C H A P T E R 2 8

CIVIL RIGHTS

DEMANDS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

• AA Migration• 1910 – 1940: AA moved to cities• Became prominent citizens• Alliances with political machines = rights

• New Deal• FDR & Dems sought black vote• Many AA hired by government

• WWII• AA found jobs in labor shortages• People began to see the racism

• Rise of the NAACP• Fought “separate but equal”• Mr. Civil Rights = Thurgood Marshall

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

• 1951• Oliver Brown sued Topeka, KS

school district• Wanted daughter to go to

white school by home• April 17, 1954 – separate but

equal = not constitutional• 1955 – Supreme court ordered

desegregation

REACTION TO BROWN

• AA’s rejoiced• Southern Whites = fear and angry resistance• KKK threatened any who tried to enforce• Southern Manifesto• 90 senators• Supreme Court has overstepped their bounds• Vowed to fight back

MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

• December 1955• Rosa Parks, seamstress & NAACP secretary• Refused to give seat to white man• Arrested at next stop

• Civil Rights leaders organized boycott• No AA to ride bus until policy changed• 26 year old Martin Luther King, Jr. =

spokesperson• 50,000 AA in Montgomery walked, bike,

carpool• Buses lost $$$, refused to change• 1956 – Supreme Court deemed rule

unconstitutional

RESISTANCE IN LITTLE ROCK

• Fall 1957• Gov. Orval Faubus• Posted National Guard troops at Central HS• Stop integration of 9 AA Students• President Eisenhower sent troops to protect them

LAYING THE GROUNDWORKNAACP

• Oldest Civil Rights group 1909• Member interracial• Challenged laws and secure equality• Pushed anti-lynching laws

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE

• 1911• Assist AA moving to urban areas• Found migrants apartments and safe places• Pushed factories to teach AA skills

CORE

• 1942 by James Farmer• Congress of Racial Equality• Change through peaceful confrontation• Organized peaceful protests

SCLC

• 1957 by MLK• Southern Christian Leadership Conference• Advocated non-violence• Do not resist attackers

DR. KING LEADS THE WAY

• Young Baptist preacher• Influenced by Gandhi• Civil disobedience• Trained volunteers in passive resistance• Key role in every Civil Rights event• Nobel Peace Prize in 1964

FORMATION OF SNCC

• 1960 by students in Raleigh, North Carolina• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee• Allowed younger generation to help• Gave voice to student activists

ROBERT MOSES

• Harvard grad and math teacher in Harlem• Soft spoken but passionate• Leader and trainer for SNCC

SIT-INS CHALLENGE SEGREGATION

• CORE created sit-in in 1943• Stay in place if refused service• Force owners to choose: serve or risk

disruption• Jail was “badge of honor”• 1960: 70,000 students, 3,600 served time

FREEDOM RIDES: PURPOSE

• Boynton v. Virginia (1960)• Desegregated interstate buses• 1961 – Freedom Rides• Test Southern states compliance with law

VIOLENCE GREETS RIDERS

• 1st Ride – 5/4/61 from DC• 13 Riders = black and white• To Atlanta – small conflicts• One bus had tires slashed and fire bombed• Riders beaten upon exit• SNCC considered calling off• Seen as suicide

NATIONAL REACTION

• Photos horrified the country• Amazed that sane people could go so crazy• Riders arrested, new ones replaced them• Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent Marshalls

to protect riders

INTEGRATION AT “OLE MISS”

• 1961 – James Meredith, AA Air Force Vet• Transfer to U of Mississippi (all-white)• 1962 – SC upheld his right• Mississippi Governor said no• President JFK sent Marshalls to help Meredith

around campus• Violent riots, 2 killed, 100s hurt

CLASH IN BIRMINGHAM

• Birmingham most segregated city in US• MLK planned boycotts, sit-ins, marches• Protesters and MLK in jail• MLK writes famous letter• After bail, back to protests• Sheriff Bull Connor arrested 900• Fire hoses, police dogs, tear gas• All on TV• Won protest, city desegregated

KENNEDY ON CIVIL RIGHTS

• As MA senator, voted for civil rights• Became President in 1960• Appointed AA to high positions• Thurgood Marshall = 1st AA Supreme

Court Justice• Violence upset JFK• 1963 on TV = “Nation must fulfill its

promise”• After Birmingham, proposed strong CR

bill• Southern senators kept it from vote

MARCH ON WASHINGTON

• August 1962 to push CR bill• 200,000 people = Jobs and Freedom• Leaders, celebrities, musicians preformed • MLK “I Have A Dream”• Bill still didn’t go to vote

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964JOHNSON’S ROLE

• November 1964 – JFK assassinated• New President Lyndon B. Johnson• Wanted to pass JFK’s bill• House passed, Senate filibustered• Filibuster – prevent vote by refusing to leave the

floor• Pushed cloture, got vote in June 1964• Law passed

PROVISIONS OF THE ACT

• Title I – Banned different voter registration standards• Title II – Prohibited discrimination in

public accommodations• Title VI – Withheld funds from non-

compliant programs• Title VII – Equal Employment

Opportunity Committee (EEOC) no job discrimination

FREEDOM SUMMER

• 1964• Voter registration in Mississippi• 1000 Black and White volunteers• KKK tried to intimidate the volunteers• Murders, mob attacks, churches and homes

bombed

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

• Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP)• Sent delegates to 1964 Democratic Convention• Not seated because not a real party• LBJ offered to let 2 stay, rejected

SELMA MARCH

• Blacks had a hard time voting• Arrested just standing in line to vote• Protest march – Selma to Montgomery (50 miles)• Police whipped, clubbed, tear gas• TV showed everything• LBJ sent National Guard to protect• 25,000 marchers

VOTING RIGHTS ACT

• LBJ on TV response to Selma• “We Shall Overcome”• Congress passed Voting Rights Act of 1965• Allowed federal workers to register voters where

locals were blocking• Eliminated literacy test• 400,000 AA registered

in the South

LEGAL LANDMARK

• 24th Amendment (1964)• Outlawed Poll Tax• Some wanted more militant approach

 Dark Blue - Ratified amendment, 1962–64  Light Blue - Ratified amendment post-enactment, 1977, 1989, 2002, 2009  Orange - Rejected amendment  Grey - Didn't ratify amendment

MALCOLM X & BLACK NATIONALISM

• Malcolm X• Born Malcolm Little in Omaha in 1925• Father: minister, “Back to Africa”

movement• Turned to crime at young age• At 20, arrested for burglary, 7 years in

prison• Joined Nation of Islam• Preached Black separation and self-

help

BLACK NATIONALISM

• Leader Elijah Muhammad• Allah would bring “Black Nation”• No change via politics• Work hard and wait for God• Malcolm X out of jail in 1952• Became minister for 12 years

OPPOSITION TO INTEGRATION

• Malcolm X rejected integration & civil disobedience• 1964 – MX founds Muslim Mosque Inc.• Went to Mecca• Saw all races praying together changed his view• Came back to work with CR leaders• Shot in February 1965• Influenced SNCC members the most

SNCC SHIFTS GEARS

• Stokely Carmichael became radical leader• Tired of non-violent protest• Wanted SNCC workers to carry guns• Rid group of whites• “We Want Black Power”• Unite, recognize heritage, build community

THE BLACK PANTHERS

• 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton• Wanted government to rebuild ghettos, stop

brutality• Violent encounters with the police

RIOT IN THE STREETS

• De Jure Segregation – created by law• De Facto Segregation – created by social

conditions• 1964 – Riots in ghetto communities• Watts, CA – police arrested black man who resists• Riots for 6 days = 34 dead, 1000s injured• National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorder• 1968 – Kerner Commission Report: “Nation is

divided”

TRAGEDY: MLK

• 1968: MLK focused on economic issues• Poverty breeds violence• New crusade = Poor People’s Campaign• Memphis, TN April 4, 1968• Shot on hotel balcony• Violent public reaction• Riots in 120 cities• Took 50,000 troops to stop

ROBERT KENNEDY

• Senator and Attorney General• 1968 Presidential Candidate• Reached out to help minorities• June 4th = won California primary• June 5th @ 1am = shot and killed

LEGACY OF THE MOVEMENT

• Both races wondered if progress was possible • By 1975, elected AA went up 88%• Real change had happened• More to come