Chapter 29 –Chapter 29 –Prosperity and ReformProsperity and Reform

1945-19801945-1980

Section 4 –Section 4 –

The Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement ExpandsExpands

Peaceful ProtestsPeaceful Protests• The Woolworth’s 1960 sit-in (?) in

Greensboro, N. Carolina, inspired African Americans to push for change

• Many organizations worked for civil rights:

– NAACP (?) (head of legal defense?)

– SCLC (?) (president?)

– CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) organized Freedom Riders (?)

– All used peaceful civil disobedience – sit-ins, boycotts, marches, protests

– It took bravery – police dogs and water hoses were used against protesters. Sometimes the houses and churches of civil rights leaders were bombed. Many civil rights workers, black and white, were injured or killed.

• 1963 – March on Washington, MLK – I have a dream speech.

Civil Rights LawsCivil Rights Laws• Civil Rights Act of 1964 –

– Protected rights of all Americans to vote– Made it illegal to discriminate based on race in hiring– Ended racial segregation in public places

• 24th Amendment to the US Constitution– Banned poll taxes (?)

• Voting Rights Act – 1965– Ended literacy tests (?)– Allowed federal officials to register voters in areas that

had discriminated• These laws ended legal racial discrimination• Informal discrimination continued – housing, employment

(?)

New voices and viewsNew voices and views• Black Panthers – radical group

that said African Americans should arm themselves to be ready to fight for their rights.

• Black Muslims – believed in separating blacks from whites (?)– Malcolm X – Originally he

agreed with Black Muslims but he later said he wanted “a society in which there could exist honest white-black brotherhood.” He was assassinated in 1965.

• Moderates and radicals talked about black power – start African American owned businesses and only shop at those stores. They also urged black pride – African Americans should learn about their heritage.

Violent ProtestsViolent Protests• In crowded cities, African

Americans tired of discrimination and poverty were angry and their anger became violent

• Riots happened during the summers in the 1960s in:– Watts (Los Angeles) – 1965

– 4,000 people arrested; 34 killed; 1,000 injured.

– More than 40 cities in 1966– Newark (NJ) and Detroit (MI)

in 1967 – 66 people killed and millions of dollars in property damage.

• 1968 – MLK assassinated

Progress is madeProgress is made• 1970s – things started to change• African Americans started winning

election to office.– By 1979, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit,

New Orleans and Los Angeles all had black mayors

– 1967 – Edward Brooke (MA) became the first black senator since Reconstruction (?).

– 1967 – LBJ (?) appointed Thurgood Marshall (?) to the Supreme Court

• Affirmative Action – programs set up to hire and promote minorities, women and others who faced descrimination.

• More African Americans were entering professions such as law and medicine

Rights for WomenRights for Women• National Organization for Women (NOW)

– worked for equal rights for women in jobs, pay and education. One of the founders was Betty Friedan. – Helped women bring discrimination

cases to court– Worked for maternity leave– Worked for child care centers– Urged women to get active politically

• New laws– Equal Pay Act of 1963 – equal pay for

equal work (?)– Civil Rights Act of 1964 – prohibited

discrimination based on sex as well as race

• A defeat – Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) – 1972 Congress passed it but conservative women, led by Phyllis Schlafly opposed it and not enough states approved it for it to become part of the constitution.

LatinosLatinos• By the end of the 1970s, 10 million Latinos lived in the US and also

wanted equal rights• Mexican Americans

– Mexican Americans is the largest group of Latinos– Many lived and worked in urban areas– Others worked as migrant workers (?) on farms– Low wages, poor working conditions– Schools did not have programs for children whose first language

was Spanish.• Puerto Rican Americans

– Although Puerto Ricans have been citizens of US since 1917, they faced discrimination in housing and jobs

– Many came to eastern US in 1950s looking for jobs. Many took jobs in factories of NYC, NJ, CT, PA and others settled in cities like Boston, Chicago, and SF.

• Cuban Americans– In early 1960s more than 200,000 Cubans came to US. Why?– 1980 – another wave of Cuban immigrants came when Castro let

unskilled workers leave

Latinos, continuedLatinos, continued• Organizing for Reform

– Cesar Chavez formed a union for migrant farm workers called the United Farm Workers – boycott of grapes, lettuce and other farm products until farm owners recognized the UFW.

• Voting Rights Act of 1975– Required areas with large

numbers of non-English-speaking citizens to hold bilingual (?) elections.

• Bilingual Education Acts of 1968 and 1973– Supported bilingual programs

in public schools with Spanish-speaking and Asian students

Asian AmericansAsian Americans

• 1968 – students at University of California at Berkeley began the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA). Students descended from Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and other Asian groups worked together to promote rights and cultural heritage of Asian Americans.

• 1968-1973 – Major universities added programs in Asian American studies.

Native AmericansNative Americans• During the late 1940s and

early 1950s, US gov’t tried to get rid of Indian tribes and encouraged Indians to move off of reservations

• By the late 1960s more than ½ of all Native Americans lived off reservations

• Native American Rights Fund sued the government for various lands it had been granted by treaties. In some cases, they won money as damages.

• American Indian Movement (AIM) protested the treatment of Native Americans. 1973 some members occupied Wounded Knee, S. Dakota, for several weeks (?)