Lesson_8_Civil_Rights_Movement

The Civil Rights Movement : 

The Civil Rights Movement Lesson 8

The Segregated South : 

The Segregated South Part I

The Segregated South : 

The Segregated South Reconstruction – 1865-1877 End of slavery. New opportunities. By the end, new opportunities were disappearing. Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes: Removed federal soldiers from state houses. Louisiana South Carolina Left African-Americans to the mercy of former Confederates.

The Segregated South : 

The Segregated South Jim Crow Laws: Discriminatory and segregationalist laws. Widespread throughout the South. 9/10 African-Americans lived in the South. Goals of Jim Crow: To impose strict segregation on southern society. To prevent any appearance of social equality. State after state enacted new laws of segregation. U.S. Supreme Court (Plessy v. Ferguson) supported segregation.

The Segregated South : 

The Segregated South Southern states enacted new literacy tests and property qualifications for voting. Poor whites still allowed to vote. Lynching became common. As did white on black violence. Very small black middle class arose: Entrepreneurs Professionals. Most African-Americans restricted to agricultural work or menial jobs in cities.

African American Leaders : 

African American Leaders Influential leaders: Booker T. Washington Born in slavery (1856). Educated at Freedmen’s school. Supported racial accommodation. Economic improvement. Self-reliance. Large African-American following. Business. Worked to open schools for African-American children.

African American Leaders : 

African American Leaders Influential leaders: W.E.B. Du Bois Alternative to Booker T Washington. Critical of Washington’s alleged acceptance of, “the inferiority of the Negro”. Blacks must fight for: Civil equality. Higher education. 1905: Niagara Movement Promoted racial integration, civil, and political rights for African Americans. 1910: National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP).

African American Leaders : 

African American Leaders NAACP: Struggle to overturn legal and economic barriers to equal opportunity for African Americans. Segregation continued. World War I: Segregated units. Barred from Marines and the Coast Guard. Restricted to working as cooks, laundrymen, etc in the Army. Endured humiliating and violent treatment. Opposed by northern and southern troops.

African American Leaders : 

African American Leaders World War II: 2.5 million African-Americans served. Army. Air force. Navy. Marines. Coast Guard African Americans served with distinction and made valuable contributions to the war effort.

Civil Rights After WWII : 

Civil Rights After WWII Civil Rights gained national attention. Black voters switched from Republican to Democrat. Why? The Depression, Roosevelt, and the New Deal. Affirmation of New Deal policies. New Deal policies had positively affected African Americans. Gain employment and various forms of relief. Supported the party of the New Deal. Roosevelt administration had more African-Americans than any previous administration.

Legal Challenges to Segregation : 

Legal Challenges to Segregation Thurgood Marshall NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Mounted legal challenges to segregation. Morgan v. Virginia (1946). Supreme Court used the interstate commerce clause to declare segregation on interstate buses unconstitutional. The Court also struck down: All-white primaries, racially restrictive housing, and the exclusion of African-Americans from graduate schools and law schools.

Legal Challenges to Segregation : 

Legal Challenges to Segregation Rulings often not enforced. Limited real improvements. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Separate but equal. Violence common: Against African-Americans who voted, pushed for change, or behaved inappropriately towards whites. Emmett Till. All white jury acquitted Till’s killers.

Separate But Equal : 

Separate But Equal Daily realities for African Americans: Poverty. Legally sanctioned segregation (de jure). Daily racism (de facto). Segregation a national problem: South. D.C. West. Mid-West. Legal victories were minor victories.

Separate But Equal : 

Separate But Equal 1954: Brown v. Board of Education. Topeka, Kansas. Oliver Brown sued to allow his daughter to attend a nearby white school. Kansas courts rejected his lawsuit because of nearby African American schools fulfilled “separate but equal”. NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court. Thurgood Marshal, lawyer. Separate but unequal. Unequal: financial resources, quality and number of teachers, physical and educational resources.

Separate But Equal : 

Separate But Equal 1954: Brown v. Board of Education, con’t… Marshall referred to the psychological impact of separate but equal…low self esteem. 1952: Court unable to rule. 1954: Supreme Court heard the case again. Chief Justice Earl Warren: “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” 1955: Court gave primary responsibility to local school boards. They should enforce the ruling with “all deliberate speed”. Lower federal courts to monitor progress.

The Reaction : 

The Reaction African Americans and liberals hailed the decision. Southern whites vowed to resist integration by all possible means. Virginia passed a law closing integrated schools. Southern congressional representatives issues the Southern Manifesto… Pledged to oppose the Brown ruling. Eisenhower refused to support ruling.

Little Rock : 

Little Rock Little Rock, Arkansas Central High School. Scheduled to integrate in 1957. Parents opposed integration. Governor (Orval Faubus) opposed integration. National Guard ordered to surround school to prevent integration. Elizabeth Eckford (one of nine) was blocked by troops. Mob yelled, “Lynch Her! Lynch Her!” Continued for three weeks.

Little Rock : 

Little Rock September 20, 1957 Federal court orders the Governor to integrate Central High. Governor Faubus removed National Guard. Anti-integrationists gathered to prevent the “Little Rock Nine” from entering the school.

Little Rock : 

Little Rock September 23, 1957 Little Rock Nine secretly brought into Central High. Mobs rushed the school. The nine students rushed to cars. The integration of Central High School lasted three hours. Riots: Mayor called for federal assistance.

Little Rock : 

Little Rock President Eisenhower - Sept. 24, 1957. Nationalized the Arkansas National Guard. Deployed troops from the 101st Airborne to Little Rock. To restore order – not to integrate schools. 1957-1958: Little Rock High Schools closed to avoid integration. Cooper v. Aaron (1959) prevented such actions in the future.

Little Rock : 

Little Rock Little Rock High Schools reopened. Integration slowly spread to lower grades. Many whites fled public schools. Enrolled children in all white private schools. Integration of schools slow: 1965: 2% of schools integrated.

No Easy Road To Freedom : 

No Easy Road To Freedom Part II

Introduction : 

Introduction 1955: An important year in civil rights. Brown v. Board of Education. Lynching of Emmett Till. Rosa Parks and Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott : 

The Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa Parks arrest: African-American leaders call for bus boycott. Submit a list of proposals: Courteous drivers. Hiring of black drivers. Equal system of seating. Boycott to start on December 6, 1955. The day of Parks’ hearing.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott : 

The Montgomery Bus Boycott December 5, 1955: Meeting at the Holt Street Baptist Church. Martin Luther King Jr. Baptist minister. New leader of The Montgomery Improvement Assoc. Believed the Church had a social justice role. Believed violence/hatred brought only ruin. Urged followers to “bless them that curse you”.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott : 

The Montgomery Bus Boycott December 6, 1955: Parks’ trial. Found guilty – fined $14.00. Bus boycott began. Bus Boycott: Police issued tickets to car poolers. Insurance companies dropped automotive insurance. Acid thrown on the cars.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott : 

The Montgomery Bus Boycott January 30, 1956: Dynamite thrown on King’s front porch. King remains calm and calls for nonviolent protests. Gayle v. Browser: Bus segregation unconstitutional. The boycott: Was the start of the nonviolent resistance. King wanted to build on it’s momentum to fight segregation nationwide.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott : 

The Montgomery Bus Boycott 1957: The Southern Christian Leadership Conference. SCLC. Formed by Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders. Backbone of civil rights movement.

Sit-ins and Freedom Riders : 

Sit-ins and Freedom Riders Sit-in movement: Four Carolina A&T Students. Woolworth’s Dept. Store, Greensboro. Ordered food and told they could not be served. Remained until closing. The next day, 20+ students showed up and engaged in the same protest. Sit-ins spread throughout the South. Supported by Civil Rights Leaders but remained a student movement. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Sit-ins and Freedom Riders : 

Sit-ins and Freedom Riders Freedom Riders Movement: James Farmer. Depended upon opposition in order to put pressure of the President to enforce Boynton v. Virginia (integrated buses, trains, and terminals). May 1961: Alabama and Mississippi. Anniston, Alabama: white mob attacks buses injuring several. Justice Dept. representative John Seigenthaler obtained protection for the riders. The protection vanished as the buses approached Montgomery. Buses attack again. Injured included Seigenthaler. Seigenthaler deputized local officials to protect buses. Protestors arrested peacefully.

Sit-ins and Freedom Riders : 

Sit-ins and Freedom Riders September 1961: Interstate Commerce Commission upheld the Supreme Court’s ruling prohibiting segregation. States and local authorities grudgingly accepted the desegregation of bus/train terminals. On to Birmingham….(next lecture).

The Albany Movement : 

The Albany Movement Segregationalist held their ground where the federal government did not step in. Mainly in the deep south (Albany, Georgia). The Albany Movement: NAACP and SNCC. October 1961: Thousands of African-Americans marched, sat-in, and boycotted (to integrate public facilities). Many spent time in jail. Peaceful nature of protests and arrests prevented an outpouring of national sympathy.

The Albany Movement : 

The Albany Movement December 1961: Martin Luther King Jr. arrives in Albany. Made the city the symbol of the civil rights struggle. Arrested twice. Released quickly to avoid bad publicity. The Kennedy administration kept out of Albany. Late 1962: Albany movement collapsed. Showed that mass protest without violent white reaction and direct federal involvement could not end segregation.

Election of 1960 : 

Election of 1960 Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy African American support moved to Kennedy after Nixon’s weak stand on civil rights. Kennedy moved towards African-Americans. Helped King get released from Atlanta jail.

Election of 1960 : 

Election of 1960 Kennedy wins 1960 election. Moves slowly on civil rights. Appoints segregationists to courts.

But For Birmingham : 

But For Birmingham Part III

But For Birmingham : 

But For Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama. History of racial hatred and violence. SCLC and Fred Shuttlesworth: Planned to: Fill the city jails. Boycott downtown dept. stores. Enrage Public Safety Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor. Expected violent white reaction. Force federal intervention (remember Albany).

But For Birmingham : 

But For Birmingham Martin Luther King: Arrived in Birmingham: April 1963. Carried a manifesto demanding: End to racist hiring practices. End to segregated public accommodations. Creation of a biracial committee to oversee desegregation. Jailed. Wrote, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. Defending his tactics. Called for peaceful civil disobedience. Asserted that freedom would never be given.

But For Birmingham : 

But For Birmingham May 3, 1963: Protestors filled Birmingham’s streets. Sheriff “Bull” Connor’s police attacked protestors with nightsticks, attack dogs, and high-pressure fire hoses. T.V. cameras caught it all. Thirteen hundred battered and bruised children being arrested. Horrified the nation. Caused many blacks to reject King’s message of non-violence.

But For Birmingham : 

But For Birmingham African Americans in Birmingham responded by fighting the police with stones and clubs. King and other leaders met with white business owners who agreed to hire black sales people. Did not stop the violence. President Kennedy ordered three thousand troops to Birmingham to: Reestablish order. Enforce the integration agreement.

But For Birmingham : 

But For Birmingham Events of Birmingham: Gave civil rights leaders the attention they needed. Encouraged President Kennedy to fulfill his campaign promises. Sent Congress civil rights legislation that would mandate (require) integration in all public places. Civil rights leaders organized a “March on Washington”. August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King address, “I Have A Dream”.

But For Birmingham : 

But For Birmingham The “March on Washington” failed to push Congress into action. Civil rights legislation stalled in committee. Southern whites voted to maintain segregation. Violence continued. Church bombing killed 4 children attending Sunday School.

The Death of a President : 

The Death of a President President Kennedy’s poll numbers dropped: Civil rights bill in limbo. Growing military commitment in Vietnam. President Kennedy visited Dallas, Texas: Attempt to heal divisions within the Texas Democratic Party. November 22, 1963: President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas. Assassination traumatized the nation.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 : 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President. Had not been known as a friend to civil rights. Many civil rights activists viewed the new president with suspicion. Throughout 1964, Johnson took civil rights as a mission. Traded political favors for Republican backing to silence 57 day filibuster. Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law (July 2, 1964).

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 : 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Made it illegal to discriminate for reasons of race, religion, or gender in public places and businesses that served the public. Federal Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC). Created by Congress. Empowered the federal government to withhold federal funds from institutions that violated the law.

Freedom Summer : 

Freedom Summer Election of 1964: Lyndon Johnson (D). Barry Goldwater (R). 40 new Democrats enter Congress. President Johnson pushed legislation to enact his, “Great Society”. War on Poverty. Additional funding for education. Protection of Civil Rights.

Freedom Summer : 

Freedom Summer President Johnson: Signed executive order to require government contractors to practice non-discrimination in hiring and on the job. Appointed: First African-American to the Cabinet: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Robert Weaver. First African-American woman to the federal bench: Judge Constance Baker Motley. First African-American to the Supreme Court: Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Freedom Summer : 

Freedom Summer Civil rights laws did not end discrimination or poverty. Large pockets of opposition to civil rights remained. Martin Luther King pushed to change voting laws: Blacks restricted by poll taxes and literacy requirements. 24th Amendment banned poll tax. 1964: plans to get blacks to the polls.

Freedom Summer : 

Freedom Summer Freedom Summer: Organized by Bob Moses (SNCC). Mississippi. Movement to register black voters and cultivate “black pride”. Whites/Blacks opened “Freedom Schools”: To teach literacy and black history. Helped African Americans register to vote.

Freedom Summer : 

Freedom Summer Registering African Americans to vote was dangerous. June 1964 – August 1964: 35+ shootings. 30 bombings. Three Freedom Summer workers were killed. Movement drew national support and registered 60,000 new African American voters.

Selma, Alabama : 

Selma, Alabama Voter registration drive in Selma. Sheriff Jim Clark arrested 2,000 protestors. King called for freedom march from Selma to Montgomery. March 7, 1965: Marchers faced fifty Alabama State Troopers and mounted forces at Pettus Bridge. T.V. cameras witnessed what happened. National outrage grew. King’s movement gained national support.

Selma, Alabama : 

Selma, Alabama Alabama Governor George Wallace. Told President Johnson he could not provide protection for the marchers. President Johnson ordered the National Guard and 250 federal marshals to escort the protestors. March 21, 1965: March resumed – 3,200. March 7, 1965: March reaches Montgomery – 25,000+.

Urban Riots and Black Power : 

Urban Riots and Black Power August 1965 – Los Angeles, C.A. Drunk driving arrest in Watts became a riot. Watts police had reputation for racism and violence. Riot resulted in 34 deaths and $45 million in damages. Demonstrated growing willingness of African Americans to reject the nonviolence movement. Goals over dreams. Force would become the tool of choice.

Urban Riots and Black Power : 

Urban Riots and Black Power Martin Luther King spoke to African Americans in Watts: They had little use for his “dream”. King was shouted down and booed. New voices called African Americans to seek power through solidarity, independence, and violence. Black Power.

Urban Riots and Black Power : 

Urban Riots and Black Power Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Embraced black power movement. New SNCC leader, Stokely Carmichael. Moved from biracial, nonviolent to Black Power resistance stressing Black Nationalism. Independence from white allies and violent rhetoric widened the gap between the radicals and moderates in the civil rights movement.

Urban Riots and Black Power : 

Urban Riots and Black Power Nation of Islam (Black Muslims). Founder: Elijah Muhammad (1930s). Attracted young black males. Demanded adherence to a strict moral code. No drugs or alcohol. Taught black supremacy and separatism from an evil white world. 1960s: Nearly one-hundred thousand strong.

Malcolm X : 

Malcolm X Malcolm X: New voice in the civil rights movement. Life of drugs, burglary, and pimping landed Malcolm Little in prison by the age of 20. Read books, took correspondence courses, and converted to the Nation of Islam. Changes name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X (representing the stolen identities of African slaves).

Malcolm X : 

Malcolm X Malcolm X, cont… Released from prison in 1952 (age: 27). Became one of the most powerful and respected leaders in Nation of Islam. Rejected integration with white society. 1964: Changes his beliefs (somewhat). Remained Black Nationalist but cooperates with other civil rights groups and white allies.

Malcolm X : 

Malcolm X Malcolm X, cont… Broke with Elijah Muhammad. February 21, 1965: Murdered in Harlem by three Black Muslims.

The Black Panthers : 

The Black Panthers The Black Panthers: Organized in 1966 by: Huey Newton. Eldridge Cleaver. Bobby Seale. Developed school lunch programs. Involved in other community activities. Heavily armed and willing to use weapons.

Death of a Leader : 

Death of a Leader 1968: Martin Luther King traveled to Memphis. Address striking sanitation workers. April 4, 1968: Shot and killed by James Earl Ray. Civic rage in African American communities.

Death of a Leader : 

Death of a Leader Congress passed: The Civil Rights Act of 1968. Outlawed discrimination in the sale and rental of housing. Gave the U.S. Justice Dept. the authority to prosecute those convicted of discrimination.