Chapter 21 Civil Rights
p. 730
Essential Question: in what ways did African Americans
fight discrimination during the civil rights era?
Section 1. p. 732 Taking on Segregation
Main Idea: Activism and a series of Supreme Court decisions advanced
equal rights for Afr/Am in the 1950s and 1960s.
Why it matters now: Landmark Supreme Court decisions beginning in
1954 have guaranteed civil rights for Americans today.
Obj: Describe the expansion of the civil rights movement
Vocab: Thurgood Marshall, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Rosa
Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Southern Christian Leadership
Conference( SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC),
sit-in
The Segregation System: Civil Rights Act of 1875 outlawed segregation in public
facilities – however in 1883, the Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional.
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896: 1890s court decisions and state laws severely limited
Af/Am rights. 1890 in Louisiana a law passed requiring RRs to provide “equal but
separate accommodations for white and colored races.” In the Plessy case, the
Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” WAS constitutional and did not
violate the 14th Amendment. With this decision, state throughout the nation –
especially the South – passed laws aimed at separating blacks and whites called
Jim Crow Laws. Example of Jim Crow: no mixed marriages, restrictions on social
and religious contact, separate schools, streetcars, waiting rooms, RR coaches,
elevators, witness stands, public restrooms. These “separate” facilities were
always inferior to those for whites. Signs read, “ Colored Water, No Black Allowed,
Whites Only.”
What were the effects of the Supreme court decision Plessy v. Ferguson? Since
the court ruled that segregation was not unconstitutional, many states, especially
in the South, passed segregationist Jim Crow laws.
• After the Civil War, Af/Am tried to leave the racism by moving north – this Great
Migration speeded up greatly during WWI. Many Af/Am were poor
sharecroppers who left the farm for the promise of industrial jobs in the North
only to discover racial prejudice and segregation there also. Housing was found
in all black areas and many white workers resented the competition for jobs –
which sometimes led to violence.
• In many ways, the events of WWII set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement. 1.
demand for soldiers in 1940s led to a shortage of white laborers – this opened up
new job opportunities for blacks, Latinos and white women. 2. nearly 1 million
blacks served their country – so many men were needed that they ended the
discriminatory policy. Many black soldiers returned from war determined to fight
for their own freedom now that they had helped defeat fascist regimes overseas.
3. During the war, civil rights organizations actively fought for Af/Am voting rights
and challenged Jim Crow laws.
• Pres. Roosevelt responded to protests by issuing a presidential directive
prohibiting racial discrimination by federal agencies and all companies engaged in
war work – this laid the groundwork for more organized campaigns to end
segregation in the US.
Challenging Segregation in Court: Desegregation was largely led by NAACP since
1909.
• NAACP Legal Strategy: The focused on the inequality between schools. At that
time, the nation spent 10X more on educating white children, therefore, they
focused their limited resources on challenging the inequalities of segregated
public education.
• 1938 Thurgood Marshall a lawyer and his team (NAACP lawyers) over the next 23
years would win 29 out of 32 cases argued before the Supreme Court. Some
were milestones chipping away at the Plessy case.
• 1946 – Morgan v. Virginia – Supreme Court rules unconstitutional state laws
mandating segregated seating on interstate buses.
• 1950 – Sweatt v. Painter – state law schools MUST admit black applicants – even
if a separate black school exists.
• Brown v. Board of Education Topeka, Kansas: May 17, 1954 – 8 year old Linda
Brown charged that her rights were violate by denying her admission to an allwhite elementary school 4 blocks from her house. The nearest black school was
21 blocks away. LANDMARK VERDICT: The Supreme Court unanimously struck
down segregation in schooling as unconstitutional and a violation of the 14th
Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
• How did the Brown decision affect schools outside of Topeka? Brown said that
segregation has no place in public education, so all public schools must
desegregate – Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Reaction to the Brown Decision: Mixed – some states saw segregation ending with
little trouble, some said it would take years to work out. Some governors actively
prevented desegregation and vowed total resistance. In some areas the KKK
appears and white citizen organizations boycotted businesses that supported
segregation. Then to speed things up, in 1955 the Court handed down a 2nd ruling
called Brown II – ordering the speedy implementation of desegregation in schools.
Initially, Pres. Eisenhower refused to enforce compliance because he felt that to
inforce it would be “nuts.” Then things happened in Little Rock, Arkansas forces
him to act.
1948 – Arkansas – 1st Southern state to admit Af/Am to a state university - without
a court order. HOWEVER – Gov. Orval Faubus publicly showed support for
segregation and ordered the National Guard in Sept of 1957 to turnaway the “Little
Rock Nine” – 9 Af/Am who volunteered to integrate Little Rock’s Central High
School. A federal judge ordered Faubus to let the students attend school.
The NAACP arranged to drive 8 of the 9 (they could not reach the 9th student – Elizabeth
Eckford). She set out alone facing an abusive crowd outside Central High. The terrified
15-year old made it to the bus stop where 2 friendly whites stayed with her.
Why weren’t schools in all regions desegregated immediately after the Brown II
decision?
Some Southern whites and state officials resisted desegregation, and neither the
president nor congress forced them to act quickly.
• Pres. Eisenhower was forced to act. He placed the Arkansas National Guard under
federal control and ordered a thousand paratroopers into Little Rock. It was watched
on national TV.
• The Guard could not protect them from harassment inside the school. At the end of the
year, Gov. Faubus shut down Central High rather than let integration continue.
• Sept. 9, 1957, congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 – the first since
reconstruction – led by Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson – it gave the attorney general greater
power over school desegregation and gave the federal gov’t authority over violations of
Af/Am voting rights.
What effect do you think TV coverage of the Little Rock incident had on the
nation?
TV allowed people to see the white separatists’ cruel treatment of the Am/Am
students.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott: 1954, Jo Ann Robinson asked the mayor of
Montgomery, AL in a letter to stop forcing blacks to sit in the back of the bus and
when it was crowded – give up their seats.
Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks a seamstress and an NAACP officer sat in the front of the
bus and refused to move. She was arrested. The leaders of the Af/Am community
including ministers formed the Montgomery Improvement Association and
organized a bus boycott. They elected the young pastor of the Dexter Street
Baptist Church in Montgomery, Al – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as their leader. Dr.
King gave a speech about righting a wrong. Dr. King’s passionate and eloquent
speech brought people to their feet and filled the audience with a sense of
mission.
Af/Am filed a lawsuit and for 381 days refused to ride buses in Montgomery. Many
organized car pools or walked. Support came from within the black community –
as well as outside (United auto workers, Montgomery Jewish Community). 1956,
the Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation.
Why was Rosa Parks' action on Dec. 1, 1957 significant? Parks' refusal to give up
her seat to a white man led to a city wide bus boycott; it also brought Martin
Luther King, Jr. to prominence.
Martin Lither King and the SCLC: the bus boycott proved that Af/Am could unite
and organize successful peaceful protests movements. They also proved the power
of non-violence resistance – the peaceful refusal to obey unjust laws.
Dr. King called his brand of non-violent resistance “soul force.” he based his ideas
on the teachings of Jesus – love your enemies, writer Henry David Thoreau –
concept of civil disobedience, A. Philip Randolph – organize massive
demonstrations, Mohandas Gandhi –(Helped India throw off British rule) – reisi
oppression without violence.
What were the central points of Dr. King’s philosophy? “Soul force” or nonviolent
resistance, which included acts of civil disobedience, demonstrations, and
adherence to nonviolence.
After the bus boycott ended, Dr. King and other ministers and civil rights leaders
(1957) founded the SCLC – Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Purpose:
to carry on nonviolent crusades against the evils of second-class citizenship.
Protests were staged throughout the South.
SNCC – Student Nonviolent coordinating committee – “snick” black university
students who were organized protesters who risked losing scholarships, expulsion
and physically harmed to promote civil rights. – begins at Shaw Univ. in Raleigh,
NC.
What was the role of the SCLC? It organized protests and demonstrations to
promote civil rights.
The Movement Spreads: even though SNCC adopted some of Dr. King’s ideas,
many called for more confrontational strategy and set out to reshape the civil
rights movement.
CORE in 1942, Chicago –staged the first sit-in- - protesters sat at the segregated
lunch counters and refused to leave until they were served.
SNCC: In 1960, Af/Am students in North Carolina staged a sit-in at a whites-only
lunch counter at the Woolworth's in Greensboro. This time the TV crews were
there and brought the protest into homes throughout the US showing the ugly face
of racism. The TV showed day after day these blacks at the lunch counter being
beat, jeered at, and food poured over them – still, they refused to strike back. This
inspired other sit-ins across the South. The store managers called the police,
raised food prices and removed counter seats. Students formed picket lines around
the national chain stores that had segregated lunch counters in the South.
• By late 1960, students descended on and desegregated lunch counter
in 48 states and 11 cities. They endured arrests, beatings, suspension
from college, tear gas and fire hoses – the nonviolent students
refused to back down.
Section 2 p. 742 The Triumphs of a Crusade
Main Idea : Civil rights activists broke through racial barriers. Their
activism prompted landmark legislation.
Why it matters now: Activism pushed the federal government to
end segregation and ensure voting rights for Af/Ams
Obj:
• ID the goals of the Freedom Riders
• What were the motives of the 1963 March on Washington
Vocab: freedom riders, James Meredith, Medgar Evers, Civil Rights
Act of 1964, Freedom Summer, Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Freedom Riders: civil rights activists who rode buses through the South in the
early 1960s to challenge segregation.
• BUS ONE: As they crossed the Alabama state line, white racists got on Bus One
with chains, brass knuckles and pistols and brutally beat the black and white
activists. Still, the bus managed to go on. May 4, 1961 (Mothers Day), the bus
pulled into Birmingham bus terminal. There was a hostile mob waiting – some
holding iron bars. As they entered the white waiting room Charles Person was
grabbed and pulled into an alley where 6 people beat him unconscious with fists
and pipes.
• BUS TWO: Anniston, Alabama: 200 angry whites attacked bus 2. The mob
followed the activists out of town. When a tire blew – they smashed a window
and tossed in a fire bomb. The riders got out just before the bomb exploded. –
the Kennedy administration was shocked into action.
• The bus companies refused to carry the CORE freedom riders any farther. James
Farmer (CORE leader) announced that a group of SNCC volunteers in Nashville
were ready to pick up where other had left off. When they rode into
Birmingham, policemen pulled them from the bus, beat them and drove them to
Tennessee. They defiantly returned to the B’ham bus terminal – their bus driver
feared for his life and refused to drive them. In protest, they occupied the
whites-only waiting room at the terminal for 18 hours until a solution could be
reached. After an angry call from the Attorney General (Robert “Bobby”
Kennedy), the bus company convinced the driver to proceed. They set out for
Montgomery on May 20.
• When they arrived in Montgomery, a mob of whites carrying bats and led pipes
fell upon the riders – even though Alabama officials promised Att. Kennedy they
would protect the riders. There were no cops. This violence provoked exactly the
response the freedom riders wanted. Newspapers throughout the nation and
abroad denounced the beatings.
• Pres. Kennedy gave the riders direct support.
The Justice Dept. sent 400 US marshals to protect them on their last journey to
Jackson, Miss. The Attorney General and Interstate Commerce commission banned
segregation in all interstate travel facilities – waiting rooms, restrooms, and lunch
counters.
What did the freedom riders hope to achieve? They hoped to call attention to the
South’s refusal to abandon segregation so as to pressure the federal government to
enforce the Supreme Court’s desegregation rulings.
• With the integration of interstate travel facilities under way, some civil rights
workers turned their attention to integrating some Southern Schools and pushing
the movement into additional Southern towns – meeting resistance and violence.
• Ole Miss: Sept. 1962, James Meredith (Air Force veteran) won a federal case
that allowed him to enroll in the all-white Univ. of Miss. When he arrived, he
faced Gov. Ross Barnett – he was refused to register.
• Pres. Kennedy ordered federal marshals to escort Meredith to the registrar’s
office. Gov. Barnett went on the radio and appealed to “every Mississippian …we
will never surrender.” Thousands of whites turned out to demonstrate. Sept. 30
riots broke out on campus resulting in 2 deaths. It took thousands of soldiers,
200 arrests, and 15 hours to stop the rioters. In the months that followed, federal
officials had to accompany Meredith to class and protect his parents from
nightriders (KKK) who shot up their house.
Birmingham, Alabama: known for its strict enforcement of total segregation and a
reputation for racial violence – 18 bombings from 1957 – 1963. It was decided that
something had to be dome about Birmingham and that it would be the ideal place
to test to power of nonviolence. Apr.3, 1963, Dr. King flew into B’ham to hold a
planning meeting with members of the Af/Am community. “This is the most
segregated city in America.” Dr. King said. After days of demonstrations, Dr. King
and a small band of marchers were finally arrested during a demonstration of Good
Friday. While in jail, King wrote an open letter to white religious leaders. On
Apr.20, he posted bail and planned more demonstrations.
On May2, more than 1,000 Af/Am children marched in Birmingham. Police
commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor arrested 959 of them. May 3, a second
children’s crusade came face to face with the police who used high pressure fire
hoses, set attack dogs on them and clubbed those who fell. It was all caught on TV
– millions of viewers heard the children’s screams.
Continued protests, economic boycott, and negative media coverage finally
convinced Birmingham officials to end segregation.
What events led to desegregation in Birmingham? Days of demonstrations; arrest
of Dr. King and others; “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”; more demonstrations met
by arrests and police violence; economic boycott.
• Kennedy takes a stand: Alabama’s Governor George Wallace made his view clear,
“Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!” June 10, 1063
Kennedy placed Alabama National Guard under federal control and sent them to
force Wallace to desegregate the Univ. of Alabama. Wallace gives his –Stand in
the school house door – speech. He makes a token stance, then leaves and the
black students enter the university – but not without a show by Wallace.
• How did the response to Wallace illustrate federal government involvement in
the civil rights movement? Kennedy’s response showed that the federal
government would take strong action to enforce court-ordered integration,
including nationalizing the Alabama National Guard.
• Medgar Evers – a civil rights activist (NAACP field secretary and WWII veteran)
Killed by a sniper in Mississippi. He had organized boycotts and voter-registration
drives in Mississippi. His murder brought racial tensions in the South to national
attention. His murderer (Byron de la Beckwith) was charged and let go – 2 hung
juries. The release of his murderer brought a new militancy to Af/Am.
Aug. 28, 1963, more than 250,000 (including 75,00 whites) converged on Washington DC
on the grassy lawn of the Washington Monument and marched to the Lincoln Memorial
where speakers demanded the immediate passage of the civil rights bill. Here Dr. King
gives his “I have a Dream” speech appealing for peace and racial harmony.
Why did civil rights organizers ask their supporters to march on Washington? To spur
passage of the civil rights bill.
2 weeks after King’s speech, 4 girls were killed when a bomb was tossed into a window of
the 16th Street Baptist Church.
2 months later, an assassin shot and killed President John F. Kennedy. Lyndon B. Johnson
becomes president – he pledged to continue Kennedy’s work and on July 2, 1964,
Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It prohibited discrimination because of race,
religion, national origin, and gender. It gave all citizens the right to enter any facility or
public place.
• Even after achieving this landmark act, blacks still were not voting. 1964 CORE
and SNCC went to the South to register as many Af/Am as they could to vote.
They hoped for national attention to influence congress to pass a voting rights
act. They focused on Mississippi and the project became known as Freedom
Summer. College students were recruited and trained in nonviolent resistance.
Thousands of students volunteered – mostly white – about 1/3 female – they
went into Mississippi to register voters – it would prove deadly. 3 civil rights
workers disappeared – Klansmen and local police had murdered the men.
Through this summer, beatings and murders continued along with the burning of
businesses, homes and churches.
• Why did civil rights groups organize Freedom Summer? They hoped to call
attention to the lack of voting rights in segregationist strongholds and to promote
passage of a federal voting rights act.
Why did young people in SNCC and the MFDP (Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party) feel betrayed by some civil rights leaders? Because the leaders agreed to a
compromise with the Johnson administration that kept most MFDP delegates from
the Democratic Convention.
Selma:1965 – was the site of a major voting rights campaign. By the end of 1965 –
more than 2,000 Af/Am had had been arrested in SCLC demonstrations. After
demonstrator Jimmy Jackson was shot and killed, Dr. King responded by
announcing a 50 – mile protest march from Selma to Montgomery, the state
capital. March 7, 1965 , about 600 protesters set out for Montgomery. That night,
mayhem broke out. TV cameras captured the police swinging whips, clubs, and
throwing teargas around the marchers. Demonstrators poured into Selma by the
hundreds.
In what ways was the civil rights campaign in Selma similar to the on in
Birmingham? In both campaigns, civil rights workers encountered a violent
response and in both cases, TV coverage of that violence helped force the federal
government to intervene.
On March 21, 3,000 marchers again set out for Montgomery, this time with federal
protection. Soon the number grew to 25,000.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: It eliminated the literacy tests. It also stated that
federal examiners could enroll voters who had been denied suffrage by local
officials. Although it was a major victory, some felt it did not go far enough.
Section 3 p. 740
Challenges and Changes in the Movement
Main Idea: Disagreements among civil rights groups and the rise of black
nationalism created a violent period in the fight of civil rights.
Why it matters now: From the fight for equality came a resurgence of racial pride
for African Americans, legacy that influences today’s generations.
Obj: summarize the accomplishments of the civil rights movement.
Vocab: de facto segregation, de jure segregation, Malcolm X, Nation of Islam,
Stokely Carmichael, Black Power, Black Panthers, Civil Rights Act of 1968,
Affirmative action.
De facto segregation: segregation that exists by practice and custom (in the North)
– it can be harder to fight.
De jure segregation: segregation by law.
How were civil rights problems in Northern cities similar to those in the South?
Both Northern and Southern blacks experienced poverty and inferior schools, and
their civil rights demands were met with white anger and violence and police
brutality.
What were some of the causes of urban rioting in the 1960s? De facto
segregation, police brutality, rundown communities and schools, and high
unemployment.
Malcolm X: Malcolm Little – while in prison studied the teachings of Elijah
Muhammad – the head of the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) becoming an
Islamic minister – preaching the views that whites were the cause of the black
condition and that blacks should separate from white society. His message had 2
effects: 1. his call for armed self-defense frightened most whites and many
moderate Af/Am, 2. the attention he received was resented by some members in
the Nation of Islam.
Why did some Americans find Malcolm X’s views alarming? He blamed black
poverty and social inferiority on whites and advocated armed resistance to white
oppression.
In March 1964 Malcolm X broke with Elijah Muhammad and formed another
Muslim organization. While on a pilgrimage to Mecca, he learned that orthodox
Islam preached racial equality – he had worshipped alongside people from many
countries. When he returned, his attitude changed towards whites. His split with
the Black Muslims caused his to fear for his life, he was shot Feb. 21, 1965 giving a
speech in Harlem.
Stokely Carmichael: called for all black people to begin to use violence to achieve
goals.
Black Panthers: founded in Oakland, CA as a political party by Huey Newton and
Bobby Seale to fight police brutality in the ghetto. They advocated self-sufficiency
for Af/Am communities, full employment and decent housing. Also, Af/Am should
be exempt from military service. They preached self-defense and sold writings of
communist Mao.
Why was the public reaction to the Black Panthers mixed? Americans feared the
Black Panthers’ rhetoric and their involvement in violence. They had shootouts ;
some poor Af/Am benefited from their community programs such as assistance to
homeless.
Why did some leaders of the SCLC disagree with SNCC tactics? SCLC leaders
worried that calls for Black Power would provoke black violence and alienate
whites.
Civil Rights Act of 1968: ended discrimination in housing.
Affirmative Action: a policy that seeks to correct the effects of past discrimination
by favoring the groups who were previously disadvantaged. Quotas were set up for
minorities for jobs, college, etc.
What were some accomplishments of the civil rights movement? End of legalized
segregation; constitutional and legal protection of civil rights and voting rights;
increased pride in racial identity; more Af/Am voters, elected officials, and high
school and college graduates.
They were secured through the civil rights movement, which helped change
national opinion, and through resulting federal intervention and passage of federal
laws like the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Shirley Chisholm: first Af/Am woman in the US House of Representatives