Civil Rights Movement 1955 1968 n Black Codes
Civil Rights Movement 1955 -1968
n Black Codes- used to restrict the rights of former slaves n n Vagrancy laws, or laws against not holding a job Curfew laws Laws against interracial marriage Etc.
n Jim Crow Laws n Segregation laws
Term originated from a song and dance routine performed in blackface Come, listen, all you gals and boys, I'm just from Tuckyhoe; I'm gwine to sing a little song, My name's Jim Crow. Chorus: Wheel about, an' turn about, an' do jis so; Eb'ry time I wheel about, I jump Jim Crow. I went down to de river, I didn't mean to stay, But there I see so many gals, I couldn't get away. …
n Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 n n n Said that segregation was legal “separate but equal facilities” Reality = separate is not equal
Jim Crow existed in the North as well as the South § Lancaster, Ohio
n Restrictive covenants all across the country kept people of certain ethnicities from being able to live in certain neighborhoods
Repeal of Anti-miscegenation laws n n Grey- no laws passed Green- before 1887 Yellow- 1948 -1967 Red- 12 June 1967
WWII was the last U. S. war in which troops were segregated n In 1948, President Harry S. Truman desegregated the armed forces via executive order n n n It also banned discrimination in the hiring of federal employees Came partly because after WWII, African Americans began to demand more civil rights
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) n Ruled that “separate is inherently unequal” n Integration of schools was to progress with “all deliberate speed” n Schools across the south refused
Emmett Till n Murdered in Money, Mississippi August 28, 1955
Beginning of the Movement n 1955: Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama to a white man n She was arrested for civil disobedience
Montgomery Bus Boycott Organized after Rosa Parks was arrested for civil disobedience in 1955 n It continued for over a year n People walked and rides were organized n The segregation of the bus system in Alabama ended after 381 days n
n Between 1955 -1968 acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience drew attention to the civil rights cause
“To understand that nonviolence is not a symbol of weakness or cowardice, but as Jesus demonstrated, nonviolent resistance transforms weakness into strength and breeds courage in the face of danger. ” ~ SCLC statement
n On February 1, 1960, four African American college students sat at a segregated lunch counter in a Woolworth in Greensboro, North Carolina. n Several months later, the store was desegregated n A wave of sit-ins swept the nation and in many cases achieved desegregation
1963 Anne Moody
Little Rock Nine (1957) Governor Orval Faubus called on the National Guard to prevent the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas n President Eisenhower stepped in and federalized the National Guard, sent the National Guard back to their barracks, and used the 101 st Airborne to escort the students to class n
101 st Airborne escort Little Rock Nine
Civil Rights Act of 1957 Established a federal Civil Rights Commission n Created a Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice n Increased efforts to protect voting rights n
Civil Rights Act of 1960 n Strengthened the 1957 law by giving courts more power to enforce fair voting practices n Prescribed federal penalties for bombing and bomb threats
Freedom Rides ~ 1961 Purpose= desegregate interstate buses § Organized by CORE, or the Congress of Racial Equality
n 1962 saw the first integration of southern universities n James Meredith was the first African American to enroll at the University of Mississippi n Otherwise known as Ole Miss n Governor Ross Barnett tried to block his enrollment
James Meredith escorted by U. S. Marshalls to class in 1962
“It hasn’t been all bad. Many students have spoken to me very pleasantly. They have stopped banging doors and throwing bottles into my dormitory now. One fellow from my home town sat down at my table in the cafeteria. ‘If you’re here to get an education, I’m for you, ’ he said. ‘If you’re here to cause trouble, I’m against you. ’ That seemed fair enough to me. ” ~ James Meredith, 1962
Kennedy’s Executive Orders 1962 Increased the enforcement of previous acts and the Brown v. Board of Education ruling n Prohibited racial and religious discrimination in housing built or purchased with federal aid n
Alabama Governor George Wallace tries to physically prevent integration of the University of Alabama in 1963
Clash in Birmingham n Dr. King was invited to visit Birmingham, AL in April 1963 n n n “most segregated city in America. ” placed in jail for disobeying a court injunction to cease demonstrating hundreds of youth protested and were thrown into jail as an act of civil disobedience n n The nation watched on television as high-pressure fire hoses and police dogs were used on the children Pressure was placed on the city: as a result it was desegregated
March on Washington: 1963 n Helped to focus national media attention on the Civil Rights Movement
Dr. King delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech
Medgar Evers n n Born in Decatur, Mississippi After graduating college in 1952, he moved to Philadelphia and worked with the NAACP 1954 he applied to and was rejected by the University of Mississippi Law School He moved to Jackson and became state field secretary for the NAACP
Medgar Evers was shot early in the morning at 12: 40 a. m. on June 12, 1963
n On June 12, 1963, Evers was shot in his driveway in Jackson, Mississippi n Byron de la Beckwith was the culprit n n n Two trials ended with a deadlocked jury despite compelling evidence At the first trial, Governor Ross Barnett personally showed up to shake hands with Beckwith in front of the jury A third trial ended in February of 1994 with Beckwith being convicted and sentenced to life in prison by the efforts of lawyer Bobby de Laughter. § He died in jail in 2001 at age 80
His death in 1963 prompted JFK to seek a comprehensive civil rights bill
“We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom, here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes? … The time has come for this nation to fulfill its promise. ” ~ President Kennedy, television address, June 1963
President Kennedy was assassinated before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed
Photo taken a fraction of a second after the fatal shot
n Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of John F. Kennedy and the Governor of Texas, was himself killed by Jack Ruby two days later
Texas Schoolbook depository
Jack Ruby
n In honor of Kennedy, Johnson asked that Congress pass the Civil Rights Act n In June of 1964, it was successfully passed n It was aimed at voting, schools, and jobs n It banned discrimination in public accommodations, and in employment on the basis of race, sex, or religion
President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Freedom Summer n 1964: leaders of the major civil rights groups organized a voter registration drive in Mississippi n n Three young civil rights workers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, were reported missing after being arrested on June 21, 1964 by Neshoba County deputy sheriff Cecil Price August 4, 1964: their bodies are found in an earthen dam
Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price and Sheriff Rainey at their arraignment in 1964
n n January 7, 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of three counts of manslaughter All previous attempts to bring guilty parties to justice failed
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Formed in 1964 to challenge the delegates sent by the Mississippi Democratic Party to the national convention because of neglect of African American voting rights in the state n Intended to prove that African Americans wanted to vote n
Fannie Lou Hamer testifies about the systematic denial of voting rights at the Democratic National Party Convention in 1964
"We didn't come all this way for no two seats, 'cause all of us is tired. " ~ Fannie Lou Hamer
Selma March In March of 1965, a march was organized to bring attention to voting rights n Marchers walked from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital, over 50 miles away n n They were met with violence It took three tries and a court ruling for U. S. Army and National Guard troop protection, but they were successful Despite this, by the time they reached the capital, there were more than 25, 000 people involved
Third March ~ success
Voting Rights Act of 1965 Eliminated literacy tests as a voting requirement n Gave federal officials the power to supervise voter registration n
24 th Amendment n Banned the use of the poll tax as a voting requirement
Malcolm X & Black Nationalism n n n Worked to help African Americans achieve political, economic, and social success Preached that African Americans should have their own state separate from whites February 21, 1965 he was assassinated
Black Power Movement n SNCC became more radical after Stokely Carmichael came to power in the mid 1960 s, n n He called for an end to non-violent protest His idea of black power resonated with many n He wanted them to build a sense of community & heritage
Black Panther Party A new militant political party formed in the fall of 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton n They wanted African Americans to lead their own communities n n n Combat police brutality and years of federal neglect Newton quoted Mao Zedong n n “Power flows from the barrel of a gun. ” Promoted racial pride
n de jure segregation n n Created by law de facto segregation n Caused by social conditions such as poverty
Dr. King
n At 6: 01 p. m. on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated by James Earl Ray on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee n His death triggered riots in major cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and others
The Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated: now the National Civil Rights Museum
Robert Kennedy
n He was shot on June 5, 1968 by Sirhan n Robert died the next day
Legacy of the Movement Between 1970 and 1975, the number of African American elected officials rose 88% n Black mayors were elected in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Newark, New Jersey n 1966: Barbara Jordan became the first African American elected to the Texas state senate since Reconstruction n 2008: Barack Obama elected President n
The End
- Slides: 83