Transcript Civil Rights Movement

Ms. Leslie
History 12
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In the 1800s, Southern U.S. states passed
racially discriminatory laws.
Slavery abolished in the 1860’s
1. Racial Segregation
(separation)
 Different schools, water
fountains, theatres,
waiting rooms,
entrances, seating on
buses
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upheld by the United
States Supreme Court
decision in Plessy v.
Ferguson in 1896
2. disenfranchisement
 Not allowed to vote or
have a say in public
elections
 Complicated voter
registration system
 Inferior schools =
illiteracy
3. Denial of economic opportunities
Not allowed to have a job and make their
own money
Had to work, unpaid, as slaves.
4. Acts of Violence – private and mass public
 KKK
 Physical Abuse (whipped,
beaten)
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Lynching
◦ Often done by a mob – the forced capture and
hanging of a person
◦ Usually chased, beaten, and then hung
◦ Done in many cases where the “whites” wanted to
get their own justice
◦ Made a public spectacle
◦ Photos of lynchings used to promote regions and
often show “whites” who are happy
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This is a famous picture,
taken in 1930, showing
two young black men
accused of raping a white
girl, hanged by a mob of
10,000 white men. The
mob took them by force
from the county
jailhouse. Another black
man was saved from
lynching by the girl’s
uncle who said he was
innocent. Even if lynching
photos were designed to
boost white supremacy,
the tortured bodies and
grotesquely happy
crowds ended up
revolting many.
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Definition:
◦ The rights belonging to an individual by virtue of
citizenship, especially the fundamental freedoms
and privileges guaranteed by the 13th and 14th
Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and by
subsequent acts of Congress, including civil
liberties, due process, equal protection of the laws,
and freedom from discrimination.
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The Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide
political movement for equality before the law
In the United States, it takes place1954 to
1968, particularly in the southern United
States.
The deep south was the most segregated
prior to the Civil Rights Movement of
attempts to abolish discrimination
initially
 including litigation and lobbying by
organizations such as the NAACP
(National Association for the
Advancement of Coloured People).
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by 1955, people were frustrated by the slow
move toward desegregation by the
government and the "massive resistance" by
supporters of racial segregation and voter
suppression.
In defiance, citizens adopted a combined
strategy of direct action with nonviolent
resistance (civil disobedience).
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In 1951, a class action suit was filed against
the Board of Education of the City of Topeka,
Kansas
The suit called for the school district to
reverse its policy of racial segregation.
This is one of the starting points to the civil
rights movement
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The plaintiff, Oliver L. Brown, was a parent, a
welder, an assistant pastor, and an African
American. He was convinced to join the
lawsuit by the NAACP.
Brown's daughter Linda, a third grader, had
to walk six blocks to her school bus stop to
ride to Monroe Elementary, her segregated
black school one mile (1.6 km) away, while
Sumner Elementary, a white school, was
seven blocks from her house.
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The District Court ruled in favor of the Board
of Education, citing the U.S. Supreme Court
precedent set in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896),
The case was taken to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court combined five cases
under the heading of Brown v. Board of
Education.
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was a landmark decision of the United States
Supreme Court that segregation denied black
children equal education.
May 17, 1954, the unanimous (9–0) decision
stated that "separate educational facilities are
inherently unequal."
As a result, racial segregation by law was ruled a
violation of the United States Constitution.
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Prior to 1955:
◦ “blacks” had to sit at the back of the bus – last 10
rows.
◦ “blacks” had to pay their fare at the front of the bus
first, and then get on the bus through the back
door
 Often drivers would take off before they had been able
to board.
 At other times, drivers drove off as blacks boarded the
bus, leaving them caught in the back doorway.
 But even worse was the insulting treatment African
Americans received from white drivers; they were
frequently cursed and called names.
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1955:
◦ While sitting in the
first row for blacks,
refuses to get up
from her seat to
allow a white man to
sit down
◦ Begins a “sit-in”
◦ Gets arrested for not
moving
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Inspires a series of boycotts including the
Montgomery Bus Boycott in which “blacks”
refuse to ride the bus for over a year
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started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama,
USA,
opposed the city's policy of racial segregation
on its public transit system.
many historically significant figures of the
civil rights movement were involved in the
boycott, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The boycott resulted in a crippling financial
deficit for the Montgomery public transit
system
It lasted from December 1, 1955, with Rosa
Parks’ “sit-in”, to December 20, 1956 when a
federal ruling took effect, and led to a United
States Supreme Court decision that declared
the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring
segregated buses to be unconstitutional
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Little Rock Crisis (1957): considered to be
one of the most important events in the
African-American Civil Rights Movement
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After the Supreme Court decision in Brown vs.
the Board of Education, the NAACP attempted to
register black students in previously all-white
schools in cities throughout the South.
In Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas, the
Little Rock School Board agreed to comply with
the high court's ruling.
would be implemented during the 1958 school
year, which would begin in September 1957.
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By 1957, the NAACP
had registered nine
black students to
attend the previously
all-white Little Rock
Central High,
selected on the
criteria of excellent
grades and
attendance
◦ nicknamed "Little Rock
Nine"
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segregationists threatened to hold protests at
Central High and physically block the black
students from entering the school.
Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas
National Guard to support the segregationists on
September 4, 1957.
◦ a line of soldiers blocked nine black students from
attending high school
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President Dwight Eisenhower attempted to deescalate the situation and warned the governor
not to interfere with the Supreme Court's ruling.
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The next day, the Mayor of Little Rock asked
President Eisenhower to send federal troops
to enforce integration and protect the nine
students.
On September 24, the President ordered the
101st Airborne Division of the United States
Army to Little Rock
The 101st took positions immediately, and
the nine students successfully entered the
school on the next day, Wednesday,
September 25, 1957.
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By the end of September 1957, the nine were
admitted to Little Rock Central High under
the protection of the U.S. Army (and later the
Arkansas National Guard), but they were still
subjected to a year of physical and verbal
abuse (spitting on them, calling them names)
by many of the white students.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGjNqrQB
Uno (long)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSdLPNQS
a4k (short)
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Elected in 1960
Black population took him seriously on his
vague promises of change
The Supreme court started desegregation
rulings the same year
The Goven’t was slow to enforce the rulings
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The public began to turn violent for want of
change
Kennedy sent 500 federal officers to
Mississppi to enforce Blacks’ ability to attend
university
Violence continued - Kennedy tried to pass
civil rights legislation but failed
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Counter-culture lead by the nations youth against the government, universities and
armed forces
Black sports athletes like Mohammad Ali
proved Blacks could be successful
These athletes became spokes men - Ali
spoke against the large number of Blacks
sent to Vietman
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born January 15, 1929
Baptist minister and social
activist who led the civil rights
movement in the United States
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King rose to national prominence through the
organization of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, promoting nonviolent
tactics such as the massive March on
Washington (1963) to achieve civil rights.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in
1964.
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King’s hatred of racial segregation began
when he was just a child
◦ At 6, no longer permitted to play with a white friend
because they were now going to attend segregated
schools
◦ Summer employment in the northern USA, as a
teen, shows him how peaceful life was with
intermixed races
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1948-1951 King attends Crozer Theological
Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he
became acquainted with Mohandas Gandhi's
philosophy of nonviolence
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King was a pastor at a local Baptist church
when Activists in his city formed the
Montgomery Improvement Association to
boycott the transit system and chose King as
their leader.
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Recognizing the need for a mass movement
to capitalize on the successful Montgomery
action, King set about organizing the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC)
◦ gave him a base of operation throughout the South,
as well as a national platform from which to speak.
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King lectured in all parts of the country and
discussed race-related issues with civil-rights
and religious leaders at home and abroad.
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In late October 1960 he was arrested with 33
young people protesting segregation at the
lunch counter in an Atlanta department store.
Charges were dropped, but King was
sentenced to Reidsville State Prison Farm
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In the years from 1960 to 1965 King's influence
reached its zenith.
◦ quickly caught the attention of the news media,
particularly television.
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He understood the power of television to
promote the struggle for civil rights
his well-publicized tactics of active nonviolence
brought allegiance of many blacks and liberal
whites in all parts of the country, as well as
support from the administrations of Presidents
Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
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In Birmingham, Alabama, in the spring of
1963, King's campaign to end segregation at
lunch counters and in hiring practices drew
nationwide attention when police turned dogs
and fire hoses on the demonstrators.
King was jailed along with large numbers of
his supporters, including hundreds of
schoolchildren.
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From the Birmingham jail King wrote a letter
in which he spelled out his philosophy of
nonviolence
Near the end of the Birmingham campaign, in
an effort to draw together the multiple forces
for peaceful change and to dramatize to the
nation and to the world the importance of
solving the U.S. racial problem, King helps
organize the March on Washington.
◦ a large political rally that took place in Washington,
D.C. on August 28, 1963.
◦ The march was organized by a group of civil rights,
labor, and religious organizations.
◦ Estimates of the number of participants varied from
200,000 (police) to over 300,000 (leaders of the
march). About 80% of the marchers were African
American and 20% white and other ethnic groups.
◦ The march is widely credited as helping lead to the
Civil Rights Act (1964) and the National Voting
Rights Act (1965).
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The march was condemned by Malcolm X,
spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, who
termed it the "farce on Washington".
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On August 28, more than 2,000 buses, 21 special
trains, 10 chartered airliners, and uncounted cars
converged on Washington. All regularly
scheduled planes, trains, and buses were also
filled to capacity.
The march began at the Washington Monument
and ended at the Lincoln Memorial with a
program of music and speakers.
Representatives from each of the sponsoring
organizations addressed the crowd from the
podium at the Lincoln Memorial. Speakers
included all six civil-rights leaders
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King speaks at the March on Washington, his
most famous speech “I Have a Dream”
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"I have a dream that one day this nation will
rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed: 'We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal.'"
"I have a dream that my four little children
will one day live in a nation where they will
not be judged by the color of their skin, but
by the content of their character.“
"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God
Almighty, we are free at last!"
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April 4, 1968 – Age 39 in Memphis Tennessee
Was on a speech tour.
Was standing on his hotel room balcony
Shot once in the Face – died in the hospital
Nationwide riots in 60 cities
300,000 people at his funeral
Attacker – James Earl Ray –fugitive – arrested
in London and died of Hep C in 1998
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Malcolm X was born
Malcolm Little on May
19, 1925 in Omaha,
Nebraska.
By the time he was 13,
his father had died and
his mother had been
placed in a mental
hospital, with her
children split up
amongst various foster
homes and orphanages.
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He graduated from junior high at the top of
his class.
He dropped out when a favorite teacher tells
him that his dream of becoming a lawyer was
"no realistic goal for a n*gger"
Moves to Harlem, New York where he
committed petty crimes.
By 1942 Malcolm was coordinating various
narcotics, prostitution and gambling rings.
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In 1946, arrested and convicted on burglary
charges, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
◦ he used the time to further his education.
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Malcolm began to study the teachings of the
Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Elijah
Muhammad.
Elijah Muhammad taught that white society
actively worked to keep African-Americans
from empowering themselves and achieving
political, economic and social success.
By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm
was a devoted follower with the new surname
"X."
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Malcolm was appointed as a minister and
national spokesman for the Nation of Islam.
He taught that black people were the original
people of the world, and that white people
were a race of devils.
that black people were superior to white
people, and that the demise of the white race
was imminent.
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Malcolm X advocated the complete separation
of African Americans from white people.
He proposed the establishment of a separate
country for black people as an interim
measure until African Americans could return
to Africa
Malcolm X also rejected the civil rights
movement's strategy of nonviolence and
instead advocated that black people use any
necessary means of self-defense to protect
themselves.
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Malcolm's vivid personality captured the
government's attention.
As membership in the NOI continued to grow,
FBI agents infiltrated the organization (one
even acted as Malcolm's bodyguard) and
secretly placed bugs, wiretaps, cameras and
other surveillance equipment to monitor the
group's activities.
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In March 1964 Malcolm terminated his
relationship with the NOI
Malcolm decided to found his own religious
organization, the Muslim Mosque, Inc. a black
nationalist organization, The Organization of
Afro-American Unity that would try to
"heighten the political consciousness" of
African Americans.
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In 1964, as a Sunni Muslim, Malcolm went on
a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia
He also traveled extensively throughout
Africa and the Middle East
He believed that Islam could be the means by
which racial problems could be overcome
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After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X
announced his willingness to work with
leaders of the civil rights movement
◦ However, he felt that the civil rights movement
should change its focus to human rights.
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By framing the African American struggle for
equal rights as a fight for human rights, it
would become an international issue and the
movement could bring its complaint before
the United Nations.
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After Malcolm resigned his position in
the Nation of Islam, the NOI and its
leaders began making threats against
Malcolm X both in private and in
public
◦ FBI warned officials that Malcolm had
been marked for assassination
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On February 14, 1965 his home was
firebombed – nobody was injured.
One week later, however, Malcolm's enemies
were successful in their ruthless attempt.
At a speaking engagement for the
Organization of Afro-American Unity in the
Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February
21, 1965, three gunmen rushed Malcolm
onstage.
He was shot nearly 15 times. He was
pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
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Kennedy’s Bill was finally passed by his
successor, Lyndon Johnson
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 extended voting
rights and outlawed racial segregation in
schools, at the workplace and by facilities
that served the general public
It prohibited discrimination in public
facilities, in government, and in employment,
invalidating the segregation laws in the
southern U.S.
◦ It became illegal to compel segregation of the races
in schools, housing, or hiring.
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Allowed the Federal government to cut
funding to any program that practiced
discrimination
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Barred unequal application of voter registration
requirements.
Outlawed discrimination in hotels, motels,
restaurants, theaters, and all other public
accommodations engaged in interstate
commerce; exempted private clubs without
defining the term "private.“
Prohibited state and municipal governments from
denying access to public facilities on grounds of
race, religion, gender, or ethnicity
Encouraged the desegregation of public schools
and authorized the U.S. Attorney General to file
suits to enforce said act.
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Expanded the Civil Rights Commission with
additional powers, rules and procedures.
Prevented discrimination by government
agencies that receive federal funding
prohibits discrimination by employers on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex or national
origin
Required compilation of voter-registration
and voting data in geographic areas specified
by the Commission on Civil Rights.
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Made it easier to move civil rights cases from
state courts with segregationist judges and
all-white juries to federal court.
Established the Community Relations Service,
tasked with assisting in community disputes
involving claims of discrimination.
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One way of preventing Blacks from voting was
that voters had to take a literacy test
After many protests and sit ins
Johnson finally passed the act eliminating
that requirement
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Ghettos led to violent protest in LA, New
Jersey, and Detroit
Mobs burned down their own ghettos and
looted stores
In LA 34 people killed, 875 injured and $200
million in property damage
‘burn baby burn’
Black power - Afro and clenched fist
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1968 Mexico city
Olympics
Tommie Smithand John
Carlos,
Smith raised his right,
black-gloved fist to
represent Black Power,
while Carlos's raised left
fist represented black
unity.
Both were suspended,
kicked out of the
athletes village and
received death threats
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Militant group founded
by Bobby Seale and
Huey P. Newton
Called for blacks to arm
themselves for
liberation
had marxist views