Civil Rights

The Civil Rights Movement: 

The Civil Rights Movement A Search for Equality in America

Inequality: 

Inequality Before, during, and after World War II, minorities, especially African-Americans were not treated as equals by a large portion of American society. After the war, the campaign for civil rights began to accelerate. Civil Rights activists began to call for equality of opportunity and equality before the law.

Truman’s Policies: 

Truman’s Policies Truman supported civil rights legislation and appointed a biracial committee on civil rights, but Congress refused to act on its recommendations. Truman banned discrimination in federal hiring and discrimination and segregation in the armed services by executive action.

Separate But Equal: 

Separate But Equal In the 1896 case, Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was OK in public places as long as equal facilities were provided. In practice, equal facilities were rarely provided, and minorities usually put up with substandard opportunities.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas: 

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas May, 1954: The Warren Court overturned the Plessy case, stating that “separate but equal” was wrong. This case called for school desegregation and set in motion a more organized effort to desegregate in other areas, as well.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott: 

The Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955: Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and was arrested. Led by ML King, 50,000 African-Americans in Montgomery boycotted the busses in protest. The bus company was forced to desegregate.

SCLC: 

SCLC The bus boycott led to the formation of the SCLC: Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This organization, founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated nonviolent protest and was dominated by Southern church leaders.

Little Rock: 

Little Rock Desegregation was not easy, and many Whites reacted with anger and violence. 1957: Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus refused to allow integration of schools and called out the Ark. National Guard who turned away 9 African-American students. Pres. Eisenhower called out the Federal National Guard to protect the students.

Central High School: 

Central High School

SNCC: 

SNCC The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed by Robert Moses, a former Math teacher, and many students. By 1960, many young African-Americans believed that the SCLC was moving too slowly and broke away to form their own group. The SNCC motto was: “We Shall Overcome”

Sit-ins: 

Sit-ins Beginning in 1960 in Greensboro, NC, students would occupy the counters and aisles of “White only” establishments and refuse to move. This is a picture of a sit-in at a Woolworth lunch counter.

Sit-ins: 

Sit-ins Soon thousands of students joined sit-ins at a wide variety of public places. In 1961, approximately 70,000 students participated in sit-ins, with about 3,600 serving jail time as a result.

JFK and Civil Rights: 

JFK and Civil Rights     A. Did nothing during his first two years.         1. Tried to avoid losing either white or black southern vote.         2. Most civil rights initiatives were merely symbolic         3. RFK’s attempts at enfranchisement in the South was largely unsuccessful             a. Only small percentage of blacks able to register due to literacy tests, poll taxes, white primaries, and grandfather clauses.             b. White segregationists wreaked terror on Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC – "snick"); church bombings; assaults on blacks         4. While Kennedy was initially able to satisfy both sides of the issue, the rise of civil rights militants forced his hand.

The Freedom Rides: 

The Freedom Rides In 1960, the Supreme Court banned segregation on interstate busses. “Freedom Riders” got on busses headed to the deep south and stayed on board. Busses were often fire-bombed and many riders were killed. Federal marshalls were sent to protect the riders. May 1961, Freedom Riders organized by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)             a. Rode interstate buses to verify segregation wasn’t happening.             b. In Alabama, Freedom Riders were arrested by police, state troopers, and National Guard; some were severely beaten.             c. More Freedom Riders kept coming all summer.             d. RFK petitioned Interstate Commerce Commission to issue a ruling against segregation of interstate facilities; sent 400 marshals to protect freedom riders.             e. ICC made the announcement on Sept. 22, 1961; CORE victorious.

“Ole Miss” and Integration: 

“Ole Miss” and Integration Sept. 1962: James Meredith was the 1st African-American to go to the Univ. of Mississippi. Governor Ross Barnett personally blocked Meredith’s route to the enrollment office and riots ensued. Finally, JFK sent 3,000 soldiers to escort him to class. Sept. 1962, JFK had to send the U.S. Army to enforce a court order to enroll James Meredith in the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss) -- Kennedy was losing control of the segregation issue.

Birmingham: 

Birmingham April 1963: King went to Birmingham to help Rev. Shuttlesworth plan boycotts and marches designed to integrate Birmingham. Although Birmingham was 40% African-American, it was described as “the most segregated city on earth” by King. Showdown in Birmingham, Alabama             a. 1963, Birmingham closed parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, and golf courses to avoid desegregation.             b. Martin Luther King, Jr. chose Birmingham because it was the toughest challenge and a victory would break segregation throughout the South.             c. MLK and supporters arrested on Good Friday for marching without a permit and spent 2 weeks in jail.

Letter from the Birmingham Jail: 

Letter from the Birmingham Jail King was arrested for leading a march without a parade permit. While in jail, he wrote his famous letter in which he stated that:”an unjust law is out of harmony with the moral law and should be disobeyed.” "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. We must come to see… that justice too long delayed is justice denied." -- Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963

Birmingham, continued: 

Birmingham, continued After his release, King began using black school children in the demonstrations:                 i. Police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor used cattle prods and ordered police dogs on demonstrators and used fire hoses on children as world watched in horror.                 ii. Public pressure mounted for civil rights legislation.             e. Local business leaders gave in and agreed to desegregate the big department stores.                 -- King called off the demonstrations.             f. Shortly after, King’s motel bombed (as was his brother’s home)                 i. Rioting erupted.                 ii. President Kennedy decided to side with King.

Birmingham: 

Birmingham These actions made the national news, and Americans were horrified. As a result, concerned citizens all over America pressured the government to do something about the situation. Eventually, and at great human cost, Birmingham was forced by the Attorney General to desegregate public facilities.

Kennedy becomes active: 

Kennedy becomes active June 1963, JFK federalized Alabama National Guard to enforce a court order requiring the admission of two blacks—James Hood and Vivian Malone--to the University of Alabama.-- Governor George Wallace symbolically stood in the door way protesting that states’ rights were being crushed (earlier had said in his inaugural speech: "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.")

Medger Evers: 

Medger Evers That night, Medgar Evers, NAACP director in Mississippi, was assassinated -- Seen as retaliation for University of Alabama incident             c. In response, JFK announced he would send Congress a civil rights bill to Congress which would crush segregation, outlaw discrimination in elections, and give the justice department authority to enforce school integration.

The March on Washington: 

The March on Washington August 28, 1963 (led by King)                 i. Largest protest in nation’s history thus far; 200,000 -- Organized in part by A. Philip Randolph (who had started March on Washington Movement during WWII)                 ii. Protesters demanded support for Kennedy’s civil rights bill and for better and more jobs.                 iii. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech                 iv. By the time JFK was assassinated, his civil rights bill was moving toward passage in the House.

“ I have a Dream”: 

“ I have a Dream” Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Source: Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968 Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

24th Amendment (1964): 

24th Amendment (1964) Abolished poll tax in federal elections Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Reform: 

Reform As a result of the March, President Johnson called on Congress to pass the civil rights bill proposed by Pres. John F. Kennedy. This “Civil Rights Act of 1964” was passed and was the first major piece of legislation designed to address racial inequality. Johnson’s skill with Congress got Kennedy’s bill passed.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964: 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Forbade segregation in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and sporting arenas that did business in interstate commerce. -- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created to enforce the law.             b. Relieved individuals of responsibility for bringing discrimination complaints to court themselves; federal government now responsible.             c. Eliminated remaining restrictions on black voting.             d. Title VII: Discrimination based on race, religion gender and national origin in the workplace was illegal.         3. Result: Most businesses in the South’s cities and larger towns desegregated immediately. Title I Barred unequal application of voter registration requirements, but did not abolish literacy tests sometimes used to disqualify African Americans and poor white voters. "It shall be the duty of the judge designated pursuant to this section to assign the case for hearing at the earliest practicable date and to cause the case to be in every way expedited." Title II Outlawed discrimination in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce; exempted private clubs without defining the term "private." Title III Encouraged the desegregation of public schools and authorized the U. S. Attorney General to file suits to force desegregation Title VII Title VII of the Act, codified as Subchapter VI of Chapter 21 of Title 42 of the United States Code, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., outlaws discrimination in employment in any business on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin (see 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2). Title VII also prohibits retaliation against employees who oppose such unlawful discrimination

Voting Rights Act of 1965: 

Voting Rights Act of 1965         1. Existing legislation still did not enforce the 15th Amendment guaranteeing the right to vote.         2. March from Selma (AL) to Washington             a. Only 383 of 15,000 blacks were registered to vote in Selma.             b. After 2 months of beatings, arrests, and one murder, civil rights leaders in Selma announced a climactic protest march from Selma to Montgomery.             c. In response, March 15, Johnson promised on TV to send a bill to Congress that would extend voting rights to African Americans in the Deep South.   Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress [p*338] assembled, That this Act shall be known as the "Voting Rights Act of 1965." SEC. 2. No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color. . . .

Voting Rights Act of 1965: 

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Provisions:             a. Literacy tests unlawful if less than 50% of all voting-age citizens were registered. If so, African Americans could be enrolled whether or not they could read.             b. If local registrars would not enroll African Americans, the president could send federal examiners who would.                 -- This gave teeth to the Civil Rights Act of 1964             c. Result, 740,00 blacks registered to vote within three years.                 i. Hundreds of blacks elected by late 1960s in the Deep South                 ii. Blacks no longer feared white reprisals during elections.                iii. Southerners now began courting African American votes and businesses.                iv. For first time since Reconstruction, African Americans migrated into the South.

Civil Rights Achievements of 1964 and 1965: 

Civil Rights Achievements of 1964 and 1965 In effect, the act was designed to eliminate discrimination based on race, sex, religion or national origin by employers, unions, and public entities. Although the act was a great start, much more work was needed to ensure its enforcement. The 1965 Voting Rights Act eliminated literacy tests. The 24th Amendment banned poll taxes.

Affirmative Action: 

Affirmative Action (Part of the Great Society)         1. Johnson signed an executive order in 1965 requiring employers on federal contracts to take "affirmative action" to ensure underprivileged minorities and women were hired. -- Purpose: give preferences to minorities to make up for past discrimination         2. President Nixon later furthered affirmative action with the Philadelphia Plan.         3. Countless American corporations that did business with the gov’t, colleges and universities that received federal scholarship and research funding became obligated to meet guidelines.         4. Result: Black, Asian, and Hispanic enrollment in universities increased dramatically.

Bakke Case and Affirmative Action: 

Bakke Case and Affirmative Action 1970s saw cries of "reverse discrimination” as the economy declined and whites faced increased competition for jobs or were denied promotions or college admission due to affirmative action.         6. Bakke case, 1978             a. Supreme Court ruled that Allan Bakke, a white medical student, was unfairly turned down to medical school because of an admissions program that favored minorities.             b. Court declared preference in admissions could not be given to members of any group based on ethnic or racial identity alone. -- Only if the minority applicant was equally qualified could race be used as a factor. Jesse Jackson became a leading advocate in the 1970s and 1980s for the continuing of affirmative action and the furthering of civil rights.         8. Affirmative action weakened by Supreme Court in late 1980s and 1990s

Bakke Case Background: 

Bakke Case Background Allan Bakke applied to the University of California-Davis Medical School. The school had been founded twelve years earlier, in 1966, with an entering class of 50 students. The first class contained three students of Asian descent and 47 white students. Over the next two years, the Medical School designed an admissions program in which eight spaces were reserved for minorities. In order to apply to the school, an applicant had to have a minimum GPA of over 2.5. The applicant's Medical College Admissions Test score, GPA, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities and other biographical data as well as an interview were also rated by 5 committee members to produce a benchmark score out of 500. Minority applicants, on the other hand, went through a different admissions process. Applicants who checked a box stating they wished to be considered as "economically and/or educationally disadvantaged" applicants were directed to the separate admissions committee. Minority applicants did not have to meet the 2.5 GPA requirements of regular applicants. Minority applicants also competed for the sixteen seats among each other and were insulated from competition from the regular applicant pool. Several white applicants applied to the special program, but none received an offer of admission through the special program. Bakke applied to the school in 1973 and 1974 and was denied both times. In 1973 he had a benchmark score of 468 out of 500, but no regular applicants were admitted after him with a score below 470. Bakke however, was not considered for 4 special admissions slots which had not yet been filled. Bakke wrote a letter of complaint to Dr. George H. Lowrey, the Associate Dean and Chairman of the Admissions Committee, complaining the special admissions program was not what it claimed to be (a program to help the underprivileged), but a racial and ethnic quota. In 1974 Bakke again applied to the school and received a score of 549 out of 600. His lowest score of 86 was from Dr. Lowrey who found Bakke was "rather limited in his approach" to the problems of the medical profession and stated Bakke's "very definite opinions which were based more on his personal viewpoints than upon a study of the total problem" were disturbing. In both years that Bakke applied, minority applicants were admitted under the "special admissions" program with GPAs, MCAT scores and benchmark scores significantly lower than Bakke's. Bakke then filed suit in the Superior Court of California seeking an injunction to allow him into the medical school claiming that the school had discriminated against him on the basis of his race and thus violated his rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the California Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The California Supreme Court favored Bakke, in a vote 8 to 1, and the university appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Bakke Decision: 

Bakke Decision Handed down on 28 June, 1978, the decision of the Court was announced by Justice Lewis Powell. The court ruled 5-4 that race could be one, but only one, of numerous factors used by discriminatory boards, like those of college admissions. Powell found that quotas insulated minority applicants from competition with the regular applicants and were thus unconstitutional because they discriminated against regular applicants. Powell however stated that universities could use race as a plus factor. He cited the Harvard College Admissions Program which had been filed as an amicus curiae as an example of a constitutionally valid affirmative action program which took into account of all of an applicant's qualities including race in a "holistic review." The decision was indeed split with 4 justices firmly against all use of race in admissions processes, 4 justices for the use of race in university admissions and Justice Powell, who was against the UC Davis Medical School quota system of admission, but found that universities were allowed to use race as a factor in admission. The nature of this split opinion created controversy over whether Powell's opinion was binding. However, in 2003 in Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger the Supreme Court affirmed Powell's opinion. After eight months, a vote of 5-4 decided that Bakke be admitted to the medical school at Davis.

Thurgood Marshall: 

Thurgood Marshall 1967, Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall as first African American to Supreme Court

Forced busing: 

Forced busing         1. 1968, Supreme Court ordered end to de facto segregation of nation’s school.         2. Court ordered school districts to bus children from all-minority neighborhoods in the center cities to achieve integration of schools.         3. Issue became controversial with middle class suburban whites in early 1970s into1990s

African-American civil rights movement in retrospect : 

African-American civil rights movement in retrospect         1. Years between 1954 and 1968 seen as "2nd Reconstruction"             -- Equality before the law largely achieved.         2. Other minorities, e.g. women, Native Americans, Hispanics and gays looked to civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s as a model for their own efforts.

Black Power: 

Black Power Rise of Black Power and racial violence     A. Not all African Americans agreed with Martin Luther King’s non-violent methods.         1. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 King’s ideas seemed obsolete to many young blacks.         2. Many questioned whether it was a good idea for blacks to try to integrate with whites. 3. Blacks still continued to experience poverty and discrimination in the nation’s inner-cities (cried out against police brutality)

Black Separatism: 

Black Separatism         1. Called for the separation of the races in America by occupying an exclusive area of land in the U.S. supplied by the federal gov’t.             a. Opposite of integration.             b. Inspired by ideas of Marcus Garvey (leader during "Harlem Renaissance") who had advocated a back-to-Africa movement             c. Nation of Islam (black Muslim movement) most notable and well-organized

The Black Power Movement: 

The Black Power Movement Outside the mainstream movement, more violent leaders, such as Malcolm X emerged. Malcolm X spread the ideas of “Black Nationalism” and was very critical of Martin Luther King. Malcolm X was assassinated in February, 1965. Most vocal and brilliant orator of Nation of Islam             b. Preached religious justification for black separatism and furthering of black rights through "any means necessary."                 i. Advocated use of weapons for self-defense believing nonviolence encouraged white violence                 ii. Many in the white community were alarmed             c. His views softened after his pilgrimage to Mecca; he soon left Nation of Islam             d. Feb., 1965, assassinated by three members of Nation of Islam.             e. Never supported King’s nonviolent methods: "The white people should thank Dr. King for holding black people in check." d. Malcolm X’s ideas became foundation for the Black Power movement later in the decade.

The Civil Rights Movement: 

The Civil Rights Movement Between 1965 and 1968, there developed a serious split between the SCLC and SNCC. SNCC began to side with the Black Panthers who were growing more and more violent, while the SCLC continued to lead nonviolent protests.

SNCC and Stokely Carmichael: 

SNCC and Stokely Carmichael         1. Influenced by Malcolm X         2. 1966, CORE and SNCC called for civil rights movements to be staffed, controlled and financed by blacks, thus rejecting interracial cooperation.             -- Black nationalism replaced integration as the goal.

The Black Panthers: 

The Black Panthers Formed by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in Oct. 1966, the Black Panthers were a militant and violent organization designed to promote Black power. This picture shows the 2 founders outside their Oakland headquarters. Carmichael later became a leader of the Black Panthers, based in Oakland, and founded by urban revolutionaries Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.             b. Revolutionary social movement to organize African American men in northern and western cities to fight for liberation. -- In effect, became a para-military organization to protect blacks from white violence (e.g. police brutality) Black Power: attempt to seize political power in an Alabama election and advocated separatism

Racial violence: 

Racial violence         1. Poverty, unemployment, & racial discrimination common in major inner-cities.             -- Empty promise of racial equality in the North ignited rage in many African American communities         2. "Long Hot Summers": throughout summers of 1965, 1966 & 1967, racial disorders hit.             a. Watts Riots -- Los Angeles, August 11-16, 1965                 -- 34 people dead, 1,072 injured, 4,000 arrested, 1,000 buildings destroyed, property loss nearly $40 million.             b. 1967, 7,000 arrested in Detroit                 i. White businesses targeted but many black businesses inadvertently burned.                 ii. Snipers prevented fire-fighters from doing their work.             c. During first 9 months of 1967, more than 150 cities reported incidents of racial disorders

Kerner Commission: 

Kerner Commission Appointed by LBJ to investigate the riots. Conclusion:             a. Frustrated hopes of African Americans led to violence.             b. Approval and encouragement of violence both by white terrorists and by black protest groups led to violence             c. Blacks felt powerless in a society dominated by whites.             d. Recommendations:                 i. Elimination of racial barriers in jobs, education & housing                 ii. Greater public response to problems of racial minorities                iii. Increased communication across racial lines.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Eventually, Martin Luther King, Jr. decided that much of the more radical protest was caused by poverty and economic injustice. By 1968, he began to work for greater economic opportunities for African-Americans.

King’s Assassination: 

King’s Assassination In 1968, calling his efforts the “Poor People’s Campaign,” King traveled all over the US to gather support. In April, he went to Memphis to lend support to striking garbage workers. Assassination of Martin Luther King, April 4, 1968         1. Shot while standing on a balcony with friends in Memphis.             -- King working to increase wages for Memphis trash collectors.         2. Had lost many supporters when he opposed the Vietnam War

King’s Grave: 

King’s Grave