Chapter 18 Civil Rights MovementThe Beginnings

Slide 1 of 7

• The Civil Rights Movement really began on December 1st 1955 in Montgomery Alabama.

• Rosa Parks (1)would not give up her bus seat to a white man and thus started the Montgomery bus boycott.

• Jim Crow laws had been segregating (3)public areas and schools for years

• A local pastor in Montgomery named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was selected to lead this bus boycott.

Rosa ParksRosa ParksRosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913. She grew up in Pine Level, Alabama, right outside of Montgomery.In the South, Jim Crowe laws segregated African American’s and whites in almost every aspect of life.• This included a seating

policy on buses. White’s sat in the front, Blacks sat in the back.

• Buses also drove White students to school. Black students were forced to walk everyday.

The ArrestThe Arrest

On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a White man on a bus.Parks was arrested and charged with the violation of a segregation law in The Montgomery City Code.50 African American leaders in the community met to discuss what to do about Rosa’s arrest.

“People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” -Rosa Parks Autobiography

Montgomery Bus Montgomery Bus BoycottBoycott

On December 5, 1955, through the rain, the African Americans in Montgomery began to boycott the busses.40,000 Black commuters walked to work, some as far as twenty miles.The boycott lasted 382 days.The bus companies finances struggled. Until the law that called for segregation on busses was finally lifted.

Civil Rights Issues• In Topeka Kansas, Linda Brown sued to attend the

white school. Her case went to the Supreme Court.- (5)She was not given a bus to ride to school• In May of 1954 Brown v. Board of Education was heard

overturning old (2)Plessey v. Ferguson case• The Supreme Court ruled in favor of her. Saying

(6)segregation was unconstitutional• The first integrated school was Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas in 1957.

Little Rock Slide 3 of 7

• When Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregation was unconstitutional, this would very slowly start the de-segregation of schools in America.

• When Central High School was integrated, this started many race riots across the country.

• Army and National Guard troops had to be called to maintain peace and order.

• Nine black students enrolled and attended classes that fall.

Sit-ins• If a black person was refused service somewhere, they

would organize a “sit-in”.• They would sit there until they were served. Sit-ins were

held at restaurants, gas stations, barber shops, and hotels.

• One of the most famous (7)organizers of “sit ins” was Jesse Jackson.

• The first “sit-in” was at the Woolworth’s Department Store in Greensboro N.C.

VI. A Mass Movement Takes Shape

• Lunch counter “sit-ins” begin: Greensboro, NC (February, 1960)

• SNCC created (April, 1960)

• CORE “Freedom Ride” (May, 1961)

Freedom Riders• These were (8)college students (both

black and white) who went into the south to protest segregated bus terminals.

• When the Freedom Riders stopped in Alabama, they were harassed and beat.

• Birmingham police chief Bull Conner ordered police dogs and KKK members to attack the riders.

James Meredith• He was a former veteran of the U.S. military.• He wanted to enroll to take classes at the University of

Mississippi.• He was not allowed admission due to his race.• President Kennedy sent 500 federal marshals to escort him

to class each day.• Protestors threw rocks at the marshals.• JFK then sent in the army to protect him.

• James Meredith eventually graduated.

(10)1ST African American to integrate

Colleges and universities

Violence in BirminghamSlide 7 of 7

• Dr. King had organized a peaceful protest in Birmingham in the spring of 1963.

• Bull Conner ordered police dogs to once again attack the protestors.

• Conner also ordered that high powered water hoses be used to the protestors.

• This brutality will eventually lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

VI. A Mass Movement Takes Shape (cont.)

• Demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama (April, 1963)

--Eugene “Bull” Connor• “Letter from Birmingham

City Jail”• (11)Governor of

Alabama George Wallace tries to (block integration of the University of Alabama (Fall, 1963)

Civil DisobedienceCivil Disobedience• In 1957 King helped found the Southern

Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). King believed in the philosophy used by

Gandhi in India known as nonviolent civil disobedience. He applied this philosophy to protest organized by the SCLC.

The civil disobedience led to media coverage of the daily inequities suffered by Southern Blacks.

The televised segregation violence led to mass public sympathy. The Civil Rights Movement became the most important political topic during the early 60’s.

Letter From a Birmingham Letter From a Birmingham JailJail

• King, wrote the letter after being arrested at a peaceful protest in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter was in response to a letter sent to him by eight

Alabama Clergymen called, “A Call For Unity.” The men recognized that injustices were occurring in

Birmingham but believed that the battles for freedom should be fought in the courtroom in not in the streets.

In the letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King justified civil disobedience by saying that without forceful action, true civil rights would never be achieved. Direct action is justified in the face of unjust laws.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• This was going to do away with separate but equal.• Many people protested this including Alabama governor George

Wallace.

• In 1963, Wallace (12)stood at the door of the University of Alabama’s admissions office and would not let black people

enroll.

Gov. George Wallace blocks the doorway to Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, June 11, 1963.

Civil Rights Act part 2

• In the summer of 1963, 200,000 black people gathered in D.C. to lobby Congress to the bill.

• It was at this march that Dr. King gave his famous “I have a dream speech” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

• After 87 days of filibuster, on July 2nd 1964, the Civil Rights Bill passed Congress.

I Have A Dream SpeechI Have A Dream Speech• In a powerful speech, Martin Luther

King Jr. stated eloquently that he desired a world were Black’s and whites to coexist equally.

• King’s speech was a rhetoric example oh the Black Baptist sermon style.

• The speech used The Bible, The Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution and The Emancipation Proclamation as sources. He also used an incredible number of symbols in his poetic address.

I Have A Dream Speech I Have A Dream Speech (cont.)(cont.)

• The powerful words of Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and

live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”

“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

“black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Selma Alabama• Dr. King selected this town for his protests due to a

low number registered African American voters.• Sheriff Jim Clark would have his men attack the

protestors with sticks, clubs, and electric cattle prods.

• March 7th, 1965, a (13)“marches for freedom” was organized. People were to walk 50 miles from Selma to Montgomery.

Police attack protesters during Selma march

Selma part 2• While the protestors were walking toward Montgomery, the police

attacked.• More than 70 African Americans were hospitalized. Many more

were injured.• Millions of Americans watched on TV as the police beat the

innocent.• This incident forced LBJ to push Congress for easier voting rights.

Black PowerSlide 5 of 8

• Many black people began to call for more aggressive reforms.

• Black Power emphasized a (14)rise in the cultural awareness of the African American.

• In some cases, Black Power meant using force.

• Stokely Carmichael was a (15)promoter/ creator of Black Power movement in the 1960’s.

Black PowerBlack PowerBlack Power is a term that emphasizes racial pride and the desire for African Americans to achieve equality.

The term promotes the creation of Black political and social institutions.

The term was popularized by Stokely Carmichael during The Civil Rights Movement.

Many SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) members were becoming critical of leaders that articulated non-violent responses to racism.

Stokely Carmichael

Malcolm X• (16)Malcolm Little was born in Nebraska.• He went to jail for burglary.• While in jail he joined the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims).• Malcolm would later add the letter “X” to his last name to (17)honor his

African heritage to (16)lead the Nation of Islam in America• He later left the Black Muslims because he thought they were too violent.• (18)He was shot and killed by some Black Muslim members in

February 1965.

Black Panthers

• Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver organized the Black Panther Party.

• They believed that (19)a violent revolution was necessary in the U.S.

• They wanted African Americans to arm themselves and prepare for war.

• Two Olympians gave the “Black Power” salute on the medal stand in 1968.

Death of Dr. King• In March 1968, he went to Memphis Tennessee to support a

strike of sanitation workers.• He was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine

Motel on (20)April 4th 1968.• He was shot by James Earl Ray.• He is buried in Atlanta Georgia at the MLK National Historic

Site.

Tech Time- Do not send an e-mail1- would not get up out of her seat on bus 19- violent revolution needed for freedom

2- Plessey vs. Ferguson 20 – April 4th 1968

3- Schools and public areas

4- peaceful protests to shame white southerners

5- ride on a bus & equal education

6- segregation is unconstitutional

7- leader of sit in protests and strikes

8- people trying to ride buses equally to support civil rights

9- Birmingham Chief of Police- ordered dogs and KKK on protestors

10- 1st African American to integrate colleges

11- Governor of Alabama in 1960s

12- Blocked the doors of the University of Alabama

13- Peace and civil right marches

14- Black people will rise to success by unity and numbers

15- creator of black power movement

16- Leader of Nation of Islam and real name was Malcolm little

17- No last name and all black men together

18- Was shot by black Muslims in 1965