civil rights era 1954 – 1975 a brief synopsis jim crow laws
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Civil Rights Era 1954 – 1975
A Brief Synopsis
Jim Crow Laws
Brown vs. Board of Ed
• Linda Brown was not allowed to attend an all-white school
• Case challenged 1896 Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy vs. Ferguson which upheld constitutionality of “separate but equal”
Brown vs. Board of Ed. (Continued)
• Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that segregation in schools was unconstitutional
Thurgood Marshall with James Nabrit Jr. and George E.C. Hayes
Rosa Parks
• December 1955, Montgomery Alabama, she was arrested for failing to give up seat on bus
• Boycott supported by African Americans and organized by Martin Luther King Jr.
Rosa Parks (continued)
• Bus boycott lasted 381 days
• Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public transportation was illegal in 1956
• Started Civil Rights movement with an inspirational leader
Non-violent Resistance
• King drew from teachings of Gandhi
• Peaceful means to effect change
• Founded the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
• Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his non-violent leadership
Crisis in Little Rock
• Nine African American students were not admitted to the all-white Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas
• Orval Faubus authorized National Guard to prevent students from entering
Crisis in Little Rock (Continued)
• Faubus recalled National Guard but angry mob was threatening students
• Eisenhower sent in 1,000 paratroopers and federalized National Guard so the students could enter safely
Students Stage Sit-ins
• In 1960, Greensboro, NC Four African-Americans sit at segregated lunch counter
• The sit-in becomes a popular way to protest
The Freedom Riders• “Freedom Riders” rode
buses into Southern segregated bus terminals
• Many “Freedom Riders” were met with violence in the South
• Freedom Rides took place in 1961 and 1963
Violence in Birmingham• 1963 –MLK led a
demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama
• fire hoses and dogs on demonstrators
• Kennedy sent in 3,000 troops to keep order and proposed new legislation
Civil Disobedience (Where else is U.S. history have you Civil Disobedience?)
"one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
Letter from a Letter from a Birmingham Jail”Birmingham Jail”““Never before have written Never before have written so long a letter. I'm afraid it is so long a letter. I'm afraid it is much too long to take your much too long to take your precious time. I can assure precious time. I can assure you that it would have been you that it would have been much shorter if I had been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?and pray long prayers? “
The March on Washington
• 1963, 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
• 200,00 demonstrators merged at the Lincoln Memorial
• MLK delivered “I Have a Dream”speech
Civil Rights Act• Only one-half of one
percent of African American children in the 11 former Confederate states were attending desegregated schools
• Kennedy was assassinated and Johnson was able to get Civil Rights Act passed and Voting Rights Act passed
Black Muslims
• Founded in the 1930’s by Elijah Muhammad
• Embraced Islam• Preached black
nationalism• Separatist
Malcolm X
Black Panthers
• Militant group, started as a self defense group. Used their 2nd amendment rights.
• Helped to perpetuate the black power movement
• Used confrontations to force equal rights
• Leaders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale
Assassination of MLK
• MLK assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968
• James Earl Ray
Riots in Response• One week of riots
in response to this assassination
Other Civil Rights and Activist Groups
• SDS- Students for a Democratic Society
• CORE- Congress for Racial Equality
• NAACP- 1909 (National Assoc. for the Advancement of Colored People)
• AIM- American Indian Movement
• NOW- National Organization of Women
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