of the 1960s

• social movements in the United States whose goal was

to end racial segregation and discrimination against black

Americans and enforce constitutional voting rights to

them

- Clergyman, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the

African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known

for his role in the advancement of civil rights using

nonviolent civil disobedience.

• Known for the “most memorable performance” during the Big March

• His speech stirred the minds of people all over the world & reminded

them of the Civil Rights Movement’s purpose

• He called the march “the greatest demonstration of

freedom in the history of our nation”

• Elijah Muhammad founded the Nation of

Islam – favored separation of races and

wanted a part of the U.S. set aside for African Americans

• Muhammad’s most significant follower

• But, in 1964 he split with Muhammad and founded own

group

• Organization of Afro-American Unity

• Began speaking of the need for “brotherhood” and

reaching out to different groups

• Assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965 presumably by followers

of Muhammad

• Radical group founded by two college students in Oakland, CA

• Talked about armed revolt & wore military clothes

• Openly carried guns

• Ideas of black separation & a refusal to reject violence became

popular

• Chanted “We want power! Black power!”

• Antagonized many white liberals who supported the Civil Rights

Movement

• The “Black Power” call was enthusiastically taken up by younger

blacks

• SNCC & CORE decided only blacks could hold leadership positions

in their organizations

• Feb. 1, 1660

• 4 freshman from Greensboro, NC were denied coffee

and doughnuts because the restaurant didn’t serve

colored people

• Students stayed until close

• The next day they returned with 19 others

• News of sit-ins spread quickly

• People participated in them in towns and cities in 13

states

• By the fall of 1961, 70,000 were protesting at lunch

counters, courts, libraries, theaters, beaches & pools

Goal – integrate interstate bus facilities

• Supreme court ruled for buses to desegregate, but the ruling had not yet been implemented

• 1961

• Protestors rode buses through the south & refused to use segregated facilities

• Mobs of violent whites awaited them

• Southern governors refused to take action against the violence

• In sept. the interstate commerce commission ordered an end to segregation on all interstate buses & trains

• Activists launched what is now known as “One of the

most influential campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement”

• From a high school in Jefferson county, Alabama 800

students marched 10 miles to Birmingham

• Stopped by police & put in jail

• Rev. James Bel came up with a children’s crusade &

began a march in Birmingham

• By May 7, 1963 – 3,000 black young people were

marching the city

• Students left school to participate

• Children faced fire hoses & vicious police dogs

• Jails were overcrowded with students so they expanded

to fair grounds

• “Turned the tide of the movement”

• Civil rights veterans planned the march with assistance

from leaders of the NAACP, SCLC, CORE & National

Urban League

• Wanted to vent grievances, set goals & boosts spirits of

civil rights workers

• Wanted to show support for Kennedy’s civil rights act

• Joined by people of all ages, races & backgrounds

• ¼ million gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug.

28, 1963

• March on Washington

• Ended segregation in public places and banned

employment discrimination on the basis of

race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

• First proposed by JFK, signed into law by Lyndon B.

Johnson

• In the following years, congress expanded the act and

passed additional legislation aimed at bringing equality to

African Americans

-Voting rights act of 1965

• Blacks and other minorities could no longer be denied

service based on the color of their skin

• Site of major civil rights confrontation

• Selma blacks made up half of the cities population but comprised only 1% of the voters

• African Americans felt intimidated

• Jan. 1965, SNCC & SCLC focused on the city in regards to voting rights

• Even MLK joined

• Marchers sang, prayed & marched through the streets

• Within a couple weeks, two thousand marchers including MLK were arrested

• Did not stop the campaign

• Protests spread to communities beyond Selma

• Feb. 8 – first casualty

• Jamie Lee Jackson was shot by a state trooper

• Civil rights leaders worked hard to prevent Jackson’s

death from turning demonstrators to violence

• His death also compelled civil right’s leaders to rethink

their efforts

• Campaign in Selma seemed to be going nowhere

• It was time to adopt a new, bold strategy

• Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson

• August 6, 1965

• Aimed at overcoming legal barriers at both state and

local levels which prevented African Americans from

voting