Civil Rights Highlights

Standard 23 – political developments between 1945-1970

Standard 24, element a (SNCC, SCLC)

School Desegregation/Mayor Hartsfield

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Little Rock Nine James Meredith – University of

Mississippi Atlanta won praise for handling school

desegregation well Mayor William Hartsfield avoided violence &

turmoil by working behind the scenes with black & white businesses & community leaders to deal with race relations peacefully

“Atlanta is the city too busy to hate”

Montgomery Bus Boycott Started with Rosa Parks

not giving up her seat on Dec. 1, 1955 – her arrest quickly united the black community.

The NAACP leaders decided to take advantage of the situation & boycott the bus system until Montgomery desegregated its public transportation. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

was named the leader Lasted one year until the

Supreme Court ruled that the buses must be integrated.

SCLC

SCLC – Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Started during the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Chose MLK as its first president & sought to unite leaders from the black community in the cause of civil rights

Believed in educating average African American citizens & registering them to vote so they could get the right candidates elected to public office.

More conservative group compared to SNCC

Wanted to participate more in civil disobedience (peaceful refusal to follow unjust laws).

SNCC/CORE v. SCLC

During the Civil Rights Movement, many students joined SNCC (Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). Would engage in nonviolent protests & sit-ins to

demand civil rights Often criticized the SCLC because the

younger SNCC members wanted to take a more confrontational approach, instead of waiting for court decisions & the political process.

SNCC members began advocating “Black Power”: a philosophy that held blacks should take great pride in their African heritage and be willing to use violence, if necessary, to attain & protect their civil rights.

March on Washington August 28, 1963 250,000 people,

including 75,000 whites marched for equality.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech

Assassination of JFK

Three months after the March on Washington, President John F. Kennedy was killed on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was

accused of the killing, but was shot 2 days later.

President Lyndon B. Johnson pledged to continue on his work & signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

LBJ

Following the passage of large civil rights legislation, President Johnson introduced a series of programs called the Great Society, with a focus on helping those who lived below the poverty. Head Start: provides free preschool

education to children living in poverty Medicaid: provides medical care for

individuals living in poverty Medicare: provides free hospitalization &

some inexpensive insurance for medical care, for the elderly.

Landmark Court Cases

Federal courts have the power of judicial review They hear cases and determine if a law

or the actions of the government violate any provisions of the Constitution.

Landmark cases create a significant impact or change

The Warren Court

Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Justices required criminal courts to provide free legal counsel to those who could not afford it

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) All suspects must be read their rights

before questioning (Miranda rights)

1968 – A year of turmoil

Violence/riots began breaking out in big cities – African American rage was not understood by a lot of white Americans

The country was also dealing with Vietnam & its growing opposition in the country

MLK was shot by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968 – millions of Americans were able to watch the funeral on TV.

1968 – A year of turmoil

1968 Presidential Election: Democrats running: Hubert H. Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, & Robert Kennedy.

Robert F. Kennedy – JFK’s brother, also the U.S. Attorney General, was also a big supporter of civil rights. He was killed on June 6, 1968

by Sirhan Sirhan

1968 – A year of turmoil

Democratic National Convention – August 1968

Delegates nominating Hubert Humphrey to run for president.

Outside the convention hall, thousands of people were protesting the Vietnam War

Chicago police unleashed tear gas & wielded nightsticks against the demonstrators. Television once again

brought the violence into people’s homes.

Practice Questions

Which president proposed social programs collectively called the Great Society? A) Dwight D. Eisenhower B) John F. Kennedy C) Lyndon B. Johnson D) Richard M. Nixon

Practice Questions

What effect did news coverage of the civil rights movement have? A) it resulted in new Jim Crow

legislation in the South B) it forced the federal government to

place restrictions on the media C) it increased pressure on the federal

government to pass civil rights legislation

D) it reduced the momentum of the civil rights movement