civil rights era chapter 21. segregation plessy v. ferguson –“separate but equal” law did not...
TRANSCRIPT
Civil Rights Era
Chapter 21
Segregation
• Plessy v. Ferguson
– “separate but equal” law did not violate the 14th Amendment
• Jim Crow laws
– Aimed at separating the races
– Separate schools, streetcars, elevators, witness stands, restrooms, etc.
• Racial prejudice and segregation in the north too
Effect of WWII
• New job opportunities opened up as white males went to war
• 1 million African-American men serve in armed forces– Determined to fight for their own freedom
now that they helped defeat fascist regimes overseas
• During the war, civil rights organizations challenged Jim Crow laws
Challenging Segregation- Eight Year Old Linda Brown had to
walk 21 blocks to the nearest “black” school and past the “white” school just four blocks away
• On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court struck down segregation in schooling as unconstitutional
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
• Chief Justice Earl Warren said “the doctrine of separate but equal has no place”
Reaction to Brown Decision
• In some areas, whites resisted desegregation
• Gov. Faubus of Arkansas ordered the National Guard to turn away the “Little Rock Nine”
• A federal judge ordered Faubus to let the students into the school
• Pres. Eisenhower sent troops to protect the African-American students outside the school
• 9 students were regularly harassed by other students
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• Rosa Parks took a seat in the front row of the “colored” section of the bus. As the bus filled up, the driver ordered Parks and others to empty their row so a white man could sit
• Parks refused to move and was arrested
• The NAACP planned a bus boycott– Elected Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to lead the
group
• For 381 days, African-Americans in Montgomery refused to ride the buses
• 1956- the Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation
Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Proved the power of nonviolent resistance- the peaceful refusal to obey unjust laws– Based on the teachings of Gandhi
• Founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)– Staged protests and
demonstrations throughout the south
• The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)– Were more confrontational
• 1960- students staged a sit-in; protestors sat down at segregated lunch counters and refused to leave until they were served– Television showed the events to the whole
country
Freedom Riders
• Civil Rights activists who rode buses through the South to challenge segregation
• Both buses met up with white mobs
• Attorney General Robert Kennedy convinced another group to proceed
• After more violence, Pres. Kennedy sent U.S. marshals to protect the riders
• Attorney general and ICC banned segregation in all travel facilities
Birmingham, Alabama
• City known for its strict enforcement of segregation
• Martin Luther King, Jr. asked by black community to desegregate the city
• After a march, King and other leaders were jailed
• “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
• Children Marches- thousands came face to face with high-pressure fire hoses, dogs, etc.
• All of the violence was captured on television
• America’s outcry finally convinced the citizens of Birmingham they had to de-segregate (not integrate)
• Pres. Kennedy orders Gov. George Wallace to desegregate the Univ. of Alabama
• Demands that Congress pass a new Civil Rights Bill
• Hours after Kennedy’s speech, Medgar Evers, NAACP field secretary and WWII veteran, is murdered– Byron de la Beckworth is released after two
trials resulting in hung juries
– African-Americans demand “Freedom Now!”
March on Washington
• Thousands march in Washington to the Lincoln Memorial
• Speakers demand the immediate passage of the civil rights bill
• MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech
• MLK speech
• 4 Birmingham girls killed when a rider hurled a bomb through their church window
• Pres. Kennedy is killed and Pres. Johnson passes the Civil Rights Bill of 1964– Prohibited discrimination because of race,
religion, national origin, and gender
• Freedom Summer- college students, mostly white women, go to Mississippi to register black voters
– Three men were killed by Klansmen
• Selma campaign- march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama – Police used tear gas, clubs, and whips– Caught on TV
• 2nd march was under federal protection
• Voting Rights Act of 1965- eliminated literacy tests; could now enroll voters who had been denied suffrage by local officals
• Another issue was dealing with prejudice in the North
• De facto segregation- exists by practice and custom rather than by law (de jure)- is harder to fight– Dealing with changing people’s attitudes
• After WWII, African-Americans moved to northern cities– “white flight” to the suburbs– African-Americans lived in slums;
unemployment– riots
New Leaders• Malcolm X: influenced by teachings of the Nation
of Islam, or Black Muslims. – Called for armed self-defense
• Black Power: Stokely Carmichael, the leader of SNCC, calls for Black Power– Encourages black pride and social leadership– MLK believes this will lead to violence
• Black Panthers: militant political organization to fight police brutality and to provide services in the ghetto
Assassinations
• Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed in 1968– Riots in over 100 cities followed
• Two months later, Robert Kennedy was killed while campaigning for president
Legacy
• Civil Rights Act of 1968
• Higher #s of students finishing high school and going to college better jobs
• African American pride
• Political gains