18-2The Movement Gains Ground

Objectives

• Describe the sit ins, freedom rides and the actions of James Meredith in the early 1960s.• Explain how the protests at Birmingham

and the march on Washington were linked to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.• Summarize the provisions of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964.

Sit In Movement• Discrimination persisted after Brown

decision• Greensboro, NC (February 1960):

beginning of sit in movement at a Woolworth’s Counter•Student participation•Sparked sit ins across country

• Creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) April 1960

Freedom Rides• Boynton vs. Virginia= interstate bus

segregation is illegal• CORE wanted to challenge system• Spring 1961= 2 buses traveled from

Washington DC to Jackson, Mississippi and violated Jim Crow laws•Bomb thrown on board in Anniston, Alabama and riders attacked in Birmingham

• New president= JFK ordered protection for the Riders the rest of the way

James Meredith• 1962 Court case ordered desegregation of

University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)• James Meredith backed by the NAACP

• Gov. Ross Barnett focused on maintaining segregation• AG sent federal marshals to protect

Meredith and escort him to the registrar’s office• Riot erupted on campus 160 injured and 2

dead

Birmingham Campaign• Birmingham, Alabama= most segregated

city in US 1963• SCLC focused attention there with marches

and sit ins• MLK arrested and wrote “Letter from a

Birmingham Jail”•Blacks can no longer wait for equality! •Protest unjust laws!

• Issues heightened when police dogs and fire hoses turned on peaceful protestors•Regular Americans= disgusted

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=birmingham+campaign+1963&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=6pHEY0INRQso9M&tbnid=7NRwMtLNzdCC-M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_campaign&ei=1F1jUZHEE4y_0QGMjYD4BA&bvm=bv.44770516,d.dmQ&psig=AFQjCNEgvT7kxHsFl04f8MD2KDNrrZRBAg&ust=1365552956254471

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• JFK called for a new civil rights bill• 200,000+ participated in the March on

Washington to promote its passage•SCLC, NAACP, SNCC

• MLK’s “I Have a Dream Speech” delivered at march

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• JFK assassinated in Nov. 1964 new president, Lyndon Johnson pushed for the bill’s passage• Civil Rights Act of 1964= landmark

legislation!•Banned segregation in public accommodations•Federal government could compel school desegregation•Prosecute violators of civil rights•Outlawed discrimination in employment because of race, color, sex or national origin