Kennedy Johnson and Civil Rights Chapter 29 Section

Kennedy, Johnson, and Civil Rights Chapter 29, Section #2

Kennedy and Civil Rights 1960: John F. Kennedy elected President • Kennedy won African-American support • Robert Kennedy and King’s wife got him released from jail • Had difficult time dealing with southern democrats • Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) • • Pressured Fed. Gov’t to act Freedom Rides: wanted to desegregate interstate buses Kennedy sent Fed. Marshalls to protect riders Gov’t then desegregated buses

Protests in Birmingham African-Americans protested: • Wanted to desegregate public facilities • Better jobs and housing • Called in Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) • Fire hoses and dogs used on protesters, some were children • Country was horrified at images • Protest successful

The March on Washington • Because of Birmingham, more people supported civil rights laws • August 28, 1963: 250, 000 people demonstrated in Washington, D. C. • King: “I Have a Dream” Speech • President Kennedy promised support

New Civil Rights Laws • Kennedy killed on November 22, 1963 • Lyndon Johnson became President • Promised to fulfill Kennedy’s wishes July, 1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed: • Banned segregation in public places • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to stop job discrimination • Banned different voting standards for whites and blacks.

Fighting for Voting Rights 1964: 24 th Amendment Passed • Ended poll tax 1965: Voter registration drive: • “Freedom Summer” • Northern college students helped in south • Bombed, beaten, arrested, murdered • Selma, Alabama • 1, 200 African-Americans registered

Fighting for Voting Rights (cont’d) August, 1965: Voting Rights Act passed • Banned: • Literacy Tests • Threats of Violence • Federal officials register voters

Johnson and the Great Society • Programs to help needy • End discrimination • Health Insurance for elderly (Medicare, Medicaid) • Money for education • Environment protection laws • Clean Water and Clean Air Acts

Division in the Civil Rights Movement • Some wanted Civil Rights Movement to be more aggressive • While no laws in North discriminated against blacks, whites would refuse service to many • Protests in Chicago • April 4, 1968: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated • Riots broke out, 45 people died • Non-violence rejected by many • Black Panthers • Malcolm X