Parks was arrested for violating the segregation laws of Montgomery, Alabama.
In Response. . .
Southern Christian Leadership Council
New Leader MLK Jr.
For over a year, Blacks boycotted the buses.
Many were arrested for an “illegal boycott” including their leader. . .
While the NAACP fought in the courts, MLK’s organization led the boycott.
Eventually…Success!
King’s sacrifice
King was arrested thirty times in his 38 year life.
His house was bombed or nearly bombed several times
Death threats constantly
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) “snick”
1960 Directed by Ella Baker to meet the demands of black youth.
200 at first meeting in Raleigh, NC
Robert Moses – Harvard grad and math teacher in Harlem—Influential leader
Sought more immediate change
Sit-ins
Popular form of resistance in the early 1960s.
Sit at a segregated counter and refuse to move
Question faced by business owner ($ or Face)
It was a Woolworth in the heart of the downtown area, and we occupied every seat at the lunch counter, every seat in the restaurant…A
group of young white men came in and they started pulling and beating primarily the young women. They put lighted cigarettes down
their backs, in their hair, and thy were really beating people. In a short time police officials came in and placed all of us under arrest, and
not a single member of the white group…
John Lewis
MLK said arrest was “a badge of honor”
By end of 1960– 70000 had participated and 3600 were arrested
They were led not by MLK but by college students!
SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) pronounced “Snick”
Sit-in Tactics
Dress in you Sunday best.
Be respectful to employees and police.
Do not resist arrest!
Do not fight back!
Remember, journalists are everywhere!
Students were ready to take your place if you had a class to attend.
Not only were there sit-ins. .
Swim ins (beaches, pools)
Kneel ins (churches)
Drive ins (at motels)
Study-ins (universities)
Little Rock 9
Orval Fabus, Arkansas Governor, ordered Arkansas National Guard to Block the entrance of African American students to Little Rock
Central High School.
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Eisenhower sent in 101 airborne (without the black members) to escort students.
Freedom Rides
New laws ending segregation were tested-INTERSTATE
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First 13 from D.C. on May 14 1961 (both white and black)
Headed for the deep south and met by angry armed mob
Tried to escape and:
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Members of the mob took their sharp instruments and slashed tires. The bus got to the outskirts of Anniston [Alabama] and the tires blew
out and the bus ground to a halt. Members of the mob had boarded cars and followed the bus, and now with the disabled bus standing
there, the members of the mob surrounded it, held the door closed, and a member of the mob threw a firebomb into the bus, breaking a
window to do so. Incidentally, there were some local policemen mingling with the mob, fraternizing with them while this was going on.
James Farmer
As the riders exited the flaming bus, they were beaten
Freedom Riders attacked!
Mobs also attacked them at the bus stations.
Freedom Rides Reactions
People were horrified at the violence toward the individuals just for sitting where they were sitting
By the time that the Busses reached Jackson Mississippi, the riders were arrested as well as their replacements
Though these first freedom rides were stopped, about 300 actually participated on all of the rides
Robert Kennedy sent federal marshals to protect other riders.
Kennedy also pressured the ICC to prohibit segregation on all transportation
James Meredith
Meredith sought to gain entry into Ole Miss (U o Miss) and was turned down due to his race
Meredith sued with NAACP’s help
Supreme Court agreed but the governor refused to allow him anyway
Crowds protested Meredith’s entry and gathered
Police used teargas
Two bystanders died
Kennedy eventually sent troops to restore order and escort Meredith to class
Part 2
Ole Miss fought against integration
200 were arrested during riots at Ole Miss
Birmingham
Campaign started by MLK and Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth to desegregate Birmingham Alabama(head of Alabama Christian
Movement) decided that Birmingham was the perfect model for resistance-- “The most segregated city in America”
Boycotts of downtown businesses to disrupt and hinder commerce
Sit-ins and marches at first.
Police got court injunction to prevent (parade)
King ignored– Civil disobedience
King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a response to white clergymen who criticized King.
Out of Jail
King decided that allowing young people to join the effort in Birmingham was the best step for the movement.
Police used high-pressure fire hoses and dogs. Bringing the protestor to the street, they would then beat them and haul them to jail. More
than 973 of the children protestors were arrested.
Eventually, after the public’s reaction to the gross measures, Birmingham officials had no choice but to desegregate the city.
The Story
High Schoolers jailed for marching
Do Now
What challenging question did MLK face in Birmingham?
Kennedy and Civil Rights
Robert Kennedy convinces Georgia judge to release MLK jr. from prison because MLK’s wife feared for his life.
JFK had offered help to MLK’s wife.
The black population saw a friend in JFK
Kennedy Walked the Line
Kennedy’s political message of civil right was much more apparent than the actions he took once in office.
Kennedy did appoint several blacks to high position in the office but at the same time appointed segregationists as well.
He moved slow on fair housing and other welfare movements
After what happened in Birmingham and earlier during the freedom rides, JFK began taking action against the southerners
Medgar Evers
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Civil rights leader shot and killed just after an address made by JFK
Byron de la Beckwith was charged but set free after 2 hung juries.
Partially as a result, JFK introduced a bill that prohibited segregation in public places and banned discrimination wherever federal funding
was involved but the bill was halted by the southern congressmen
March on Washington
Civil rights leaders decided to organize a march on Washington to promote the passing of the bill.
August 1963 200,000 people called for “jobs and freedom.”
Philip Randolph, a labor leader, organized the march.
Well-known figures such as James Baldwin, Sammy Davis Junior, and Jackie Robinson attended. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez hits were
performed by Peter, Paul and Mary at the march.
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
March on Washington 1963
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
3 Months after the March Kennedy was assassinated.
Johnson pushes the bill through congress though it faced a filibuster
The Bill
Title I-- Banned separate voting registration standards
Title II– Prohibited discrimination in public accommodations
Title IV –Allowed withholding of federal funds where discrimination existed
Title VII– Banned employment and union discrimination and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce the ban.
Reactions to the Bill
Many southerners continued to resist the changes
3 civil right leaders were killed.
Black churches and homes were firebombed.
More than 80 Mob attacks took place that summer
Selma March
Blacks in the south continued to meet opposition to their attempts to vote.
When blacks were arrested while standing in line to register in Selma, Alabama, King organized a 50 mile march from Selma to
Montgomery.
The police charged the marchers, clubbed, whipped and tear gassed them.
LBJ sent federal troops to protect the marcher.
25000 ended up marching.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
As a result of Selma, LBJ pushed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 through congress
The act allowed feds to register the black voters when needed and eliminated the literacy test.
400,000 registered that year.
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The 24 Amendment also was adopted outlawing poll taxes.
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Malcolm X, Black Nationalism,
Black Power and More
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Malcolm X
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Born Malcolm Little
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Raised in Ghettos of Detroit, New York and Boston
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Father died
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Turned to crime at young age
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Arrested at 20 for burglary and served 7 years in prison
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Joined Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) in jail
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Preached black separation and self-help
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Saw whites as oppressive
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Black Nationalism
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Elijah Muhammad (leader of the Nation of Islam) sought a union among all non-whites
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Preached economic self-sufficiency and waited for Allah to create a Black Nation
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Little changes name to X
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Opposed early civil rights movments
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A Turn Toward Action
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Turned from Elijah
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Extramarital etc
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Traveled to Mecca, Africa and Europe
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Inspired to move more in line with King
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Eventually assassinated by N of I Members
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SNCC and Black Power
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Malcolm’s ideas of Black Nationalism inspired the SNCC
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Leader of SNCC, Stokely Carmichael moved toward nationalism
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Urged SNCC leaders to carry guns
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Protest movement in Greenwood, Mississippi, Kings supporters chanted “We shall overcome” Carmichaels chanted “We shall overrun”
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Black Power chanting became a slogan
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Carmichael
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Now, several people have been upset because we’ve said that integration was irrelevant when initiated by blacks, and that in fact it was a
subterfuge, an insidious subterfuge, for the maintenance of white supremacy. Now we maintain that in the past six years or so, this
country has been feeding us a "thalidomide drug of integration," and that some Negroes have been walking down a dream street talking
about sitting next to white people; and that that does not begin to solve the problem; that when we went to Mississippi we did not go to sit
next to Ross Barnett; we did not go to sit next to Jim Clark; we went to get them out of our way; and that people ought to understand that;
that we were never fighting for the right to integrate, we were fighting against white supremacy. Now, then, in order to understand white
supremacy we must dismiss the fallacious notion that white people can give anybody their freedom. No man can give anybody his
freedom. A man is born free. You may enslave a man after he is born free, and that is in fact what this country does. It enslaves black
people after they’re born, so that the only acts that white people can do is to stop denying black people their freedom; that is, they must
stop denying freedom. They never give it to anyone
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Black Panthers
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Militant political party formed by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton.
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Demanded feds rebuild ghettos and give leadership to blacks
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Confronted white authority directly
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“power flows from the barrel of a gun”
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Black is Beautiful
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Riots
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Anger toward white opression exploded into riots in New York and New Jersey 1964
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In LA’s Watts in August of 1965, 21-year-old pulled over. Resisted arrest and residents rioted when cop beat man with his baton.
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Burning, looting, beating, sniping etc led to 34 deaths.
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Watts Riots Pictures Video
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1968
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King is assassinated after “poor peoples march”
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Riots in 120 cities leaving 50 dead
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Kings death led many to believe that the non-violence movement was not working.
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Robert Kennedy enters the presidential primaries as a civil rights advocate
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After victory speech in LA he is shot
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Speech by Kennedy about Kings Assassination
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Success and Failure
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Obvious racism still existed in US
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De Facto Segregation still existed
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Voter registration increased dramatically
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Segregation was illegal and enforceable.
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Million-Man March 1995
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Farrakhan– Nation of Islam
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800000 march for rights
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Increase voting
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Increase black pride
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Civil Rights
Women, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans
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Objectives: To understand how other groups used experiences of blacks to gain rights
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Do Now: How did Malcolm X’s philosophy change throughout his life
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Feminism
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Born in 1895, the term feminism describes equality between men and women.
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Feminist sought to make this happen
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1950s– What were the stereotypes?
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WWII’s impact
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Post WWII college 25%. 1970=43% BA
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Why the reluctance to hire women?
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1963 .59/1 1973 .57/1 Results= Frustration
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Contributions of Civil Right Movement
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What were the contributions?
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Bills
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Arguments
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How?
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Organization
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Title VII
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EEOC
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Common Purpose
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NOW– National Organization for Women
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Fair Pay
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Equal work opportunities
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Attacked the “false image of women”
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Within 4 years—15000 members
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Arguments for and against
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Results of Feminism
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New ideas for women.
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Book– Our Bodies, Ourselves– 1970– understand health issues—3 million issues by 1990
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1972 Ms. Magazine founded by Gloria Steinem– Contrast to Good Housekeeping and Ladies’ Home Journal—300,000 copies within
8 days—200,000 subscribers within a year
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1972 Higher Education Act– Prohibited Sex Discrimination
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More Changes
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Shirley Chisholm of New York sought the presidency. Won support in the Democratic National Convention but withdrew
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1973 Roe v. Wade– Divided the movement
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1972 Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced but failed to pass
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“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account
of sex.”
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Latinos
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Three major groups
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Puerto Ricans in the Northeast
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Cubans in Florida
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Chicanos in the Southwest
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Chicanos=largest population
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WWII-1967 Braceros– Temp Farm Hands
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Eisenhower: 1950 “Operation Wetback”– Deport illegals
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Organization throughout 1960s
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Cesar Chavez became the leader of the migrant farmers– the most exploited group of Latinos
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Organization of UFW
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Chavez believed that unionization was the best bet to gain attention
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United Farm Workers gained support as they went from door to door.
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Non-violent approach
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Organized boycott of grapes grown on non-union farms
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1975– California law requiring collective bargaining
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Latino Political Progress
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During the 1960s, Gonzalez, Montoya, and Garza gained positions in congress
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La Raza Unida, a political party in 1970 helped to gain national attention to the civil injustice that existed.
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Asian American Protest
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Compensation for internment during WWII through the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
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Lower wage earnings were protested yet Asian-Americans were well-educated.
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Hawaii became a state in 1959 gave a voice to Asian-Americans in congress
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Native Americans
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Native Americans sought to gain their land back.
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Offered money but did not want it
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1968 Dennis Banks and George Mitchell organized the American Indian Movement (AIM)
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Focused on cultural pride, autonomy, and control of native lands and the natural resources that exist on those lands
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Militant approach was criticized
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Examples of Actions
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Mayflower Thanksgiving 1970
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Mt. Rushmore July 5, 1971
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Bureau of Indian Affairs Nov. 1972
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Reactions to Activism
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Indian Education Act– Allowed reservations more control of schools
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Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975- Gave more autonomy and allowed them to administer
federal welfare programs
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Also continued to regain lands and resources associated with the lands.