Civil Rights Plessy vs Ferguson 1896 n n

Civil Rights

Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) n n n Arrested for riding in a “whites-only” car Separate but equal Jim Crow Laws- laws promoting segregation

NAACP n n n National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Thurgood Marshall= chief counsel Brown vs. Board of Education

CORE n n Congress of Racial Equality Sit-ins Goal= shame managers into desegregating restaurants In many places sit-ins were successful

Sit-In Movement n n Started with four students In two months sit-ins spread to 54 cities in 9 states Sit-ins very popular among young college students NAACP and SCLC were hesitant to support, but youth proved they could protest w/o violence

n Joseph Mc. Neil, Ezell Blair, Jr. , David Richmond, and Franklin Mc. Cain at Woolworth’s department store.

“From my perspective, it was a down payment on manhood…The secret of life is knowing when to take on something difficult and to take something on that might have enormous risks and implications. ” Joseph Mc. Neil, http: //www. sitins. com/stories/overviewnoq 2. htm

Some students’ Dos and Don’ts during sit-ins: -Do show yourself friendly on the counter at all times. -Do sit straight and always face the counter -Don’t strike back, or curse back if attacked -Don’t laugh out -Don’t hold conversations -Don’t block entrances http: //www. watson. org/~lisa/blackhisto ry/civilrights-55 -65/sit-ins. html

Bus Boycott n n Rosa Parks (1955) arrested for not giving up seat African Americans boycotted buses Martin Luther King led the organization in charge of the boycott 1956 - Bus segregation declared unconstitutional

Martin Luther King n n n Believed in protest through peaceful means Encouragement to disobey unjust laws Established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference n n Eliminate segregation Register to vote

Freedom Riders n n Bus travel remained segregated in many Southern states African Americans and whites traveled from North to South on buses Attacked by angry mobs…many were viciously beaten Head of police called KKK to beat Freedom Riders in Birmingham

Angry mob waits for Freedom Riders n “When you go somewhere looking for trouble, you usually find it…You just can’t guarantee the safety of a fool and that’s what these folks are, just fools. ” http: //www. watson. org/~lisa/blackhistory/ci vilrights-55 -65/freeride. html

“Perhaps the greatest victory of the freedom riders that day was not with the government or the media; it was their victory over themselves and their own fears. For they were just beginning the process of breaking down the awful, paralyzing psychic fear which cities like Birmingham, and Jackson, Mississippi, had always held for black people, and other blacks, seeing them do it, were emboldened to join them. ” David Halberstam, 1999. The Children

Little Rock, Arkansas n n n Central High would admit 9 African American students Orval Faubus= governor, sent national guard to prevent students from attending Faubus eventually removed troops, but didn’t break up the mob Eisenhower sent in the U. S. Army Troops remained until the end of the school year

Central High School

James Meredith n n n n Air force veteran who applied for University of Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett refused to let him register Meredith escorted by federal marshals were met by mobs Fighting lasted all night Kennedy sent several thousand troops Meredith attended classes for the rest of the year under federal guard Meredith graduated from University of Mississippi in 1963

Civil Rights Act of 1957 n n n Protected African Americans right to vote Created a civil rights division in the govt. Investigated cases where African Americans were denied the right to vote

March on Washington n To gain support for Civil Rights Bill August 28, 1963 I Have a Dream Speech

Civil Rights Act of 1964 n n Gave govt. power to prevent racial discrimination Segregation= illegal End discrimination in workplace Equal Employment Opportunity Commission