Unit 5 Notes 2:
Causes and Effects in the Civil
Rights Movement
Modern U.S. History
Unit 5: Civil Rights
Instructions for Notes 2
• These notes will help you understand the
Causes and Effects of laws passed during the
Civil Rights movement.
– Each page has a law in the middle. This is
surrounded by actions taken to help pass the law.
• Next to each action, make sure you put a “V”
for violent or a “NV” for nonviolent to help
you keep them apart.
– Remember that violent or nonviolent applies to
the path the people fighting for civil rights took,
not what was done to them by others.
NAACP
• The NAACP (National
Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People) worked through
legal strategy to
overcome the inequity in
education between blacks
and whites. With a legal
team headed by Thurgood
Marshall (who would
later become the first
African-American
Supreme Court Justice)
NV
NAACP
• The NAACP won cases
outlawing school
segregation including
the important Brown v.
Board of Education of
Topeka (1954). In this
case the Supreme Court
said that separate but
equal in education is a
violation of the 14th
Amendment.
Emmett Till
• 14 year old Emmett Till
visited his great uncle
in Mississippi. He
reportedly whistled at
a white woman while
in a shop. Two days
later he was removed
from his home, beaten,
shot, and drowned by
two white men.
NV - Mom’s
choice to have
an open casket
funeral
Emmett Till
• The white men were
acquitted by an all white,
male jury. Till’s mother
insisted on an open
casket so that the world
could see what had
happened to her son.
The white men admitted
their guilt and sold their
story for money, but
were never punished by
the law.
Rosa Parks
• On December 1,
1955, Rosa Parks sat
in the front row of
the black section of
the bus. As the bus
filled, the white
driver told her to
move back. Parks
refused and was
arrested.
Rosa Parks
NV
• Parks was a well
respected member of the
African-American
community in
Montgomery, Alabama
and was an officer of the
NAACP. Parks had
planned this action
because, as she recalled,
“it was time for someone
to stand up—or in my
case, sit down, I refused
to move.”
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• In response to Parks’
arrest, leaders of the
Montgomery African
American community
chose 26-year-old Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
to lead the boycott. On
December 5, 1955, Dr.
King spoke to a crowd of
thousands and began the
bus boycott.
NV
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• For 381 days 90% of
Montgomery’s African
American community
boycotted the buses.
They walked or
organized car pools and
taxis. Finally, in 1956,
the Supreme Court
outlawed bus
segregation.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
• Established federal Commission on Civil
Rights
• Established a Civil Rights Division in the
Justice Department to enforce civil rights
laws
• Enlarged federal power to protect voting
rights
Little Rock Nine
• In September 1957, 9
African American
students were the first to
integrate Little Rock,
Arkansas' Central High
School. The governor
ordered the Arkansas
National Guard to turn
the students away and the
students faced
harassment during their
attempt to enter the
school.
Little Rock Nine
NV
• Eisenhower ordered
federal troops to
escort the students to
and from school and
protect them during
their day. At the end
of the year the
governor closed the
school rather than
have it integrated.
Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
• In February of 1960,
students participating
in the Student
Nonviolent
Coordinating
Committee (SNCC)
organized sit-ins at a
whites-only lunch
counter in
Greensboro, NC.
Lunch Counter Sit-ins
NV
• TV crews covered the
event as whites beat,
jeered at, and poured
food over the students
who refused to fight
back. This coverage
sparked other sit-ins
across the South. By
late 1960, students had
desegregated lunch
counters in 48 cities
across 11 states.
Freedom Riders
• On May 4, 1961 two
busses of African
American and white
activists left
Washington D.C. to
travel to New Orleans.
Their travel through
the South was to
protest segregation
on interstate bus lines,
something that had
been deemed illegal.
Freedom Riders
NV
• The groups were
consistently met with
extreme violence and
a second group had to
arrive to continue the
ride when those of the
first group were too
injured to go on. They
never made it to New
Orleans, but did get as
far as Jackson,
Mississippi where they
were arrested.
March on Birmingham
• In April of 1963, Martin
Luther King, Jr. flew to
Birmingham Alabama to
assist the local SCLC
(Southern Christian
Leadership Conference) in
desegregating Birmingham,
“the most segregated city in
America” according to MLK.
Demonstrations were held
and King was arrested.
During this time he wrote
his letter from a
Birmingham Jail.
March on Birmingham
• On May 2, 1953, more
than 1000 African
American children
marched on
Birmingham. Most
were arrested. On May
3, a 2nd children’s
march came under
attack from police
including fire hoses
and attack dogs. The
nation watched as
Birmingham police
brutally attacked these
NV
Excerpt from Letter from a Birmingham Jail
• We know through painful experience that freedom is never
voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the
oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action
campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have
not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years
now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every
Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always
meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our
distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice
denied."
• We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional
and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving
with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we
still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of
coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have
never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait."
Excerpt from Letter from a Birmingham Jail
• But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and
fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim;
when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even
kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast
majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in
an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society;
when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech
stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter
why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just
been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her
eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children,
and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her
little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her
personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward
white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five
year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat
colored people so mean?";
Excerpt from Letter from a Birmingham Jail
• when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to
sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your
automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are
humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white"
and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your
middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your
last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never
given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day
and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living
constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect
next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments;
when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of
"nobodiness"--then you will understand why we find it difficult
to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs
over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss
of despair.
Excerpt from Letter from a Birmingham Jail
• I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable
impatience. You express a great deal of anxiety over our
willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern.
Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's
decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at
first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to
break laws. One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking
some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that
there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first
to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a
moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a
moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with
St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."
March on Washington D.C.
• On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000
people (including about 75,000 whites)
gathered at the Washington Monument
and marched to the Lincoln Memorial.
There speakers, including Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. spoke to demand the
immediate passage of the Civil Rights Bill.
Dr. King gave his famous “I have a dream”
speech at this event.
March on Washington D.C.
NV
Birmingham Church
Bombing
• On September 15, 1963, the KKK threw a
bomb into the 16th Street Baptist Church
in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young
girls, one 11 –year-old and three 14-yearolds, were killed. No one was punished for
the crime until May 2001 when one of the
Klansmen that bombed the church was
found guilty and sentenced to life in jail.
V – KKK
action
JFK’s Assasination
• In November
1963, President
John F.
Kennedy was
assassinated in
Dallas, Texas.
Vice President
Johnson vowed
to continue
his work in
Civil Rights.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Banned most discrimination in employment
and in public accommodations
• Enlarged federal power to protect voting
rights and speed up school desegregation
• Established Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission to ensure fair treatment in
employment
Freedom Summer
In Mississippi, during the summer of 1963, civil
rights activists began registering as many
African Americans as they could to vote. Most of
the volunteers for this project were northern
college students.
NV
Freedom Summer
• Many were white and
1/3 were women. These
activists faced many
problems while trying to
register voters. 3 of the
Freedom Summer
workers were murdered
(see next page for more
info).
Fannie Lou Hamer at the 1964
Democratic National Convention
NV
SNCC organized the Mississippi
Freedom Democratic Party
(MFDP) to gain seats for African
Americans in Mississippi’s all
white Democratic Party. At the
Democratic National Convention,
Fannie Lou Hamer described
conditions in Mississippi
including how she was jailed for
registering to vote in 1962 and
how she was beaten in jail
The Selma Campaign
In 1965, the SCLC and SNCC organized a
voting rights campaign in Selma, Alabama. By
the end of 1965, more than 2,000 African
Americans had been arrested in
demonstrations. During police violence at one
demonstration at a church, Jimmy Lee Jackson
was shot and killed.
NV
The Selma to Montgomery March
To protest Jackson’s murder and
to take the demonstration to the
state capital of Montgomery,
Martin Luther King announced
a 50-mile protest march from
Selma to Montgomery. On
March 7, 1965, approximately
600 protesters left for
Montgomery. TV cameras
captured the scene as police
beat and gassed protesters that
night.
The Selma to Montgomery March
• Ten days later, President Johnson presented
Congress with a new voting rights act and
asked for its quick passage. On March 21,
1965, 3,000 marchers set out again for
Montgomery with federal protection. The
number of marchers grew to 25,000.
NV
24th Amendment
• Passed January 24, 1964
• Outlawed poll taxes
Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Eliminated Voter Literacy Test
• Enabled federal examiners to register
voters.
Freedom Summer—1964
• During the voter registration drive in
Mississippi, 3 Freedom Summer workers,
2 white men from the North and 1 black
man from Mississippi, were murdered.
They were arrested by the sheriff and then
released after he notified the KKK of their
whereabouts. The activists were removed
from their car, tortured, shot, and buried.
Only after weeks of searching were their
bodies found. Mississippi refused to V – KKK
Action
prosecute the sheriff and others.
1968 Assassinations
Dr. and Mrs. King
On April 4, 1968,
Martin Luther
King was killed
on a hotel
balcony in
Memphis,
Tennessee. His
death devastated
the nation and
100 cities
exploded in
violent race
riots.
1968 Assassinations
• On June 6, 1968,
Robert Kennedy was
assassinated while
giving a speech in
L.A. Kennedy was
running for President.
The deaths of both of
these men were great
blows to the nonviolent Civil Rights
movement.
The Kerner Commission Report
On March 1, 1968, the Kerner Commission
released its report. President Johnson had
appointed this group to study the causes of
urban violence. The report said that the one
main cause of urban violence was white
racism. The report called for social programs
to provide jobs and housing for African
Americans and the end to de facto segregation.
Urban Riots
In the mid-1960’s clashes between white authority
and black civilians were rampant. In New York
City during July 1964, a 15-year-old student was
killed in an encounter with police. This sparked a
riot in Harlem. On August 11, 1965, the worst
race riots in America’s history happened in
Watts, a predominantly African American
community in L.A. 34 people were killed in
Watts. 1966 and 1967 saw more violence with a
riot in Detroit in 1967 that killed 43 people.
V
Urban Riots
Malcolm X
After victories over de jure
segregation, how to battle de
facto segregation became a
large problem. New leaders
arose with new methods that
empowered many civil rights
activists. Malcolm X became a
leader in the Nation of Islam
(Black Muslims). He urged a
message of separation from
whites for blacks because he
felt that whites were the cause
of poor conditions for blacks.
Malcolm X
• His call to self-defense for blacks appealed to an
increasing sense of racial pride. Malcolm X also
believed that blacks should work to improve their
own communities rather than working for
complete integration. After embarking on a
pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964, Malcolm X broke
with the teachings of the Nation of Islam and
proposed a new idea called “ballots or bullets”.
His idea was that if blacks don’t use the ballot
they would have to use bullets so they should try
the ballot.
V
Malcolm X
• While giving a
speech in Harlem on
February 21, 1965,
Malcolm X was shot
16 times and killed.
Many suspect that it
was because of his
separation with the
Nation of Islam.
V
Black Power
The idea of Black Power was
popularized through a SNCC worker
named Stokely Carmichael in 1966.
Carmichael embodied a number of
African Americans who were
frustrated with the violence against
them. His idea of Black Power was
a, “call for black people to begin to
define their own goals . . . [and] to
lead their own organizations.” Black
Power also meant focusing on
African pride rather than trying to
join with the whites.
The Black Panther Party
In October of 1966, the
Black Panther Party
was formed in
Oakland, California.
This party advocated
self defense against
police brutality and
self sufficiency for
African American
communities.
The Black Panther Party
• Similar to the Black Power
movement, the Black
Panthers worked to improve
the situations of Blacks
themselves, such as
establishing daycare centers,
meal programs, medical
clinics, and assistance to the
homeless. Several shootouts
occurred between the
Panthers and the police
which caused many FBI
investigations of the BPP.
V
Civil Rights Act of 1968
• Prohibited discrimination in the sale or
rental of most housing
• Strengthened anti-lynching laws
• Made it a FEDERAL crime to harm civil
rights workers
Violent vs. Nonviolent
• Things to keep in mind:
– While both the nonviolent and violent civil rights
movement existed at the same time, the nonviolent
movement was most popular during the 1950’s and
1960’s while fighting de jure segregation –
segregation that comes from the law (Brown v.
Board of Education, Voting Rights Act, etc.)
– The “violent” side of the movement gained
popularity in reaction to de facto segregation –
segregation that exists within people and prevents
minorities from getting good jobs, housing,
education, etc. This focus was more in the North
during the early 1960’s and everywhere in the late
1960’s and 1970’s
Malcolm X Movie
• You are about to watch clips from Spike Lee’s movie
about Malcolm X.
– The clips start with the intro to the movie which is a
famous speech given by Malcolm X
– Next you will see a selection of speeches given by
Malcolm X while he was working for the Nation of Islam
– Malcolm then returns on a plane from a pilgrimage to
Mecca after he left the Nation of Islam. You will also see
the problems he encountered with having his life
threatened.
– Then you will see Malcolm preparing for the speech at
the Audobon Ballroom (where he was killed) and finally
Ossie Davis reading the eulogy he delivered at Malcolm
X’s funeral
– If you are interested in this movie, please watch the entire
thing for extra credit (you can find it on Netflix)