Civil Rights 1950s 1960s African American Civil Rights

Civil Rights 1950’s -1960’s African American Civil Rights Caesar Chavez and the UFW American Indians and AIM

Origins of the Civil Rights Movement • NAACP and W. E. B. Du. Bois advocates for legal equality in court (1909) • Marcus Garvey advocates Black Nationalism and creates the UNIA (1920’s) • African Americans fight in segregated units during WWII. They fight for the freedom of others and return to a still segregated society in the US • Double V Campaign (1942 -43)

Congress of Racial Equality • CORE (1942) • Adopted the philosophy of non violence • Advocated direct challenges to Southern segregation • This is a major group throughout the Civil Rights struggle and a good specific early example to be able to use on the test

Supreme Court case Brown v. Board (1954) • Landmark that overturned the “separate but equal” precedent set in Plessy v. Ferguson (1894). • This is THE example of the strategy of the NAACP at work • The court basically rules that even if school facilities may be equal, separating children based solely on race is detrimental to their growth and therefore unconstitutional • “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”

• After the Brown v. Board decision, people throughout the South will defy the ruling and resist integration. • 70% of Southern schools will still be segregated into the 1960’s

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) • Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat and move to the back of the city bus. She is jailed and massive non-violent protest breaks out. • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. organizes a massive boycott of the entire Montgomery Bus System • African Americans refuse to ride the bus for over 381 days • The transit company operating Montgomery's bus system nearly goes bankrupt • The Supreme Court will rule on the case in 1956 and declare bus segregation unconstitutional

• https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=FE 6 Yvy--5 aw

• Greensboro Sit-Ins (1960) • Groups of black and white young people attempt to integrate the lunch counter at Woolworth’s Department Store. • They launch Sit-Ins and basically shut the lunch counters down. • For three weeks white and blacks students show up and occupy the seats and the massive department store chain agrees to changes it’s policy and serve African Americans

Freedom Riders (1961) • CORE and SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) want to draw attention to the fact the most policy makers and politicians in the South are ignoring the recent Supreme Court rulings • They organize bus loads of mostly northern college students (white and black) to go to Southern states and register people to vote • They meet intense opposition in basically every town they show up. • Klansmen meet them with clubs in many cases • Southern State Governors refuse to order troops and local law enforcement to protect the Freedom Riders

Freedom Riders • http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/freedomriders/ #part 01

Battle for Birmingham 1963 • In Birmingham Alabama, MLK leads a picket of local department stores that remained segregated. • The city Public Safety Commissioner (in charge of the police and fire dept. ) Bull Connor unleashes dogs, cattle prods, and fire hoses. • The images will be some the most famous captured during the Civil Rights era • MLK is jailed for leading the demonstration and writes his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

President Kennedy steps in • The Battle of Birmingham and the incident with Governor George Wallace blocking the door of the University of Alabama to prevent black students from entering, all happen in the same few weeks in 1963. • These events are shown on the news and reported on worldwide. • Kennedy decides it is time to act and denounces racism on national television and promises to get a new civil rights bill passed. • Major step forward. Kennedy will be killed before he can get the bill passed, but Lyndon Johnson works hard to accomplish it before his reputation is ruined by the Vietnam War

March on Washington 1963 • To draw attention to the new bill, hundreds of thousands of whites and blacks across the nation make their way in busses to Washington for arguably the most famous speech in American history • This is considered by some to be the high point of the African American Civil Rights movement

I have a dream • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=3 v. DWWy 4 CMh. E

Civil Rights Act 1964 • Passed by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson (A Southerner) • Has many parts to it, but the most important is that it prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, religion, natural origin, and sex • Other sections guarantee equal access to schools and public accommodations

March • To protest the murder of several voting rights activities, leaders in Alabama call another march/demonstration • As the 600 marchers left Selma, they were met by state police and beaten on live television • Tear gas, clubs, dogs, the works. The day is known as “Bloody Sunday” • Many Americans are embarrassed and this event helps influence the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

• John Lewis • Civil Rights Activist • Georgia Congressmen since 1987 • Participant in some of the most important moments in this era

Bloody Sunday • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=a 6 In. ULio 9 fo

Voting Rights Act 1965 • States still get to determine who votes. They continue to find ways to disenfranchise African Americans. • The Voting Rights Act is viewed as essential to back up the Civil Rights Act and giving it teeth. • In 1960, only 20% of eligible black citizens were registered to vote. • This law outlaws literacy tests and poll taxes • The result is black voter registration goes from 20% to 62% by 1971. The number of black elected officials also increases • It requires states to let in federal ‘examiners’ to register people to vote in areas where the percentage of eligible is under 50%

Black Power • There are varying levels of Black Nationalism, from total separation to pride and advocacy in the Black community. • It could be represented by simple things like supporting black owned business or wearing dashikis. • It basically was suspicious of relying on whites and alliances with whites to improve the black community. • A major component of black power was economic self sufficiency and getting black owned businesses started. • Black Power would also take on issues like urban poverty and police brutality

Malcom X • Does not support the non-violent approach of MLK • Member of the Nation of Islam (African American Muslims): Very apocalyptic • Advocated separatism and selfdefense • He was hostile to the mainstream Civil Rights groups like CORE and SNCC • “I don’t believe in brotherhood of all men. I don’t believe in brotherhood with anyone who does not want to be a brother with me. ” • Focus on strengthening the Black community. Not changing the hearts of racists.

The ballot or the bullet • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=7 o. VW 3 Hfz. Xkg • 11: 50 minute mark

Black Panthers • Founded in Oakland in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seal • Advocated for self defense and “policing the police” • Open carried weapons on the streets, so CA lawmakers made open carry illegal. • Totally opposed to the Vietnam War • Undertook a variety of community organization projects • Free Breakfast Program fed 20, 000 kids every day in a variety of cities for the years it lasted. • Totally viewed as enemies by the FBI

• The Panthers become major targets of the FBI. Phones are tapped, people arrested, Panther meetings are infiltrated with informants. • In December 1969, the Chicago Police and the FBI conduct a raid at 4 AM on the most prominent Black Panther speaker, 21 year old Fred Hampton. • Over 100 bullets are fired and Fred Hampton is murdered

Murder of Fred Hampton • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=1 KF 9 xyc. QITo