The Civil Rights Era
Chapter 29
The Civil Rights
Movement
Chapter 29 Section 1
List all of the things that you already
know about the Civil Rights movement
and/or Minorities fighting for their
rights. (people, places, events, ideas)
Why do you know this?
List all of the things that you already
know about the Civil Rights movement
and/or Minorities fighting for their
rights. (people, places, events, ideas)
RACISM
 Racism – the belief that certain races of
people are better than others
Equality in Education
 Segregation – the separation of people of
different races
 Plessy v. Ferguson – “separate but equal”
 NAACP – National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
 Thurgood Marshall – chief lawyer
 Challenged “separate but equal”
Brown v. Board of Education
 Topeka, KS – 1954
 Linda Brown – forced to travel several
miles to school
 Violated 14th amendment
 The case Thurgood Marshall had been
waiting for
 Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson
Coming Together
 Integration – bringing the races together
 “with all deliberate speed”
 Some had to be forced
 Confrontation in Little Rock, AR
 Governor Orval Faubus ordered National
Guard to stop integration
 Eisenhower thought otherwise
Central High School
Little Rock, AR
1957
http://ctp.facinghistory.org/stories/crisis_in_littl
e_rock/in_her_own_words
Partner Activity
1.
2.
I grew up in ________ during ________
When I saw the COLORED ONLY signs, I
____________________
3. My father was ______________
4. In my school system, ______________
5. When I was young I was afraid of ______
6. I learned my beliefs about race from ______
7. (Daniel) – When I drive through a black neighborhood, I ______
(Lisa) – When my daughter walks through a white
neighborhood, she ___________________
8.
My attitude towards segregation was __________________
9. When I look back at my youth, I feel
________________________
10. My biggest fear about the legacy of segregation and racism is
___________________
Bus Boycott
 Montgomery, AL – 1955
 Rosa Parks – refused to give up her seat
to a white person
 Boycott – refuse to use
 75% of all bus users were black
 Martin Luther King – unknown preacher,
quickly became leader
Bus Boycott Continued…
 People used many different methods of
transportation
 Supreme court ruled segregation of
buses unconstitutional
 Boycott ended
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
 National civil rights leader
 Non-Violent
 Civil disobedience – refusal to obey laws
that are considered unjust
 Southern Christian Leadership
Conference – 60 preachers
 “I have a dream…”
The Struggle
Continues
Chapter 29 Section 3
Protests
 Sit-in – protesting by sitting down
 Led to many businesses desegregation
 “Freedom Riders” – made sure bus laws
were being followed
 Violence broke out – riders were stoned
 Led to desegregation of interstate busses
 Crossing state lines
Gaining Ground
 1st African American to attend the
University of Mississippi
 James Meredith; had to be aided by police
 Riots
 University of Alabama desegregated
 Governor George Wallace tried to stop it
 March on Washington
 200,000 people – led by Martin Luther King
 “I have a dream”
Gaining More Ground
 Civil Rights Act of 1964
 No discrimination in hiring
 Desegregated restaurants, theaters, stores
and hotels
 Voting Rights Act of 1964
 All states have to allow all races to vote
Other Voices of Civil Rights
 Malcolm X
 Nation of Islam leader (Black Muslims)
 African Americans need to separate
themselves (soon changed his mind)
 Famous autobiography
 Stokely Carmichael
 Black Power – racial pride
Violence Erupts
 Black Panther Party – Oakland, CA
 To protect African Americans from police
brutality – violence against citizens by the
police
 Armed disputes with police
Riots
 Watts section of Los Angeles
 1st and most violent
 Detroit, San Francisco, Cleveland, Chicago
 Protests, looting, fighting, burning
Martin Luther King
Assassinated
 April 4, 1968
 Shot at his hotel in Memphis, TN
 James Earl Ray
 Riots in over 100 cities
Other Groups
Seeking Rights
Chapter 29 Section 4
Women’s Rights
 Equal Pay Act – employers have to pay
women the same as men
 Betty Friedan – Feminine Mystique
 Feminist – activist for women’s rights
 National Organization for Women (NOW)
 Equal Rights Amendment – would not pass
 Women were gaining more important
jobs and even political offices
Hispanic American Rights
 Hispanic – coming from the countries of
Latin America or Spain
 Extremely fast growing population
 Fighting for the rights of farm workers
 Cesar Chavez – United Farm Workers (UFW)
 Strikes/boycotts for better wages
Native Americans

After WWII was a time of struggle



National Congress of American Indians


Poverty, unemployment, poor nutrition
Life expectancy – 46 years old
Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968
American Indian Movement – more extreme

Lead by Russell Means
Americans with
disabilities
 Many new laws were passed to protect
the rights of those who suffer from
physical and mental disabilities
African Am.
Hispanic Am.
Native Am.
Women
Disabled