The Civil Rights
Movement
1950’s-1960’s
Beginnings of Change
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Until well into the 20th century , much of the
South was segregated, or separated by race.
Although less apparent in the North, AfricanAmericans were generally restricted to poorer
neighborhoods and lower paying jobs.
Until the 1950’s gains in Civil Rights were
limited.
Civil Rights Milestones
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1947:
Jackie Robinson becomes
first African American
permitted to play in major
league baseball.
This was one sign that
public attitudes on
segregation were
beginning to change.
Civil Rights Milestones
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1948
Executive Order 9981
Truman issues an
Executive Order
banning segregation
in the armed forces.
Major Civil Rights Activism &
Protests 1954-1965
1954: Brown v. Board of Education
Outcome: Supreme Court ruled that separate
educational facilities for whites and African
Americans are inherently unequal.
Overturns 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision that
separate but equal public facilities were legal
1957 Little Rock Arkansas
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Arkansas Gov. Orval Rubus
uses National Guard to block
nine black students from
attending a Little Rock High
School; following a court
order, President Eisenhower
sends in federal troops to
ensure compliance or that
students get into school.
Elizabeth Eckford 1 of the 9
African-American students
assigned to attend the white
Little Rock High after the
Brown v. Board decision.
1955:The Montgomery Boycott
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In Montgomery, Alabama, an African American seamstress named Rosa Parks refused
to give up her seat to a white man and move to the back of the bus, as was required
by law.
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She was arrested and her action inspired a boycott of city’s buses.
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The boycott lasted 381 days.
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In the end, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public buses was illegal.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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Dr. King emerged as a leader of the bus boycott
protests.
King had used nonviolent methods of Gandhi & Thoreau
or civil disobedience.
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This means the deliberate breaking of a law to show a belief that
the law is unjust.
For example, “sit-ins,” boycotts, marches, protests
Greensboro: 1960’s
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Practicing civil disobedience, demonstrators protested
segregated lunch counters and buses.
Birmingham, Alabama: 1963
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It was a KKK stronghold and King described it as America’s
worst city for racism.
City businessmen actually believed that racism held back
the city but their voices were usually quiet.
In recent years, the KKK had castrated an African American;
pressured the city to ban a book from book stores as it
contained pictures of black and white rabbits and wanted
black music banned on radio stations.
Birmingham Alabama: 1963
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In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership
Committee began a campaign to bring integration to Birmingham.
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At this protest march police used dogs and fire hoses to break up the
marchers.
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More than 2,000 people were arrested
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One of those jailed was Dr. King
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Television cameras brought the scenes of violence in Birmingham to people
across the country which helped build support for the movement.
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The protests led to the desegregation of city facilities
1963: Birmingham, Alabama
The March On Washington: 1963
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The growing civil rights movement moved JFK to
deliver a televised speech to the nation in June,
1963 on the need to guarantee the civil rights of
African Americans.
8 days later he sent the most comprehensive
civil rights bill in the nation’s history to
Congress.
The March on Washington: 1963
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Civil rights groups organized a huge march in
Washington D.C. in August, 1963.
At the march, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech.
March on Washington: 1963
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In his speech he expressed his hopes for a
unified America.
Assassinations
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April 1968
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King went to Memphis, Tennessee to support
a sanitation workers’ strike
There he was hot and killed by a white
assassin.
The murder of the leading spokesperson for
nonviolence set off new rounds of rioting in
American cities.
Assassinations
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Just two months after King’s death, Senator Robert F. Kennedy,
brother of the late President and now a presidential candidate
committed to civil rights was assassinated.
The shock of these deaths and the increasing urban violence made
the goals of King & the Kennedy’s seem far off to many Americans.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Passage of this act came just months after
the ratification of the Twenty-Fourth
Amendment to the Constitution.
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24rth Amendment abolished the poll tax in
federal elections that many Southern states
had implemented during Reconstruction
(1865-1877)
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US: 1964
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Racial segregation of private facilities
engaged in interstate commerce was
found unconstitutional.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
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Put an end to literacy tests
Authorized federal examiners to register voters
in areas suspected of denying African American
the right to vote
Directed the attorney general of the U.S. to take
legal action against states that continued to use
poll taxes in state elections.
FREEDOM SUMMER!
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The summer of 1964 was known as this
for its many demonstrations, protests,
voter registration drives and the March on
Washington.
Malcolm X: 1960’s
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Militant Leader for African
American rights
Attracted those frustrated
by the slow pace of the
civil rights movement
Spoke against integration,
instead promoting black
nationalism
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A belief in the separate
identity & racial unity of
the African American
community.
Malcolm X:
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Broke off ties with the
separatist group, the
Nation of Islam in
1964.
Formed his own
religious organization:
Muslim Mosque, Inc.
Pilgrimage to Mecca
changed his views on
integration and
violence.
Malcolm X
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Malcolm X returned and began to work
toward a more unified civil rights
movement without violence.
He made enemies though, and in February
1965, he was assassinated at a NYC rally.
RIOTS
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1964 & 1965
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Frustration over discrimination in housing,
education and employment boiled over into
riots in NYC, Rochester and the Watts
neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Affirmative Action: 1960’s
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This means taking positive steps to eliminate the
effects of past discrimination in hiring.
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Women, African Americans & other minority groups
In practice, it often meant giving preference to
members of such groups when hiring workers or
accepting applicants to schools.
Affirmative Action: Issue
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Reverse Discrimination?
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1978
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Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
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imposed limitations on affirmative action to ensure that
providing greater opportunities for minorities did not come
at the expense of the rights of the majority. In other words,
affirmative action was unfair if it lead to reverse
discrimination.
Johnson & the Civil Rights Act of
1964
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LBJ signed this act in July, 1964
It is the most sweeping civil rights law in American
history.
The bill called for:
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Protection of voting rights for all Americans
Opening of public facilities to people of all races
A commission to protect job opportunities for all Americans
Considered a turning point in the struggle for civil rights!