THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Chapter 18; Section 1

EARLY DEMANDS FOR EQUALITY

SEGREGATION DIVIDES AMERICA

In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that “separate but equal” segregation between whites and blacks was constitutional

Schools, hospitals, restaurants, transportation, cemeteries and beaches were segregated

Through the 1940’s people became more and more aware of the prejudice caused by the Plessy case and African Americans started to speak out about having desegregated facilities

President Truman appointed a committee on Civil Rights to investigate race relations

In 1948, he used his executive power to order the desegregation of the military

EARLY DEMANDS FOR EQUALITY

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

By the early 1950’s the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) became the largest and most powerful civil rights organization in the nation

The NAACP helped African-Americans win a number of key cases, but the largest and most important case was Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas

This case overturned the Plessy case, allowing all public schools, in all grades, including state funded colleges, to be integrated

Chief Justice Earl Warren simply stated in his brief that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place”

Page 581 Photos

EARLY DEMANDS FOR EQUALITY

The Brown decision was one of the most significant and controversial in American history, as public education touched the many Americans

However, most southerners had no intention of desegregating their schools without a fight

Page 582 Map

FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS CLASH

The Little Rock, Arkansas school board had established a plan to gradually desegregate its schools, beginning with Central High School

Nine young African-American students volunteered to be the first to enroll

The Arkansas Governor announced his opposition to integration and called out the Arkansas National Guard

When the nine students arrived, the soldiers blocked their way into the school

EARLY DEMANDS FOR EQUALITY

The students were also met with an angry mob, shouting “Lynch them!” and spitting on the students as they tried to enter the building

Eventually, the students were taken away before the mob could have their way and the students never gained entrance to the high school that day

Although Eisenhower did not require immediate desegregation of public schools, when he found out the governor of Arkansas was resisting the will of the federal courts, he realized he had to act

He sent federal troops to Little Rock to protect the students and to enforce the Court’s decision

Pages 584-585 Photo & Primary Source

EARLY DEMANDS FOR EQUALITY

For an entire school year, federal troops stayed in Little Rock, escorting the nine students to and from Central High School and guarding them on the school grounds

On the last day of school, one of the nine, a senior, became the first African-American to graduate from Central High School

The event demonstrated that the President would not tolerate open defiance of the law; however most southern states found ways to resist full compliance with the Court’s decision

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Eisenhower

This law established a Civil Rights Commission which had the power to investigate violations of civil rights

This was the first civil rights bill passed by Congress since Reconstruction

EARLY DEMANDS FOR EQUALITY

THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

Read the first paragraph under this title on page 585

Parks’s actions set in motion a chain of events that transformed the civil rights movement

Over the next few days, civil rights activists in Montgomery organized a one-day bus boycott

They called on the black community to refuse to ride the buses as a way to express their opposition to Parks’s arrest as well as segregation in general

Many think that Parks was simply tired after a long day and didn’t want to give up her seat, when in fact she had been active in the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP for many years.

Although it wasn’t her intention to get arrested and spark a movement, she did welcome the chance to use the incident to protest bus segregation

EARLY DEMANDS FOR EQUALITY

The day after the bus boycott, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, a Baptist minister addressed a meeting of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

Though he had little time to prepare, Dr. King delivered an inspirational speech that brought the audience to its feet

He spoke of African-Americans being tired of segregation and oppression and King declared there was no alternative but to protest; however, he called for the protest to be non-violent

He asked people to not become resentful and full of hate; but instead, follow the Christian doctrine of loving all

After his speech, MIA vowed to continue to boycott and chose King as its leader

For more than a year, despite economic pressures from their employers and threats of violence, African Americans in Montgomery maintained their boycott of the buses

EARLY DEMANDS FOR EQUALITY

The bus boycott represented a tremendous victory for African Americans in Montgomery and across the nation

The boycott revealed the power that African-Americans could have if they joined together

Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence became an important part of the civil rights movement

Page 586 King’s Philosophy of Nonviolent Protest

After the boycott, King and another Montgomery minister established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to continue to advocate for nonviolent resistance to fight injustice

The SCLC organized many protests, including a Prayer Pilgrimage in Washington DC in 1957, which helped convince Congress to pass civil rights legislation

BROWN V. BOARD & LITTLE ROCK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Q-zd8PgeA

LITTLE ROCK NINE (OPRAH)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP1PeR4huuM

ROSA PARKS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP1PeR4huuM