C IVIL R IGHTS M OVEMENT Unit 8: Civil Rights Movement & Judicial Branch T HE C IVIL R IGHTS M OVEMENT PRIOR TO 1954 Pre-1900 Opposition to slavery in colonial days Abolition movement and Civil War Legalized racism after Reconstruction Plessy v. Ferguson allowed the segregation of African Americans and whites. Separate but Equal Pre-1900 Opposition to slavery in colonial days Abolition movement and Civil War Legalized racism after Reconstruction Plessy v. Ferguson allowed the segregation of African Americans and whites. Separate but Equal To 1930 Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois Founding of the NAACP in 1909 African Americans suffered worse than others during the Great Depression. Roosevelt unwilling to push too hard for greater African American rights. To 1930 Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois Founding of the NAACP in 1909 African Americans suffered worse than others during the Great Depression. Roosevelt unwilling to push too hard for greater African American rights. To 1940 A. Philip Randolph forced a federal ban against discrimination in defense work. 1940s founding of CORE President Truman desegregated the armed forces. Brooklyn Dodgers put an African AmericanJackie Robinsonon its roster. To 1940 A. Philip Randolph forced a federal ban against discrimination in defense work. 1940s founding of CORE President Truman desegregated the armed forces. Brooklyn Dodgers put an African AmericanJackie Robinsonon its roster. Signs designating White and Colored rest rooms, waiting rooms, entrances, benches, and even water fountains were a common sight in the segregated South. They were a constant reminder that legal separation of the races in public spaces was the law of the land. 3 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. S CHOOL S EGREGATION National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) tried to fight the Plessy v. Ferguson. Black children typically received far less funding for school. NAACP Attorney Thurgood Marshall, later would be a Supreme Court Justice, began to focus on desegregating the nations elementary and high schools in the 1950s. He found a case in Linda Brown of Topeka, Kansas. The Supreme Court combined several school segregation cases from around the country into a single case: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Linda Brown, 7 yrs old, lived near a white school but had to travel across town to go to a black school. May 17, 1954 Unanimous ruling that segregation in schools and other public facilities was illegal All schools needed to desegregate or integrate with with all deliberate speed. The victory of Brown v. Board of Education was part of a larger struggle against segregation in most southern facilities. T HE L ITTLE R OCK N INE Integration The Supreme Courts ruling did not offer guidance about how or when desegregation should occur. Some states integrated quickly. Other states faced strong opposition. Virginia passed laws that closed schools who planned to integrate. In Little Rock, Arkansas, the governor violated a federal court order to integrate Little Rocks Central High School. The Arkansas Governor opposed the movement to desegregate and opposed the Little Rock Nine attending Central High School. The Little Rock Nine On September 4, 1957, angry whites harassed nine black students as they arrived at Little Rocks Central High School. The Arkansas National Guard turned the Little Rock Nine away and prevented them from entering the school for three weeks. They were not allowed to go to school and went home. Finally, Eisenhower sent U.S. soldiers to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school. The events in Little Rock revealed how strong racism was in some parts of the country. 7 Four African American students walk swiftly past barricaded sidewalks as they integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September Soldiers from the 101 st Airborne Division, sent to Little Rock by President Eisenhower, protect the students during the tense racial confrontation. Elizabeth Eckford M ONTGOMERY B US B OYCOTT When Rosa Parks was arrested, the NAACP called for a one-day boycott of the city bus system. Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white passenger. Community leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Selected Martin Luther King Jr. as its leader. Thousands of blacks stopped riding the bus and ridership overall fell by 70%. 381 Day Boycott After the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was unconstitutional, integration of the buses moved forward. M ARTIN L UTHER K ING AND THE SCLC Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged from the bus boycott as a prominent national figure. A well-educated son of a Baptist minister, King taught his followers nonviolent resistance, modeled after the tactics of Mohandas Gandhi. The civil rights movement was deeply rooted in the traditions of the African-American church. King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to promote nonviolent direct action to challenge segregation. S IT I NS /F REEDOM R IDES The Sit-in Movement Four college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, stayed in their seats at a Woolworths lunch counter after being refused service because of their race. Over the next few days, protesters filled 63 of the 66 seats at the lunch counter. The students were dedicated and well-behaved and ended each sit-in with a prayer. Over time, protesters in about 50 southern cities began to use the sit-in tactic. The Freedom Rides In 1960, the Supreme Court ordered that bus station facilities for interstate travelers must be open to all passengers. This ruling was not enforced. CORE sent a group of Freedom Riders on a bus trip through the South to draw attention to this situation. Mobs angry at the Freedom Riders attempts to use white- only facilities firebombed a bus in Anniston, Alabama and attacked riders with baseball bats and metal pipes in Birmingham. Civil rights workers used several direct, nonviolent methods to confront discrimination and racism in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Boycotts/Sit-ins/Freedom Rides The second day of the sit-in at the Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth lunch counter, February 2, From left: Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Billy Smith, and Clarence Henderson. The Greensboro protest sparked a wave of sit-ins across the South, mostly by college students, demanding an end to segregation in restaurants and other public places. 11 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. A Freedom Riders bus burns after being firebombed in Anniston, Alabama, May 14, After setting the bus afire, whites attacked the passengers fleeing the smoke and flames. Violent scenes like this one received extensive publicity in the mass media and helped compel the Justice Department to enforce court rulings banning segregation on interstate bus lines. 12 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. R ESULTS OF S IT - INS AND F REEDOM R IDES After the savage beatings in Birmingham, bus companies refused to sell the Freedom Riders tickets and CORE disbanded the Freedom Ride. Sit-ins Succeeded at getting businesses to change their policies Marked a shift in the civil rights movement showed young African Americans growing impatience with the slow pace of change Leaders formed the SNCC. Freedom Rides SNCC continued the Freedom Rides. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent federal marshals to Montgomery to protect the riders. The Interstate Commerce Commission finally forced the integration of bus and train stations. Federal Intervention JFK & J OHNSON B ECOMES P RESIDENT The race issue had moved to center-stage by As vice president, Nixon had strongly supported civil rights. But Kennedy pressured a judge to release Martin Luther King, Jr. from jail. African-American voters provided Kennedys margin of victory, though an unfriendly Congress ensured that little legislation would come out. Attorney General Robert Kennedy used the Justice Department to force compliance with desegregation orders. JFK was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1965 Vowing to continue Kennedys work on Civil Rights Johnson became President. THE M ARCH ON W ASHINGTON The shifting public consensus led President Kennedy to appeal for civil rights legislation. A. Philip Randolphs old idea of a march on Washington was revived. The march presented a unified call for change and held up the dream of universal freedom and brotherhood. 20,000 People attended the march on Aug 28, 1963 MLK presented his I Have A Dream speech 15 Part of the huge throng of marchers at the historic March on Washington for jobs and freedom, August 28, The size of the crowd, the stirring oratory and song, and the live network television coverage produced one of the most memorable political events in the nations history. 16 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. C IVIL R IGHTS L AWS : T HE V OTING R IGHTS A CT Selma Campaign King organized marches in Selma, Alabama, to gain voting rights for African Americans. King and many other marchers were jailed. Police attacked a march in Marion. King announced a four-day march from Selma to Montgomery. Selma March 600 African Americans began the 54-mile march. City and state police blocked their way out of Selma. TV cameras captured the police using clubs, chains, and electric cattle prods on the marchers. Voting Rights Act President Johnson asked for and received a tough voting rights law. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed in Congress with large majorities. Proved to be one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation ever passed. C HANGES IN THE C IVIL R IGHTS M OVEMENT Many younger civil rights activists were drawn to the vision of Malcolm X, who: ridiculed integrationist goals urged black audiences to take pride in their African heritage break free from white domination believed that violence could be used if necessary. He broke with the Nation of Islam, made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and returned to America with changed views. He sought common ground with the civil rights movement, but was murdered in Three members of the Nation of Islam murdered Malcolm X. Even in death, he continued to point to a new black consciousness. April 1968 MLK is assassinated in Memphis, TN The Civil Rights Movement had lost its most visible leader. Born Malcolm Little, Malcolm X (192565) took the name X as a symbol of the stolen identity of African slaves. He emerged in the early 1960s as the foremost advocate of racial unity and black nationalism. The Black Power movement, initiated in 1966 by SNCC members, was strongly influenced by Malcolm X. 19 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. H ISPANIC A MERICAN M OVEMENT Mexican Americans formed groups to fight for their rights and used the courts to challenge discrimination. Legal and illegal Mexican migration increased dramatically during and after WWII. During the 1950s, efforts to round up undocumented immigrants led to a denial of basic civil rights and a distrust of Anglos. Cesar Chavez worked to fight for Hispanic rights. Formed the Untied Farm Workers Committed to gaining better pay and working conditions for migrant workers. (Non-violent Movements) California Grape Strike Won better rights and benefits in 1970 W OMEN S M OVEMENT 1963 Activist brought to the attention of the public womens position in society. JFK ordered an end to discrimination based on gender in civil service jobs. Equal Pay Act Must pay men and women equal salaries for the same work. Civil Rights Act Eliminated discrimination based on both gender and race. Many women started to question traditional gender roles. O THER M OVEMENTS Native Americans: During the 1950s, Congress passed a series of termination bills that ended tribal rights in return for cash payments and division of tribal assets. NA activists challenged government policies leading to court decisions that reasserted the principle of tribal sovereignty. Reservation NA remained trapped in poverty. NA who had left the reservation lost much of their tribal identities. Urban NA groups arose and focused on civil instead of tribal rights. Disability Rights: Disabled in Action (DIA) To make people aware of challenges facing people with disabilities. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Banned federal agencies from discriminating against people with disabilities. Education of Handicapped Children Act of 1975 Required public schools to provide a quality education to children with disabilities.