THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Several years in the making
1863-Present
Freedom is always free
1863-Emanicapation Proclamation- "that all
persons held as slaves" within the rebellious
states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
-Only freed the slaves in the succeeding south.
Those that were part of the Union that were
border states still maintain slavery in some form.
-At the end of the Civil War, by June 19, 1865 the
enforcement of the Proclamation finally made it
all the way to Texas through the use of federal
troops
The Amendments and Reconstruction
13th Amendment-”Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as
a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject
to their jurisdiction. “
14th Amendment-”All persons born or naturalized in the United States
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United
States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. “
15th Amendment-”The right of citizens of the United States to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State
on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
Reading between the lines
Shortly after the Civil War many African Americans
experienced some success during the
Reconstruction Era. Many former slaves were
able to attain some measure of success as land
owners. Others found ways to create entire
communities sustained independent of white
control. However, many were subject to “black
codes” that were enforced by states in the south.
These codes were the beginning of what were
later called Jim Crow laws.
Who is Jim Crow?
-Originally a caricature of a black man
created by a white entertainer to
show the buffoonery of black people.
-Eventually became a set of laws enforced by states
to control, intimidate , degradation, and
segregate black society across the United States.
-Many of these laws remained enforced from about
1870 – 1950. Shortly after the end of WWII.
Jim Crow laws
-Effected the right to vote
-effected the right to marry
-effected the right to own land
-created second class citizenship close to slavery
under the idea of sharecropping.
-keep “niggers in there place” using terror.
-Miscegenation- prohibits interracial marriages
-Pig law of Mississippi- stealing a pig was grand larceny
chain gains- work camps for prisoners. Black received
harsher sentences for crimes and were subcontracted
out to business that needed labor and did not have to
pay for it.
-Segregated railcars, restaurants, hotels, buses, schools all
supported by state laws.
-Literacy Tests- which required that blacks and poor
whites take a test before being allowed to vote. The
test for blacks was different that the one for whites.
-Poll tax which required that a tax be paid to vote.
-White primary which stated that only whites could vote
in Democratic elections.
Compromise of 1877-Democratic control vowed not
to allow blacks the right to vote. Republicans
denounced Democratic tactics during the vote.
During the race of Samuel Tilden vs. Rutherford B.
Hayes, several votes were contested. Eventually
the race went to Rutherford B. Hayes. In order to
quell the rising tide of animosity among the
Democrats and Republican, President Hayes
agreed to remove Federal troop support from
many of the black political and financial leaders in
the southern states. This move allowed several
white political figures to physically force black to
relinquish the political and financial power that
had been gain during reconstruction.
Plessey vs. Ferguson (1892)- court decision which
further enforces segregation. Plessey was a black
man that could pass for white in Louisiana. He
originally took a seat in what was a “white” rail car.
He was admitted upon entrance. He openly
admitted he was black and was quickly arrested.
The case was taken all the way to the Supreme
Court on the grounds that it went against the 13th
and 14th amendment. The court upheld the
legality of separate but equal
Segregation
holds the
country
stagnant
Terrorism at home.
• Klu Klux Klan- several southern members donned
white hoods and robes to physically force the
resurgence of disenfranchising blacks. Through
the use of terror and media they were able to
create sweeping indigment of the black race.
They were seen as evil animals and savages that
steal from their communities and rape their
women.
• In order to control the “savages” several
southern whites went on lynching sprees.
Lynching – a public execution of a
person carried out my an angry mob.
this is not court ordered or a sanctioned
execution but one that is done without
stated law. Journal E: Without Sanctuary:
Lynching Photography in America
Enough is Enough
Men like Frederick Douglas and Booker T. Washington were on to sides of the
same issue.
Frederick Douglas, a former slave turned abolitionist, felt constant pressure
needed to be placed on the government to uphold it laws of the
constitution.
Booker T. Washington, also a former slave, educated himself and eventually
created his the Tuskegee Institute. He felt blacks needed to work within the
system given and create an existence for themselves.
W.E.B. Dubois, a Harvard educated professor, understood that even within the
system as a black man you are no longer equal to that of white society. He
became an active member of the NAACP which was founded in 1909. He
inspired the “Talented 10th” in which he believed that it was the duty of the
10 percent of blacks that have achieved politically, financial, or socially to
uplift the remaining 90 percent of black people in society. These people
became your voice during the mid 1900’s. People like Zora Neale Hurtson
,Langston Hughes , A. Philip Randolph, and Carter Goodwin Woodson wrote
about the plight of black people. Mary McCloud Bethune educated young
people. Paul Robeson, and Duke Ellington entertained.
-The disparity between the races starts to become more
evident with World War I.
By the end of the war black regiments had achieved
success in Europe and fought for the freedom of those
oppressed in the East, however, upon returning home
they realized that had returned to the second class
citizenship status. They were still unable to vote, own
land, or enjoy any of the liberties of their white officers.
They were trained to walk as men in the military, but
treated as less than equal after returning home. This
help to push the Civil Rights movement forward. With
the push of the NAACP several cases were fought to
uphold the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and abolish
several of the laws of Jim Crow.
WWII
Tuskegee Airmen and the National
Association of Colored Graduate
nurses, with the help of A. Philip
Randolph put pressure of
Roosevelt to desegregate the
military.
At home blacks were breaking
down barriers in sports with
Jesse Owens and Althea Gibson.
In music with Marian Anderson,
Duke Ellington, Mahalia Jackson,
Bessie Smith, and Billy Holiday.
We were still struggling however
across the board to achieve
politically.
Compare the two classrooms. Are they really separate
by equal? What does it say about the Supreme Court
ruling?
The Civil Rights Movement gains
momentum
Brown vs. Board of Education – a landmark case tried by
NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall challenges the law of
“separate but equal” in schools. Segregated schools do not
provide equal education under the law because the
physical attributes says it does. Basically, just because you
have provided a school building does not mean that the
education within that building is the same. Segregated
schools do not provide the same level of educational
exposure to that of the white schools. The results of the
case found that separation of schools “equal” and should
be abolished.
“THE FLOOD GATES ARE NOW OPEN”
The Little Rock Nine-
Who is this and what do you think has
happened to him?
That was Emmet Till . In 1955,
Emmet was a young man who
was sent from Chicago south
to his grandmother in
Mississippi. While there it was
reported that he (whistled) at
a white woman. He was found
by a group of white men- beat,
shot and lynched. The only
way to identify his body was by
a ring his mother had given
him. News of his murder was
reported throughout the
country, and eventually around
the world. This incident help
to bring national attention to
horrors for black people in the
south. J.W. Milam, and Roy
Bryant were acquitted of the
murder in 67 minutes.
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
Bombing
1963 Birmingham, Alabama
Protest bring the struggle to the world