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