• Students will explain the origins of the Civil Rights Movement• Students will explain the tactics used and the major

events of the era• Students will explain other issues arising from the era

• Origins of the Movement Plessey v. Ferguson – 1896 SCOTUS

case that established separate but equal

Separate But Equal – segregation permitted by law as long as equal facilities were provided

Jim Crow Laws – segregated the public sphere

De Facto Segregation – segregation through custom and tradition

• Court Challenges NAACP challenged segregation laws

in SCOTUS 1935 Norris v. Alabama – ruled that

keeping blacks off juries violated equal protection

1946 Morgan v. Virginia – ruled segregation on interstate busses was unconstitutional

1950 Sweatt v. Painter – ruled state law schools had to admit qualified blacks even if black law schools existed

• Because of Great Migration, blacks could concentrate political power/vote = politicians listening• Black leaders pushed for more rights

during WWII – helped end discrimination in factories with federal contracts and increased opportunities in military• Congress of Racial Equality founded

(CORE) – first use of sit-ins as protest tactic; used to desegregate restaurants; opened up restaurants, theaters, and public facilities in Northern cities

• WWII caused many blacks who served to demand their rights guaranteed by law

• Brown v. Board of Education Black lawyer Thurgood Marshall

fought to end segregation in schools 1954 SCOTUS heard case of Linda

Brown denied admission to neighborhood school

SCOTUS ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional – violated 14th Amendment

Affected only schools but undermined system of segregation

• The Southern Manifesto Some border states desegregated

schools but deep South states resisted

SCOTUS had stated desegregation must proceed “with all deliberate speed” – wording vague enough for many states to avoid complying

101 Southern Democrats in Congress signed Southern Manifesto – denouncing SCOTUS ruling and pledging to reverse decision

• Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa Parks challenged segregation

on public busses Parks arrested – Blacks began bus

boycott Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as

leader Advocated passive resistance Boycott lasted over a year 1956 SCOTUS ruled Alabama

segregation of busses unconstitutional

• Many black leaders in Civil Rights Movement were black pastors• African-American churches

provided important support to the movement• King established the Southern

Christian Leadership Conference to eliminate segregation and increase the black vote

• Eisenhower and Civil Rights Followed on Truman’s

precedent and opened up more federal areas to blacks

Did not like some methods used by blacks – thought the movement was dividing the country

Sent federal troops to the South (first time since Reconstruction) to protect blacks’ constitutional rights

• Crisis in Little Rock School board in Little Rock decided to

admit nine black students to a white school

Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus ordered National Guard troops to STOP black students from entering school

White mobs intimidated students Whole incident on TV Eisenhower ordered US troops to Little

Rock Black students escorted to school by

US by armed US troops

• Sit-In Movement 1960 – Black students

staged a sit-in at the Greensboro Woolworth store

Movement grew to include 54 cities in 9 states

Students stayed within the passive resistance guidelines set by the NAACP and SCLC

Emergence of Jesse Jackson

• Ella Baker encouraged coordination of student efforts at desegregation• Student Non-Violent Coordinating

Committee (SNCC) – first chairperson was Marion Barry• Group moved to focus on rural

areas as well• Three SNCC workers killed trying

to register black voters

• Freedom Riders CORE leader asked teams of

black and white volunteers to travel to the South to confront segregation of busses

Volunteers called Freedom Riders

Freedom Riders attacked by mobs – violence shocked nation

• Kennedy and Civil Rights Kennedy campaigned on issue of civil

rights Once in office he became cautious Allowed Department of Justice (RFK) to

lead on issue Department of Justice took legal action

against segregated bus terminals James Meredith registered to attend

University of Mississippi – blocked by governor and white mobs

JFK sent in US Marshals and troops to protect Meredith at school

• Birmingham Martin Luther King Jr. staged

protests in Birmingham knowing it would provoke violence – hope to get support from JFK

King arrested – wrote Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Police used clubs, dogs, and high-pressure hoses against protesters

Televised violence caused JFK to call for new civil rights law

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 MLK led march and demonstration at

Lincoln Memorial “I Have a Dream” speech Civil Rights Act bottled up in US

Senate by Southern Democrats JFK assassinated – successor LBJ

pushed through bill LBJ signed bill into law July 1964 Gave broad powers to prevent

discrimination – established Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

• 24th Amendment – eliminated poll taxes• Blacks still intimidated at voting

booths by violence• 24 African-American churches blown

up in Mississippi• MLK decided to stage another protest

at Selma, Alabama• Sheriff attacked blacks, including

children, over 70 hospitalized• Enraged LBJ called for voting rights law

Most blacks restricted

• Voting Rights Act of 1965 Authorized federal examiners to

bypass state and local authorities Prohibited literacy tests Turning point in Civil Rights

Movement Black voter rolls increased by over

250,000

• Even after civil rights legislation, racism still common• By 1965, 70% of blacks lived in

large cities• Most blacks restricted to poor

inner-city housing• Most jobs low-paying or blue-collar• Single-parent families on increase• Poverty and crime on rise

• The Watts Riot Race riot broke out LA after

allegations of police brutality National Guard called out 34 people killed $45 million in property damage Race riots broke out in other cities

between 1965 and 1968 Worst riot in Detroit 1967

• Black Power MLK’s policies seen as ineffective – more

aggressive stance wanted CORE and SNCC expelled whites from

their organizations Many called for Black Power – self-

defense and violence acceptable or blacks should control the direction of their struggle

Also stressed pride in African-American cultural group

Adopted new African-style hairstyles and clothing, names, and students demanded African studies at universities

• Malcolm X and Nation of Islam Became symbol of the Black Power

Movement Joined the Nation of Islam aka Black

Muslims while in prison Black Muslims – black nationalist group

advocated separatism Last name Little – changed to “X” to

symbolize African name changed during slavery

Malcolm X changed during Hajj to Mecca – changed political views

Broke w/Nation of Islam who had him assassinated

• Black Panthers Militant Black Power group Founded in Oakland by Huey

Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver

Organized for self-defense Believed revolution was needed in

US Adopted a ten-point program for

black empowerment

• Assassination of MLK Black power and calls for violence

caused backlash against Civil Rights Movement

1968 MLK visited Memphis in support of a strike by black workers

MLK shot as stood on motel balcony

Rioting followed Civil Rights Act of 1968 passed