The Great Society of Lyndon Johnson and Civil

The Great Society of Lyndon Johnson and Civil Rights

Agenda • 1. Bell Ringer: What court case permitted separate but equal schools to exist in 1954? • 2. Notes: LBJ and the Great Society, Civil Rights to 1960 (20 minutes) • 3. Virginia’s Massive Resistance Analysis (15 minutes) • 4. Civil Rights Timeline (15 minutes) • 5. Central High School Video Clip (10 minutes) • 6. Review Guide (15 minutes)

LBJ and the Great Society • He began his “war on poverty” in 1964 with an array of programs and support services to promote greater opportunity. • Economic Opportunity Act- Begins the War on Poverty • Elementary and Secondary Education Actprovided federal aid to schools throughout the country. • Civil Rights Act- Ended segregation in public places, and banned employment discrimination. • Voting Rights Act- suspended literacy tests and attempts were made to register qualified voters in the south regardless of race. • Medical Care Act- Created Medicare and Medicaid

Early Civil Rights • Brown v. Board of Education- Charles Hamilton Houston as well as Thurgood Marshall and Oliver Hill would lead the charge for equal conditions for African Americans. • A study done by Kenneth and Mamie Clark would claim that minority groups felt inferior since they were segregated. • A unanimous decision by the Supreme Court, schools would be required to desegregate at all deliberate speed. • 1955, Rosa Parks and her refusal to move from her seat would begin the nonviolent Civil Rights Movement, with Martin Luther King Jr. as their leader.

Little Rock, 1957 • The Little Rock Nine were African American students trying to desegregate Central High School. The first day they tried to attend a white mob gathered at the school, telling their kids “don’t let them in” • Eisenhower would have to send in troops to ensure their safety for the duration of the year as desegregation began in the area. • Similar instances would also occur at traditionally white colleges across the South.

Virginia’s Massive Resistance • From 1959 to 1964, Virginia would shut down schools in the region and run private white academies. • The most famous was in Prince Edward County, VA, where they shuttered all of the public schools and created new private schools for white students. • Once schools reopened in 1964, they adopted “Freedom of Choice” Plans • Unfortunately, that would lead to intimidation and violence in the community. • Schools in the South would not be fully desegregated until 1969.