W I T H A F O C U S O N T H E S T R U G G L E O F A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N S

CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE U.S.

CIVIL RIGHTS

• Definition: the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

POST-CIVIL WAR TO EARLY 1900S

LET’S BACKTRACK…

• How were African Americans viewed by the courts in the early 1800s?

• “The plaintiff having admitted…that his ancestors were imported from Africa and sold as slaves, he is not a citizen of the State of Missouri according to the Constitution of the United States, and was not entitled to sue in that character in the Circuit Court.”

• The Constitution of the United States recognises slaves as property…”

• Dredd Scott v. Sandford – 60 U.S. 393 (1856)

BUT THEN THERE WAS A WAR…

• After the Civil War, America went through a period of reconstruction.

• Radical Republicans pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and Reconstruction Act of 1867

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866

• Gave citizenship to ALL males in the U.S. “without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude.”

RECONSTRUCTION ACT OF 1867

• Temporarily split the south into 5 military districts.• Governments with universal male suffrage were

organized. (Based on 13th Amendment)• Required states to ratify 14th Amendment to rejoin

the union.• The 15th Amendment was also passed…

THE AMENDMENTS:

• 13th Amendment: (1865) freed the slaves• 14th Amendment: (1868) gave former slaves

equal rights, citizenship, & due process• 15th Amendment: (1870) give former slaves the

right to vote

• Way to remember: Free (13) Citizens (14) Vote (15)

EFFECT ON THE SOUTH

• Many white Southerners were angry with the civil rights that they felt were imposed on them by the federal government.

KKK

• The Ku Klux Klan was started. The KKK is an organization that promotes hatred and discrimination against specific racial and religious groups.

• When opponents of reconstruction gained power in the south, they imposed de jure segregation, or segregation imposed by the law, by creating laws that discriminated against African Americans.

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1875

• Protected all Americans, regardless of race, in their access to public accommodations and facilities such as restaurants, theaters, trains and other public transportation, and protected the right to serve on juries.

THE FALL OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE LATE 1800S

• In 1877, new President Rutherford B. Hayes removed troops from the south.

The Result?• Jim Crow laws were passed that

separated African Americans and whites in everyday life and culture.

• Poll taxes required voters to pay a tax for the ability to vote.

• Literacy tests required voters to answer questions by reading questions and writing the answer (illiterate former slaves were unable to complete the test)

• Grandfather Clauses limited voters to those whose grandfathers had voted before 1867.

THE FALL OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE LATE 1800S

• The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was not enforced.• The Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act

unconstitutional in 1883.

• “When a man has emerged from slavery, and, by the aid of beneficent legislation, has shaken off the inseparable concomitants of that state, there must be some stage in the progress of his elevation when he takes the rank of a mere citizen and ceases to be the special favorite of the laws, and when his rights as a citizen or a man are to be protected in the ordinary modes by which other men's rights are protected.”

• Civil Rights Cases - 1883

PLESSY V. FERGUSON (1896)

• Enforced into Federal Law the idea of “separate but equal,” where African-Americans would have entirely separate facilities from people who were white.

• “Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences, and the attempt to do so can only result in accentuating the difficulties of the present situation. If the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly  or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.”

• -Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896.

BOOKER T. AND W.E.B.

Booker T. Washington W.E.B. Dubois

-Head of the Tuskegee Institute, a school for teachers in Tuskegee, Alabama.

-Called African Americans to “pull themselves up from their own bootstraps” by working hard and building up their reputations as hard workers and honest citizens.

-Gave vocational training, which is training to do a specific job.

-Held a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

-Argued that African-Americans should not need to accommodate the whites of the South.

-African Americans should demand full and immediate equality, and not limit themselves to vocational education

BOOKER T. AND W.E.B.

Booker T. Washington W.E.B. Dubois

-Head of the Tuskegee Institute, a school for teachers in Tuskegee, Alabama.

-Called African Americans to “pull themselves up from their own bootstraps” by working hard and building up their won reputations as hard workers and honest citizens.-Gave vocational training, which is training to do a specific job.

-Held a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Professor at Atlanta University

-Argued that African-Americans should not need to accommodate the whites of the South.

-African Americans should demand full and immediate equality, and not limit themselves to vocational education

BOOKER T. AND W.E.B.

Booker T. Washington W.E.B. Dubois

-Head of the Tuskegee Institute, a school for teachers in Tuskegee, Alabama.

-Called African Americans to “pull themselves up from their own bootstraps” by working hard and building up their won reputations as hard workers and honest citizens.-Gave vocational training, which is training to do a specific job.

-Held a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

-Argued that African-Americans should not need to accommodate the whites of the South.

-African Americans should demand full and immediate equality, and not limit themselves to vocational education

NIAGARA MOVEMENT

• Started by W.E.B. Du Bois• Name from original meeting location: Niagara

Falls.

They wanted to meet on the New York side of the Falls, but were denied accommodations, so they were required to go to the Canadian side, where they had no problem finding a place to meet.

NIAGARA MOVEMENT

• Demanded that African-Americans have the right to vote.• Demanded that African-

Americans not be forced to be separated in public transportation and elsewhere.• Demanded that they be

able to enjoy the things that White people enjoy

NAACP

• In 1908, a riot happened in Springfield, Illinois, when a crowd wanted to lynch two African-American prisoners in the city jail.• When the crowd found out that the prisoners had

been removed to safety, there was a riot against the city’s black residents which resulted in two people dying and 40 homes burned.

NAACP

• White reformers saw the need to take an active role. They joined with the Niagara Movement to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

• NAACP aimed to help African Americans be “physically free from peonage [forced, low-paid labor], mentally free from ignorance, politically free from disenfranchisement, and socially free from insult.”

URBAN LEAGUE

• As many African-Americans moved from rural areas to cities to find work, the Urban League was formed was formed to advocate for the rights of those who were poorer workers. • Helped families buy clothes and books• Sent children to school• Helped factory workers and maids find jobs.

THE MODERN CIVIL RIGHTS ERA

AMERICA STILL DIVIDED IN 1950S

• De jure segregation, segregation by law, was still in existence.• Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal

doctrine” was present throughout American culture

• De facto segregation, or segregation by culture or tradition, was present when laws were not in place.• Example: African-Americans had

difficulty getting housing in many neighborhoods.

• WWII brought stirrings of the Civil Rights movement.• FDR banned discrimination in defense

industries.• African-Americans who fought for our

safety abroad would not tolerate discrimination at home.

• In 1947, Jackie Robinson brought integration (bringing together of African-Americans and whites in society) to baseball.

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

• The courts began to help in the Civil Rights movement.• Brown v. BOE was brought by

Thurgood Marshall, an African American lawyer from NAACP. (Marshall would later become a Supreme Court Justice)

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

• The opinion, written by Chief Justice Earl Warren: “Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race . . . Deprive the children of the minority group equal education opportunities? . . . We believe it does. . . [I]n the field of education, ‘separate but equal’ has no place.”• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

LITTLE ROCK

• Little Rock planned to integrate it’s schools• Nine African American students volunteered• Governor opposed integration and called out

Arkansas National Guard.

LITTLE ROCK

• President Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock to enforce the Brown v. BOE decision.

• Troops escorted the students to and from school every day for the entire school year.

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957

• Established Civil Rights division of Justice Department.

• Allowed federal officials to prosecute those who conspired to deny or limit the right to vote

• U.S. Civil Rights Commission was created to investigate the infringement of the rights of voters.

• As the first Civil Rights bill passed since Reconstruction, the passage of this law showed the Federal Government was becoming more committed to the cause of Civil Rights.

President Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law

EMMETT TILL

• Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy from Chicago visiting family in Mississippi in August of 1955.• Till reportedly flirted with a white

cashier at a grocery store on August 24• Four days later, two white men,

Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, kidnapped Till, beat him, and shot him in the head.

EMMETT TILL

• Milam and Bryant shoved Till’s body in the river, but it was found 3 days later.• Till was only identified because of the ring on his

finger.• He was sent back to Chicago, where his mother

opted for an open casket funeral where thousands of people came to pay respects.• Till’s mother wanted to “let the world see what

happened, because there was no way I could describe this. And I needed somebody to help me tell what it was like.”

EMMETT TILL

• Back in Mississippi, Milam and Bryant were charged with murder. They went to trial in September of 1955.• They were found not guilty by an all male, all white

jury after 67 minutes of deliberation.• In January of 1956, Bryant and Milam admitted

they did the crime, and told the story to Look magazine for $4,000

• The murder of Emmitt Till ignited the Civil Rights movement

MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

• December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, refuses to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus.• Parks was arrested

MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

• Within days, civil rights activists in Montgomery organized a one day bus boycott• The boycott was a way to express disapproval of

Parks’ arrest.

THE NEXT DAY…

• The day after the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a meeting was held by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA).• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed the group• King was a Baptist Minister• He gave an inspirational speech• He was chosen to lead the MIA

SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

• Started by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph Abernathy.• The goal was to continue the

struggle for civil rights.• Largely made up by southern

ministers.• Advocated for non-violent

resistance to injustice

NON-VIOLENT PROTESTS

• Greensboro Sit-In: Feb 1, 1960. Four African American college students ordered doughnuts and coffee at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. Waitress refused to serve them.

• The students sat on stools at the lunch counter until the restaurant closed. This was a sit-in.

• News of the sit-in spread, and others did the same around the country.

NON-VIOLENT PROTESTS

STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE

• Created by young African-Americans with a goal to create a grassroots movement that involved ALL classes of African Americans in the struggle to defeat white racism and obtain equality.

BOYNTON V. VIRGINIA (1960)

• Segregation on interstate buses and in waiting rooms was illegal.

CONGRESS OF RACIAL EQUALITY (CORE)

• Founded at the University of Chicago in 1942.

• Pioneered the use of non-violent resistance.• Staged many different protests:• Freedom Rides: Riders set off on two

separate buses from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans. The riders defied codes of segregation (example: Sat at front of bus and used white restrooms).• One of the buses was firebombed in

Alabama, while the riders of the other bus were attacked by a white mob in Birmingham.

INTEGRATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

• James Meredith was a Air Force veteran who wanted to enroll at Ole Miss in 1962.

• Meredith won a federal court case that said he was allowed to enroll (Medger Evers was critical in this effort)

• The Governor of Mississippi tried to block Meredith’s enrollment.

• Federal Marshals were sent to protect Meredith.

• September 30: A riot erupted. 2 people were killed.

• Meredith enrolled the next day and graduated in 1963.

BACK TO BIRMINGHAM…

• Spring, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the SCLC focus on Birmingham for their major Civil Rights campaign.• Why? Because it had a reputation as the most

segregated city in the South.

CAMPAIGNS IN BIRMINGHAM

• Stage #1: sit-ins and protest marches (marches made to express opposition to segregation policies)

KING ARRESTED

• City officials received a court order blocking the demonstrations.• King marched on Good Friday, in violation of the

order, and was arrested.• From jail, King wrote his Letter from a

Birmingham Jail.

EXCERPT FROM LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL

• “For years now I have heard the word ‘wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait!’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’… Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, ‘Wait.’ But… when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children… Then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” 1963.

• After King released from jail, frequency of demonstrations increases.• Public Safety Commissioner T. Eugene Bull Conner

used police dogs and fire hoses to break up the protests.

• The images from the marches were seen throughout the country.• President Kennedy made a moving TV address on

June 11, 1963, and called for sweeping Civil Rights reform.

MARCH ON WASHINGTON

• August 26, 1963. Massive demonstration in Washington, D.C. that brought together major civil rights groups, labor unions, and religious groups.

• More than 200,000 demonstrators.

• Peaceful protest. Rally near Lincoln Memorial.

• King makes his now famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

AFTER THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON…

• September 15, 1963, bomb explodes in Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, killing 4 young girls.

• November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President.

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed while Johnson is President.• Banned segregation in public

accommodations• Gave Federal Government ability to

compel state and local school boards to desegregate schools

• Federal Prosecutors had the ability to prosecute people who violated civil rights

• Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.

• Established affirmative action, which is a policy of giving special consideration to minorities and women to make up for past discrimination

FREEDOM SUMMER

• Summer of 1964• Major campaign to register

African-Americans to vote in Mississippi.

• Three volunteers murdered before the campaign even began.

• Formed Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and advocated to become recognized as the only Democratic Party in Mississippi. They were unsuccessful, but gained delegates

MARCH ON SELMA

• Martin Luther King, Jr. and SCLC organized a campaign in Selma, Alabama.

• Confrontation• March 7, 1965: “Bloody Sunday”• State troopers attacked the marchers.• The attack was televised, outraging Americans• President Johnson called for a strong voting

rights law.

• Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed.• Banned literacy tests.• Empowered federal government to oversee

voting registration.

24TH AMENDMENT

• The 24th Amendment was ratified in 1964 and banned the Poll Tax

AFTER VOTING RIGHTS ACT PASSED…

• Race riot exploded in Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.• Violence, Looting, and Arson

spread • It took days for the National

Guard to restore order.

• Other riots happened in places like Newark, NJ and Detroit, MI.• President Johnson established the Kerner

Commission to investigate the causes of the riots.• Conclusion: Racial discrimination stood as the single most

important cause of violence

MALCOLM X

• Alternative to Martin Luther King, Jr.• Was a member of the Nation of Islam,

a religious sect led by Elijah Muhammed. • Views included no drugs or alcohol, and

separatism, or separation of whites and blacks.

• Advocated for a more militant approach than MLK

• Malcolm X was a prominent minister of Nation of Islam, but broke away.

• Was shot and killed in February 1965.• Three members of the Nation of Islam

were found guilty of the murder.

STOKELY CARMICHAEL

• Advocated black power. How did he define it?

• ‘‘When you talk about black power you talk about bringing this country to its knees any time it messes with the black man … any white man in this country knows about power. He knows what white power is and he ought to know what black power is’’

• African Americans should collectively use their economic and political muscle to gain equality

BLACK PANTHERS

• Organization that created armed patrols that protected urban neighborhoods and people from police abuse.• Also served free breakfasts to African American

children who were in need.• Made “Afro” and the term “black” popular.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. ASSASSINATED

• King continued to use non-violent methods to gain peace despite the call for “black power.”

• King made a speech on April 3, 1968 in Memphis, TN in which he said: “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life, but I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.”

• The next day, while standing on the balcony of his motel, King was shot and died soon after.

CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LYNDON JOHNSON

RECAP

• The following were passed under President Johnson:

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed while Johnson is President.• Banned segregation in public

accommodations• Gave Federal Government ability to

compel state and local school boards to desegregate schools

• Federal Prosecutors had the ability to prosecute people who violated civil rights

• Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.

• Established affirmative action, which is a policy of giving special consideration to minorities and women to make up for past discrimination

24TH AMENDMENT

• The 24th Amendment was ratified in 1964 and banned the Poll Tax

VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

• Banned literacy tests.• Empowered federal government to oversee voting

registration.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED DURING JOHNSON’S PRESIDENCY?

• President Johnson’s goals shaped his Great Society program.• The legislation of the

program aimed to achieve a quality of life that Johnson thought all Americans should enjoy.

WAR ON POVERTY

• Johnson declared an “unconditional war on poverty.”• Johnson was able to get a tax

cut on the middle class and add $1,000,000,000 in provisions to do the following:• Train the jobless.• Educate the uneducated• Provide healthcare for those in

need

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT

• Passed in 1964• Created the Job Corps to train young men and

women age 16-21 in the skills they needed to acquire better jobs• Created Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)

to serve impoverished communities to solve the economic, educational, and medical problems of America.

MEDICARE

• 1965: Medicare created.• Provided basic hospital insurance for Americans

in the Social Security system who were age 65 and older.

WARREN COURT

• Led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Warren Court was the most liberal in American history.• Their decisions supported civil rights, civil

liberties, voting rights, and personal privacy.• Miranda vs. Arizona: accused criminal had to

be informed of their Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights before being questioned.