Americas Struggle for Civil Rights 1954 1965 1954

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America’s Struggle for Civil Rights 1954 -1965

America’s Struggle for Civil Rights 1954 -1965

1954 �Brown vs. Board of the Education Ends constitutionality of “separate but equal” in

1954 �Brown vs. Board of the Education Ends constitutionality of “separate but equal” in education

1955: Emmett Till The brutal murder of 14 -year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi in

1955: Emmett Till The brutal murder of 14 -year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955 galvanized the fledging civil rights movement like no other killing of a black by white racists before it. After an all-white, all-male jury acquitted Till's two killers, the case festered for 49 years until the U. S. Justice Department reopened it in 2004. In late February of 2007, a Lefore County, Miss. grand jury declined to issue any new indictments, effectively bringing the case to an abrupt and ignoble end.

1955 �Rosa Parks arrested for failing to give up her seat to a white

1955 �Rosa Parks arrested for failing to give up her seat to a white man �Bus Boycott 40, o 00 black riders participate 382 days �MLK Jr. made president of the Montgomery Improvement Association

1956 - 1957 �Federal Courts and Supreme Court rule that bus segregation, separate but

1956 - 1957 �Federal Courts and Supreme Court rule that bus segregation, separate but equal intrastate transportation, is unconstitutional �Boycott ends…whites respond with violence ___________ �Greensborough, NC Woolworth’s: Whites only � 75000 college kids across the South stage sit-ins in Woolworths and other white-only establishments � 1961: Restaurant segregation largely ended

1961 � 1960: Supreme Court rules that segregation of interstate travel is unconstitutional (Boynton

1961 � 1960: Supreme Court rules that segregation of interstate travel is unconstitutional (Boynton v. VA) � Freedom Riders integrate to enforce the ruling � Inspired by Kennedy’s words (1961): “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. ”

April 1963 �King organizes “Project C” marches/boycotts in Birmingham, Alabama 6000 kids join Fire

April 1963 �King organizes “Project C” marches/boycotts in Birmingham, Alabama 6000 kids join Fire hoses and dogs used against them

May 1963 �Birmingham agrees to integrate and hire African Americans �KKK responds with rally;

May 1963 �Birmingham agrees to integrate and hire African Americans �KKK responds with rally; law enforcement joins them �Kennedy sends in federal troops

June 1963 �Kennedy proposes Civil Rights Bill Desegregate interstate commerce Denies federal funding to

June 1963 �Kennedy proposes Civil Rights Bill Desegregate interstate commerce Denies federal funding to organizations that segregate Makes 6 th grade education acceptable for voter registration Kennedy addresses the nation on television �King and Randolph announce March on Washington

August 28, 1963 � The March on Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial 250,

August 28, 1963 � The March on Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial 250, 000 marchers (more than double expected) Speakers, musicians John Lewis speech (revised) Martin Luther King Jr. : “I have a dream” http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Lq. S 88 XWt 0 h. E

Autumn 1963 �September 15, 1963: 16 th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham exploded by KKK

Autumn 1963 �September 15, 1963: 16 th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham exploded by KKK members; four teenaged girls killed http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=m 66 xz. IG 2 q 9 w �November 22, 1963: Kennedy assassinated Impact on Civil Rights?

Johnson’s Great Society � Johnson: Greatest legislator in American history? Wanted to end segregation,

Johnson’s Great Society � Johnson: Greatest legislator in American history? Wanted to end segregation, poverty, lack of health care Head Start Job Corps and Vista Appalachian Regional Development Act Elementary and Secondary Education Act Medicare Consumer Protections Environmental Protections Department of Housing and Urban Development � Civil Rights Act of 1964 Believed integration was morally correct and socially necessary Outlawed public racial discrimination Ended Jim Crow laws Banned discrimination in employment and union membership

Voting Registration � Selma, Alabama: 50%+ African American Population 1% African American Registered Voters

Voting Registration � Selma, Alabama: 50%+ African American Population 1% African American Registered Voters � March in Selma (to demonstrate violence): March 1965 MLK arrested � Johnson sends Voting Rights Bill to Congress Results in violence � Selma-Montgomery Marchers meet violent resistance from local law enforcement Americans across the country watch in horror MLK Jr. organizes corresponding Ministers’ March LBJ sends National Guard, FBI, and federal troops to protect marchers 25, 000 marchers reach Montgomery � Voting Rights Act of 1965: August

Resistance to Civil Rights � George Wallace � Southern Democrat � 45 th Governor

Resistance to Civil Rights � George Wallace � Southern Democrat � 45 th Governor of Alabama, served 4 terms “stand in the schoolhouse door” � � Blocked entry to Univ. of Alabama Blocked entry to elementary schools Ordered state troops to Birmingham during the 1963 march � Lost the Presidency 4 times 1965: Primary vs. Kennedy 1969: Ran as independent 1973: Democratic primary � Survived assassination attempt 1977 : Democratic primary Infamous Quotes: “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. ” (1963 inauguration) "The President wants us to surrender this state to Martin Luther King and his group of pro-Communists who have instituted these demonstrations. "

Differing Views of How to Achieve Civil Rights http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=h 4

Differing Views of How to Achieve Civil Rights http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=h 4 Pq. LKWuwy. U Necessary Violence: Black Power: � e. g. Robert Williams � e. g. Malcolm X � “The Southern brute respects � Separate, rather than integrate only force. ” � “Non-violence is no repellent for a sadist. ” � Petitioning has not led to results; violence has � History shows that patience does not yield results like violence � Blacks have a right to retaliate against whites with aggression � Militant civil rights policies � (Malcolm X later changed his views and sought to work with whites; he was assassinated)

Non-Violence �Inspired by: Jesus � “turn �Martin Luther King, Jr. the other cheek” Henry

Non-Violence �Inspired by: Jesus � “turn �Martin Luther King, Jr. the other cheek” Henry David Thoreau: � 1955: Bus Boycott � 1957: Southern Christian Leadership Conference � 1963: March on Washington (“I have a dream”) � Civil Disobedience (1849): People should not allow a government to override their moral consciousness Mahatma Gandhi � defied British tyranny through non-violent civil disobedience Baptist preacher Civil Rights Worker Nobel Peace Prize recipient (1964) Advocated end to poverty and war in Vietnam Assassinated April 4, 1968

Martin Luther King, Junior: In Memoriam � http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=w 61 QB

Martin Luther King, Junior: In Memoriam � http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=w 61 QB 8_KOuc&feature=player_embedded