Civil Rights Movement History

Civil Rights Movement -A social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in the country.  Roots of the Movement: Reconstruction -Black codes: laws that limited...

Civil Rights Movement -A social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in the country.  Roots of the Movement: Reconstruction -Black codes: laws that limited the freedoms and civil liberties of African Americans (forbid voting, could not own guns, could not serve on juries, limited ownership of property, limited work opportunities). -Civil Rights Act of 1866: All people born in USA were citizens and had equal rights (only on paper. Not enforced. Essentially reversed by Supreme Court in 1896). -Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): legalized segregation by stating that “separate but equal” was legal. Racism and Discrimination in the South -Jim Crow laws: enforced segregation (separate hotels, seperate entrances/seating in theaters, reside in separate rails cars, separate schools, libraries, and parks). -Poll taxes: a fee that voters were required to pay in order to vote. -Literacy tests: required voters to read and explain a section of the Constitution in order to vote. -Lynching: Afircan Americans hanged to instill fear. -The KKK: a secret society that used threats, intimidation, and violence to prevent African Americans from exercising their new rights.  Impact of Segregation -African Americans received low-paying jobs. -Higher rates of poverty and illiteracy. -Lower rates of homeownership and life expectancy. -Couldn’t vote in the south. Early Efforts to End Segregation -NAACP (1909): National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: became the largest and most powerful civil rights organization. -Thurgood Marshall: headed the team that challenged the legality of segregation. -CORE (1942) Congress on Racial Equality  Integrating Sports 1947: Jackie Robinson breaks MLB color barrier with Brooklyn Dodgers. 1950: NBA welcomes first Black players (Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, Nat Clifton). 1962: Willie O'Ree becomes first Black NHL player with Boston Bruins. 1966: Bill Russell becomes the first Black NBA coach. 1975: Frank Robinson becomes the first Black MLB coach. 1990: Art Shell becomes first Black NFL coach. Integrating Sports  Desegregation of the Armed Forces -Executive Order 9981 -July 1948 -President Harry Truman ends segregation in the armed forces. -Previously, each unit was segregated by race.  Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 -NAACP challenged the “separate but equal” ruling- sued the school district in Topeka, KS when 13 African American children were refused enrollment in the schools closest to their homes because they were “white schools”. -Local courts uphold segregation- it is appealed to the Supreme Court. -The Supreme Court agreed with NAACP argument that segregated public education violated 14th amendment to the 14U.S. Constitution: separate but equal is inherently unequal. -Schools must integrate. -This ruling overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896  The Murder of Emmett Till -August 1955: 14-year-old Emmett Till, visiting Mississippi from Chicago, was beaten and shot in the head for whistling at/speaking* to a white woman. -His mother insisted on an open casket to show the world what had happened to her son- a generation of African Americans was forever changed by the photo of Till’s body. -The (white) murderers were found not guilty in under an hour. -Impact: proved that integration of schools did not lead to equality- more work needed to be done. Montgomery Bus Boycotts -December 1955- Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. -Civil disobedience: knowingly breaking a law that you find to be unjust in order to draw attention to the unfairness/unconstitutionality. -NAACP called for a boycott of the bus company- refusing to use a product or service to make a statement or support a cause.  Why the Boycott was Successful -Boycott lasted 13 months. -Boycotters walked, car pooled, African American taxi companies offered significantly discounted fares to boycotters they remained committed and united. -75% of riders were African American– the bus company lost thousands of dollars a month. -Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders were threatened with violence and jail time. These violent reactions to their nonviolent protest gained national attention. -November 1956: Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was illegal.  Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC -Martin Luther King, Jr. emerges as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement: -Consisted of about 100 Black ministers. -Graduate of Morehouse College, Baptist minister. -Well-educated on the philosophies of political thinkers like Mohandas Gandhi, who pioneered the use of nonviolence as a form of protest against the British in India. -King and other African American leaders found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to continue the fight for civil rights.  Resistance to Integration -Civil rights laws were not enforced at the local levels- police, sheriffs, judges, mayors, etc… all turned a blind eye to the law and allowed segregation and discrimination to continue. -“White Citizens Councils”: groups that fought integration. -Membership in the KKK grew (arsons/intentioanl fires, beatings, lynching, and murders). -As a result: activists kept fighting! Little Rock Nine -The Board of Education ordered Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to desegregate. Nine African American students registered to attend, but Governor Orval Faubus opposed integration -Faubus ordered the National Guard to Little Rock in order to “preserve the peace” = prevent the students from entering. -For the entire school year, federal troops stayed in Little Rock escorting the students to and from school.  Effects of Little Rock Nine -It demonstrated that the President would not tolerate open defiance of the law. -However, most southern states found ways to resist desegregation and it would take years before black and white children went to school together.  Sit-Ins -Sit in: a protest in which people sit and refuse to move until their demands are met. -Feb. 1960: 4 students stage a sit in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, NC- began a movement of sit-ins all over the country -Protesters were often heckled, abused and tormented to try to force them to leave -SNCC: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee- an organization founded by college students to fund and support nonviolent civil rights protests  Freedom Riders -1961: college students boarded buses all over the south to test the ruling in Rosa Parks’ Supreme Court case that demanded the desegregation of buses. -They refused to sit in colored sections or give up their seats for white passengers. -Purpose: To test the federal government’s willingness to enforce desegregation interstate buses was illegal (Boynton v. Virginia 1960). -Riders faced threats, intimidation and violence along the way- KKK members would board buses and beat African Americans and other freedom riders. -In Alabama (the most dangerous southern state), one bus was firebombed and riders were attacked.  Effects of the Freedom Rides -Federal Transportation Commission issued an order mandating the desegregation of interstate transportation. -Civil rights activists achieved their goal and proved that intimidation would not defeat them.  All Eyes on Birmingham -Birmingham: known as a stronghold for white supremacy. -Nicknamed “Bomb-ingham” for violence against African Americans. -George Wallace: governor of AL; did not support integration. - “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” -Eugene “Bull” Connor: Commissioner of public safety. -Civil rights leaders knew that they needed to highlight the violence toward nonviolent protests on the news to get national attention- Wallace and Connor gave them exactly what they needed. -Called for attacks on children as they marched in Birmingham- sprayed with powerful fire houses, turned police dogs on marchers, beat protestors openly in the streets  Letter from a Birmingham Jail -Leads to the arrest of Dr. King, where he spent over a month in jail being poorly treated.  March on Washington -August 28, 1963 -200,000 people -Purpose 1. Protest discrimination 2. Urge Congress to pass Civil Rights Act I Have a Dream  16th Street Baptist Church Bombing -Sunday September 15, 1963 -Black church -100’s injured -4 girls (ages 11-14) -Gave “strength” to the movement  Johnson’s Great Society Plan -Domestic programs 1964-1965 -Goal: elimination of poverty and racial injustice in America -Cost A LOT of money -Education, medical care, urban development, rural poverty, transportation, clear air. -Civil Rights Act of 1964 -Voting Rights Act of 1965  Freedom Summer -Summer 1964 -SNCC led voter registration for southern African Americans -Outcome: hundreds of thousands of African Americans in the south were now registered to vote Bloody Sunday  Nonviolence vs. Not Nonviolence -Nonviolence: MLK -Malcolm X: Nation of Islam -Black Panthers -Believe change was not happening fast enough -Did not support nonviolence MLK Assassination  Effects of the Civil Rights Movement 1. Africans Americans elected to office -1967: First African American senator since Reconstruction -1968: Thurgood Marshall (remember him?) appointed to the Supreme Court -1968: First African American woman elected to Congress (Shirley Chisholm) 2. Many African Americans became doctors and lawyers (why does this matter?) 3. Increased pride amongst African Americans 4. Affirmative Action Programs: businesses and colleges sought to hire and promote minorities who face discrimination.