Civil Rights Movement Notes - Events of the Eisenhower & Kennedy Years PDF

Civil Rights Movement Major events during the Eisenhower years 1955 Money Mississippi /Emmett Till = (14 year old boy) who went to an integrated school in Chicago was visiting his uncle in Money Mississippi for the summe...

Civil Rights Movement Major events during the Eisenhower years 1955 Money Mississippi /Emmett Till = (14 year old boy) who went to an integrated school in Chicago was visiting his uncle in Money Mississippi for the summer. It was deep within the segregated South. A group of boys dared him to speak to the white women inside the little grocery store. He bought a candy bar and, on his way out the door, said “bye baby”. Because of this event Emmett was brutally murdered. Mrs. Till wanted others to see what had happened to her son and had an open casket funeral. The picture of unrecognizable Emmett was published in a popular black magazine called Jet. His death was the spark that united the black Community to start doing something about segregation. Emmett’s death jump started the Civil Rights Movement. 1955 Montgomery Alabama /bus boycott & Rosa Parks = On city buses, the front ten seats were permanently reserved for whites. Rosa Parks was seated in the first row behind those ten seats. When the bus driver instructed her to vacate her seat she refused and was jailed. The black community organized a peaceful bus boycott refusing to ride the city buses. A NAACP lawsuit was filed stating racial segregation of public buses was unconstitutional. The boycott lasted 381 days after a federal court ruled in their favor from a similar case. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader of the bus boycott. The event showed that small acts of defiance could empower people to create change. Ordinary Americans realized that they could make a difference. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – Montgomery, AL bus boycott PhD in Theology/ Baptist minister He believed nonviolent resistance, could end segregation. Many of his non-violent tactics were based on those of Gandhi’s teaching in India. He would go on to lead other boycotts, marches, and call for legislation to end segregation. 1957 Little Rock, Arkansas “The Little Rock Nine” at Central High School In 1957 the school board had voted to integrate. With help from the NAACP, nine black students tried to attend the all-white school but were met by mobs. President Eisenhower eventually called in federal troops to assist them in attending school. 1960 Sit-ins at segregated lunch counters On Feb. 1, 1960, four freshmen students at North Carolina A&T, went into the Greensboro Woolworth Store and sat at a whites-only lunch counter. When they were told they wouldn’t be served, they refused to leave and sparked a movement across the South. In following days, they would be joined by other students who sat all day long at the counter waiting to be served. Their “non-violent” sit-in protest inspired others to do the same at dime-store formica-topped counters in other cities. In many instances violence against them included being punched, kicked, burned with cigarettes, and covered with food. Still, across the South, students at “sit-ins” were arrested, jailed, came out and marched, picketed, and sat in again and again until the lunch counters were finally integrated. Major events during the Kennedy years 1961 Freedom Riders challenge segregated bus terminals (stations) Background – In 1961 African American and white volunteers, many of whom were college students, traveled into the South to draw attention to its refusal to integrate bus terminals. The teams became known as the Freedom Riders. Despite a Supreme Court ruling outlawing segregation in bus and train stations, the South was not compliant, even after three years. At stops along the way, the group entered areas marked “whites only” and “colored only” regardless of their race. They also ate together at segregated lunch counters in the terminals. Resistance against the Freedom Riders didn’t emerge until they stopped in South Carolina where an angry mob beat them after they pulled into the bus station. This was the first of many beatings they would receive at the hands of angry white mobs. Undaunted by the beatings, the Freedom Riders continued on their journey. Mother’s Day, May 14th, 1961 they were met by an angry mob (dressed in their Sunday finest as if they’d just come from church) in Anniston, Alabama. Due to the ferocity of the mob, they decided not to leave the bus and quickly left. However, the mob had slashed the bus’s tires at the station. A few miles outside of Anniston the tires began to deflate and the bus was forced to pull over. The mob that had been following them got out of their cars, surrounded the bus, and threw a firebomb inside. The bomb exploded sending out smoke and flames. As the riders exited the burning bus, still choking from the thick smoke, they were beaten with lead pipes and baseball bats. Only an onboard undercover agent prevented the Freedom Riders from being lynched as he fired his gun into the air. Later that same day the Freedom Riders were beaten a second time as they arrived in Birmingham, Alabama. 1963 Birmingham Alabama/ The Children’s March In 1963 thousands of young people marched to end of segregation in Birmingham the most racist, violent city in the South. Dr. King organized the march but there were not enough adults prepared to be arrested, so the children volunteered. Pictures of the bravery and determination of the Birmingham children as they faced the brutal fire hoses and vicious police dogs were splashed on the front pages of newspapers all across the country. The march helped turn public opinion towards support of the movements fight for justice. Their heroism moved President Kennedy to introduce the Civil Rights Bill. National media coverage of the Children’s March. Images like this one, printed in Life magazine and shown on the TV news programs inspired international support for the demonstrators. The pictures made President Kennedy sick with anger and soon afterwards he addressed the nation about the need for a Civil Rights Bill. 1963 The March on Washington/ Dr. King’s “ I Have a Dream” speech/ The PEAK moment ******* On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a political rally known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march, which became a key moment in the growing struggle for civil rights in the United States, culminated in Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call for racial justice and equality. The speech is considered by many to be one of the finest speeches delivered on American soil. Kings’ speech and the peaceful dignity of the event built momentum for the civil rights bill. The rally was the peak moment of the Civil Rights Movement. Major events during the Johnson years Nov. 22, 1963 President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, TX. Vice President Lyndon Johnson becomes President In 1964, Johnson signs (Kennedy’s) Civil Rights Act into law In 1965 Johnson signed (his) Voting Rights Act into law. John Lewis – The Selma March – known as “Bloody Sunday” - 1965 John Lewis, along with others organized a march for voting rights, from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery. At the end of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, some 150 Alabama state troopers ordered the demonstrators to disperse. Troops advanced, wielding clubs, bullwhips, and tear gas. John Lewis suffered a skull fracture. The day is remembered in history as “Bloody Sunday.” The event prompted President Johnson to address congress on the need to pass a voting rights bill. John Lewis was involved in the sit-ins, freedom rides, and Selma March Malcolm X - the public voice for the Nation of Islam, which combined Islam with black nationalism. They called for complete separation from whites and for black self-governance. Unlike Dr. King, he urged followers to defend themselves by “any means necessary.” After Malcolm X’s death in 1965, his ideas became popular among black youth, and laid the foundation for the Black Power movement of the late 1960s 1964 – 1968 The Black Power Movement – Impatient with the non-violent movement, some called for “black power”. One idea called for armed self-defense against racist cops in cities. ********Others adopted a pride in their African cultural heritage. “Black is Beautiful” became a common phrase, the new “African American.” embrased afro hairstyles and new african design dress styles. 1966 Black Panther Party - The party’s original purpose was to patrol African American neighborhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality. The party justified the use of violence in the accomplishment of black justice. They were influenced by Malcolm X. Legacy: The Panther's Free Breakfast for School Children Program began in Oakland. The Panthers setup kitchens in cities across the nation, feeding over 10,000 children every day before school. April 1968, Dr. King was hit by a sniper's bullet as he stood on the balcony in front of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee. Without warning he was shot by a rifle bullet that entered King's right cheek, traveled through his neck. An escaped convict, James Earl Ray was arrested for the crime. In outrage of the murder, many blacks took to city streets across the United States in a massive wave of riots and violence. Dr. Kings death in 1968 marked the end of the movement as America's focus turned to the war in Vietnam.