in the civil rights movement federal government help
Post on 01-Jan-2016
215 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Federal Government Help
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Causes: Ensure all had ability to vote, only
20% of African Americans were registered
What it did: Est. Fed. Commission on Civil
Rights Est. Division in the Justice Dept. to
enforce Civil Rights Enlarged Fed. Power to protect
voting rights
Effects: 1st Civil Rights Legislation since
Reconstruction Showed Federal Gov. interested in
protecting voting rights Limited, only 3% increase
24th Amendment
11 Southern states had Poll Tax proposed 1962, ratified January 23,
1964.
What it did: prohibits both Congress/states from
conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax
"There can be no one too poor to vote.“ ~Lyndon Johnson
Effects: Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
(1966) ruled that all poll taxes (including state elections) were officially declared unconstitutional because they violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Civil Rights Acts of 1964
Causes: Series of African American Protests Birmingham March Called for in speech by JFK on June 11,
1963
What it did: Banned discrimination in most
employment / public accommodations
Enlarged fed. power to protect voting rights/speed up school desegregation
Ended discrimination in public employment
Effects: Still fell short on a few issues:
private employment, police brutality
Divided both political parties, changed demographics
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Causes: Violations of 14th and 15th
Amendments Freedom Summer, Selma
Campaign
What it did: Eliminated voter literacy tests Enabled federal examiners to
register voters
Effects: By 1968, nearly 60% of eligible
African Americans were registered to vote in MS,
1965-1990, the #of black state legislators and members of Congress rose from 2 to 160.
Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act)
Causes: Extension of 1964 act
What it did: Prohibited discrimination in the
sale or rental of most housing Strengthened anti-lynching
laws
Effects: De Facto Segregation remained Whites moved to suburbs, rise
in black ghettos in cities
Which law do you think benefited the most people?
Assassination of MLK
April 4, 1968 – MLK stepped onto a balcony and was shot
Many called for immediate peace
Worst urban rioting in US history D.C. – 12 dead Chicago – 11 dead Baltimore – 6 dead Louisville – 2 dead Kansas City – 5 dead
Kennedy Brothers
June 11, 1963 – JFK used fed troops to force Alabama gov. to honor a court order on desegregating U of Alabama
JFK demanded sweeping civil rights bill
Robert Kennedy – after MLK assassination, spoke in African American neighborhood made a plea for non-violence
Robert – made Eulogy for MLK
Robert Kennedy’s Eulogy
For those of you who are black – considering the evidence… that there were white people who were responsible – you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization – black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.
Or we can make an effort, as MLK did, to understand and comprehend , and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.
top related