Civil Rights Struggle

Martin Luther King, Jr., waving to the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, D.C. (1963).Civil RightsActivism, new legislation, and the Supreme Court advance equal rights for African Americans. But disagreements among civil rights groups lead to a violent period for the civil rights movement.NEXT

Activism and a series of Supreme Court decisions advance equal rights for African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s.NEXT

The Segregation SystemPlessy v. FergusonCivil Rights Act of 1875 act outlawed segregationIn 1883, all-white Supreme Court declares Act unconstitutional1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling: separate but equal constitutionalMany states pass Jim Crow laws separating the racesFacilities for blacks always inferior to those for whitesTaking on SegregationNEXTContinued . . .

Segregation Continues into the 20th CenturyAfter Civil War, African Americans go north to escape racismNorth: housing in all-black areas, whites resent job competitionNEXTcontinued The Segregation SystemA Developing Civil Rights MovementWW II creates job opportunities for African AmericansNeed for fighting men makes armed forces end discriminatory policiesFDR ends government, war industries discriminationReturning black veterans fight for civil rights at home

Challenging Segregation in CourtThe NAACP Legal StrategyProfessor Charles Hamilton Houston leads NAACP legal campaignFocuses on most glaring inequalities of segregated public educationPlaces team of law students under Thurgood Marshall- win 29 out of 32 cases argued before Supreme CourtNEXTBrown v. Board of EducationMarshalls greatest victory is Brown v. Board of Education of TopekaIn 1954 case, Court unanimously strikes down school segregation

Reaction to the Brown DecisionResistance to School DesegregationWithin 1 year, over 500 school districts desegregateSome districts, state officials, pro-white groups actively resistCourt hands Brown II, orders desegregation at all deliberate speedEisenhower refuses to enforce compliance; considers it impossibleNEXTContinued . . .

continued Reaction to the Brown DecisionCrisis in Little RockSince 1948, Arkansas integrating state university, private groupsGov. Orval Faubus has National Guard turn away black studentsElizabeth Eckford faces abusive crowd when she tries to enter schoolEisenhower has Nat. Guard, paratroopers supervise school attendanceAfrican-American students harassed by whites at school all year1957 Civil Rights Actfederal government power over schools, votingNEXT

The Montgomery Bus BoycottBoycotting Segregation1955 NAACP officer Rosa Parks arrested for not giving up seat on busMontgomery Improvement Association formed, organizes bus boycottElect 26-year-old Baptist pastor Martin Luther King, Jr. leaderNEXTWalking for JusticeAfrican Americans file lawsuit, boycott buses, use carpools, walkGet support from black community, outside groups, sympathetic whites1956, Supreme Court outlaws bus segregation

Martin Luther King and the SCLCChanging the World with Soul ForceKing calls his brand of nonviolent resistance soul force- civil disobedience, massive demonstrationsKing remains nonviolent in face of violence after Brown decisionNEXTFrom the Grassroots UpKing, others found Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)By 1960, African-American students think pace of change too slowJoin Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

The Movement SpreadsDemonstrating for FreedomSNCC adopts nonviolence, but calls for more confrontational strategyInfluenced by Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to use sit-ins:- refuse to leave segregated lunch counter until servedFirst sit-in at Greensboro, NC Woolworths shown nationwide on TVIn spite of abuse, arrests, movement grows, spreads to NorthLate 1960, lunch counters desegregated in 48 cities in 11 statesNEXT

Civil rights activists break through racial barriers. Their activism prompts landmark legislation.NEXT

Riding for FreedomCOREs Freedom Rides1961, CORE tests Court decision banning interstate bus segregation Freedom ridersblacks, whites sit, use station facilities togetherRiders brutally beaten by Alabama mobs; one bus firebombedThe Triumphs of a CrusadeNEXTContinued . . .New VolunteersBus companies refuse to continue carrying CORE freedom ridersSNCC volunteers replace CORE riders; are violently stoppedRobert Kennedy pressures bus company to continue transporting riders

continued Riding for FreedomArrival of Federal MarshalsAlabama officials dont give promised protection; mob attacks ridersNewspapers throughout nation denounce beatingsJFK sends 400 U.S. marshals to protect riders Attorney general, Interstate Commerce Commission act:- ban segregation in all interstate travel facilitiesNEXT

Standing FirmIntegrating Ole Miss1962, federal court rules James Meredith may enroll at U of MSGovernor Ross Barnett refuses to let Meredith registerJFK orders federal marshals to escort Meredith to registrars officeBarnett makes radio appeal; thousands of white demonstrators riotFederal officials accompany Meredith to classes, protect his parentsNEXTContinued . . .

continued Standing FirmHeading into BirminghamApril 1963, SCLC demonstrate to desegregate BirminghamKing arrested, writes Letter from Birmingham JailTV news show police attacking child marchersfire hoses, dogs, clubsContinued protests, economic boycott, bad press end segregationNEXTKennedy Takes a StandJune, JFK sends troops to force Gov. Wallace to desegregate U of ALNAACPs Medgar Evers murdered; hung juries lead to killers release

Marching to WashingtonThe Dream of EqualityAugust 1963, over 250,000 people converge on WashingtonSpeakers demand immediate passage of civil rights billKing gives I Have a Dream speechNEXTMore ViolenceSeptember, 4 Birmingham girls killed when bomb thrown into churchLBJ signs Civil Rights Act of 1964- prohibits discrimination because of race, religion, gender

Fighting for Voting RightsFreedom SummerFreedom SummerCORE, SNCC project to register blacks to vote in MSVolunteers beaten, killed; businesses, homes, churches burnedNEXTA New Political PartyMississippi Freedom Democratic Party formed to get seat in MS partyFannie Lou Hamervoice of MFDP at National Conventionwins supportLBJ fears losing Southern white vote, pressures leaders to compromiseMFDP and SNCC supporters feel betrayedContinued . . .

continued Fighting for Voting RightsThe Selma Campaign1965, voting rights demonstrator killed in Selma, ALKing leads 600 protest marchers; TV shows police violently stop themSecond march, with federal protection, swells to 25,000 peopleNEXTVoting Rights Act of 1965Congress finally passes Voting Rights Act of 1965 Stops literacy tests, allows federal officials to enroll votersIncreases black voter enrollment

NEXTDisagreements among civil rights groups and the rise of black nationalism create a violent period in the fight for civil rights.

NEXTAfrican Americans Seek Greater EqualityNorthern SegregationDe facto segregation exists by practice, custom; problem in NorthDe jure segregation is segregation required by lawWW II black migration to Northern cities results in white flight1960s, most urban blacks live in slums; landlords ignore ordinancesBlack unemployment twice as high as whiteMany blacks angry at treatment received from white police officersChallenges and Changes in the MovementContinued . . .

NEXTcontinued African Americans Seek Greater EqualityUrban Violence EruptsMid-1960s, numerous clashes between white authority, black civilians- many result in riotsMany whites baffled by African-American rageBlacks want, need equal opportunity in jobs, housing, educationMoney for War on Poverty, Great Society redirected to Vietnam War

Watts Riots 1965

NEXTAfrican-American SolidarityNation of Islam, Black Muslims, advocate blacks separate from whites- believe whites source of black problemsMalcolm Xcontroversial Muslim leader, speaker; gets much publicityFrightens whites, moderate blacks; resented by other Black MuslimsNew Leaders Voice DiscontentContinued . . .Ballots or Bullets?Pilgrimage to Mecca changes Malcolm Xs attitude toward whites Splits with Black Muslims; is killed in 1965 while giving speech

NEXTcontinued New Leaders Voice DiscontentBlack PowerCORE, SNCC become more militant; SCLC pursues traditional tacticsStokely Carmichael, head of SNCC, calls for Black Power: - African Americans control own lives, communities, without whitesBlack PanthersBlack Panthers fight police brutality, want black self-sufficiencyPreach ideas of Mao Zedong; have violent confrontations with policeProvide social services in ghettos, win popular support

NEXT1968A Turning Point in Civil RightsKings DeathKing objects to Black Power movement, preaching of violenceSeems to sense own death in Memphis speech to striking workersIs shot, dies the following day, April 4, 1968Reactions to Kings DeathKings death leads to worst urban rioting in U.S. history- over 100 cities affectedRobert Kennedy assassinated two months later

NEXTLegacy of the Civil Rights MovementCauses of ViolenceKerner Commission names racism as main cause of urban violenceCivil Rights GainsCivil Rights Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in housingMore black students finish high school, college; get better jobsGreater pride in racial identity leads to Black Studies programsMore African-American participation in movies, televisionIncreased voter registration results in more black elected officialsContinued . . .

NEXTcontinued Legacy of the Civil Rights MovementUnfinished WorkForced busing, higher taxes, militancy, riots reduce white supportWhite flight reverses much progress toward school integrationUnemployment, poverty higher than for whitesAffirmative actionextra effort to hire, enroll discriminated groups1960s, colleges, companies doing government business adopt policyLate 1970s, some criticize policy as reverse discrimination