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Civil Rights Movement
Civil Rights Movement 1945-1970
Chapter 14
I. Taking on Segregation
The Segregation System
1. Plessy v. Ferguson - 1896
§ Supreme Court case that said the separate but equal is legal
§ What did this case lead to in many states?
2. Segregation Continues into the 20th Century
§ After the Civil War, many African-Americans tried to escape segregation by moving north; however the still encountered racism and segregation
3. A Developing Civil Rights Movement
§ In many ways WW II set the stage for the Civil Rights movement (3 reasons)
1.
2.
3.
Challenging Segregation in Court
Ø The desegregation campaign was led largely by the NAACP
1. The NAACP Legal Strategy
§ Charles Hamilton (law professor) focused on the inequality in schools and he placed his best law students in a team under Thurgood Marshall – they began arguing and winning many cases
2. Brown v. Board of Education – 1954
§ Linda Brown and Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
§ Thurgood Marshall argued and won this case. What was the importance?
Reaction to the Brown Decision
Ø State officials had a variety of responses; no problem, take some time, never!!
1. Resistance to School Desegregation
§ Within a year, more than 500 school districts had desegregated.
§ What was the importance of the Brown II ruling in 1955?
2. Crisis in Little Rock
§ Governor Orval Faubus publicly showed support for segregation
§ Who were the “Little Rock 9”?
§ President Eisenhower sent troops in to protect the students in school.
§ Faubus eventually shut down the school rather than allowing integration.
Ø Civil Rights Act of 1957 – gave the federal government jurisdiction over violations of segregation and voting rights.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
§ On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the colored section on the bus to a white passenger and she was arrested.
§ The Montgomery Improvement Association to organize a boycott of the bus system and Martin Luther King Jr. was selected to lead the boycott
§ One reason King was selected was his speaking ability
§ How long did the boycott last and was it successful?
Martin Luther King and the SCLC
Ø The Montgomery Bus Boycott proved to the world that the African-American community could unite and organize a successful protest movement.
1. Changing the World with Soul Force
§ King based his ideas on Jesus and Gandhi; and pushed for non-violent resistance which he called “soul force”.
§ IDENTIFY Emmit Till
2. From the Grassroots Up – Identify and Describe the following
§ Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
§ Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
The Movement Spreads – Demonstrating for Freedom
§ Sit-ins were when African-Americans sat down at segregated lunch counters and refused to leave
§ Most famous was in Greensboro, North Carolina – “The Greensboro 4”
§ What was the significance of this action?
II. The Triumphs of a Crusade
Riding for Freedom
1. New Volunteers
§ Freedom Riders attempted to ride in buses across the South to test the Supreme Court ban on segregating buses – What happened?
2. Arrival of Federal Marshals
§ When the Riders reached Alabama they were met by an angry white mob that attacked and beat them.
§ This is exactly what the Riders wanted – why?
Standing Firm
Ø Civil Rights workers encountered much opposition and violence
1. Integrating Ole Miss - September 1962
§ James Meredith (Air Force Veteran) won a federal court case that allowed him to enroll in the all-white University of Mississippi
§ JFK ordered federal marshals to escort Meredith when he registered
§ What was the result of this action?
2. Heading into Birmingham
§ Birmingham, Alabama was considered the most segregated city in the US
§ MLK went there to protest and was arrested
§ How did the police, led by Bull Connor, deal with the protesters?
3. Kennedy Takes a Stand
§ JFK sent troops to Alabama to force Gov. George Wallace to honor a court order desegregating the University of Alabama.
§ JFK called for Congress to pass a Civil Rights bill
§ IDENTIFY Medger Evers
Marching on Washington
Ø Planned march on Washington to show support for Civil Rights bill.
1. The Dream of Equality
§ 250,000 people on August 28, 1963 converged on the nation’s capital
§ MLK gave his famous “I have a dream!” speech.
2. More Violence
§ 2 weeks after King’s speech, 4 young girls were killed in Birmingham when their church was firebombed
§ JFK was assassinated and his successor, Lyndon Johnson, passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964
§ What were the key provisions of this bill?
Fighting for Voting Rights
Ø Next big step for African-Americans was voting rights.
1. Freedom Summer
§ Name of the project led by college students who went to Mississippi in the summer of 1964 to get African-Americans registered to vote.
§ 3 of these workers were killed by the local KKK – Mississippi Burning movie
2. The Selma Campaign
§ There was a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama and a demonstrator named Jimmy Lee Jackson was shot and killed.
§ MLK announced there would be a 50-mile protest from Selma to Montgomery, which was met by violence.
3. Voting Rights Act of 1965
§ Ten weeks after the march, this major piece of legislation was passed.
§ What were the provisions of this bill?
III. Challenges and Changes in the Movement
Ø By 1965, new Civil Rights leaders were taking the movement to new areas
African Americans Seek Greater Equality
1. Northern Segregation
§ The problems facing Americans in the North was de facto segregation (this exists by practice and custom). How is de jure segregation different?
§ Activists wanted white to share economic and social power, besides equal access to lunch counters and buses – this was much more difficult.
§ De facto segregation was a result of the “white flight” syndrome.
2. Urban Violence Erupts
§ In the mid 1960’s, clashes between white authority and black civilians spread like wildfire.
§ DISCUSS the riots in Harlem and Watts.
New Leaders Voice Discontent
Ø Several African-American leaders urged their followers to take complete control of their communities, livelihoods and culture. EX. Malcolm X
1. African-American Solidarity
§ Malcolm X was a member of the Nation of Islam or black Muslims.
§ What was his message to other blacks?
2. Ballots or Bullets
§ Malcolm made a pilgrimage to Mecca and changed his thinking; he now began to preach racial equality – he also had broke from the Nation of Islam
§ Malcolm was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam – 2-21-65
3. Black Power
§ Tension was building between the various Civil Rights groups. Many of the younger groups were becoming impatient and wanted quicker results.
§ Who coined the phrase Black Power?
4. Black Panthers
§ In Oakland, CA – Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded a political party known as the Black Panthers to fight police brutality in the ghettos.
§ What were some of the goals of this group?
1968 – A Turning Point in Civil Rights
Ø MLK objected to Black Power movement; he believed that preaching violence could only end in grief. King was planning to lead a Poor People’s March on DC
1. King’s Death
§ King was in Memphis to support the city’s striking garbage workers
§ King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 – by who?
2. Reactions to King’s Death
§ Led to the worst urban rioting in US history – 100 cities exploded in flames
Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement
1. Civil Rights Gains
§ Civil Rights Act of 1968 ended discrimination in housing
§ Other gains included: pride in racial identity, political, increased schooling
2. Unfinished Work
§ Need to equalize education – white flight led to segregation again
§ Need to equalize job opportunities – DEFINE affirmative action
An Era of Social Change
I. Latinos and Native Americans Seek Equality
The Latino Presence Grows
Ø During the 1960’s, the Latino population in the US grew from 3 to 9 million.
1. Latinos of Varied Origins
§ Mexican = largest group; southwest and California
§ Puerto Ricans = began migrating in 1898; east coast cities (New York)
§ Cubans = New York City, New Jersey, Miami; fled Communist rule
v Encountered racism; most lived in segregated barrios or neighborhoods.
Latinos Fight for Change
Ø As the presence of Latinos in the US grew, so too did their demand for greater representation and better treatment.
1. The Farm Worker Movement
§ Key organizer was Caesar Chavez; believed in non-violence and used a nationwide boycott against California grapes to get their union accepted.
§ United Farm Workers Organizing Committee.
2. Cultural Pride
§ “Brown power” movements were started all over the country; demanded bilingual education and money for heritage programs
3. Political Power
§ During the 60’s 8 Hispanic Americans served in the House
§ What was La Raza Unida?
II. Women Fight for Equality
Ø Betty Friedan wrote a book, the Feminine Mystique, that talked about how many women were not satisfied with their place in society.
New Women’s Movement Arises
Ø Feminism = the belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men.
1. Women in the Workplace
§ The jobs available to women – mostly clerical work, domestic service, retail sales, social work, teaching, and nursing – paid poorly.
§ Were also not paid the same or promoted as frequent.
2. Women and Activism
§ Ironically, where were women discriminated in the 60’s?
§ These experiences led women to organize themselves.
3. The Women’s Movement Emerges
§ The Feminine Mystique became a best seller and helped to galvanize women across the country – by the late 1960’s women were working together for change
The Movement Experiences Gains and Losses
1. The Creation of NOW
§ Betty Friedan created the National Organization for Women in 1966 to pursue women’s goals
§ IDENTIFY some of these goals.
2. A Diverse Movement
§ 175,000 women joined NOW in the first 3 years.
§ One group, New York Radical Women, demonstrated at the Miss America pageant – dressed a sheep up and declared it Miss America.
§ Gloria Steinem founded a liberal group that encouraged women to seek political office
3. Legal and Social Gains
§ Excluding girls from male sports was questioned, gender discrimination in education programs was banned, etc.
4. Roe v. Wade - 1973
§ NOW supported a woman’s choice to have an abortion.
§ The Supreme Court agreed and made abortion legal in 1973.
5. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
§ Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972
§ What did this amendment propose?
§ Who was Phyllis Schlafly?
6. The New Right Emerges
§ In order to combat the ERA and pro-abortion supporters, conservatives built what they called a new “pro-family” movement.
§ They were able to block the ERA from passing.
The Movement’s Legacy
Ø Despite ERA’s defeat, the women’s movement altered society in countless ways, such as transforming women’s conventional roles and their attitudes towards career and family.
Ø The movement also succeeded in expanding career opportunities for women
III. Culture and Counterculture
Ø Counterculture – a movement made up mostly of white middle-class college youths who had grown disillusioned with the war in Vietnam and injustices in America during the 1960’s.
q They turned their backs on Traditional American society.
The Counterculture
1. “Tune in, Turn on, Drop Out”
§ Members of the counterculture were known as hippies.
§ Did not like the materialism, technology and war of American society.
§ What did many youths attempt to create?
2. Hippie Culture
§ Marked by rock-n-roll music, outrageous clothing, sexual freedom, and illegal drugs. Who promoted LSD?
§ Also rejected conventional home life and joined communes
§ Where was the so-called hippie “capital”?
3. Decline in the Movement
§ After only a few years, the counterculture’s peace and harmony gave way to violence and disillusionment. LIST examples
A Changing Culture
Ø Although short-lived, some aspects of the counterculture left a more lasting imprint on the world.
1. Art
§ The 1960’s saw a rise in pop art (popular art)
§ IDENTIFY Andy Warhol
2. Rock Music
§ The band that, perhaps more than any other, helped propel rock music into the mainstream was the Beatles
§ One example of rock’s popularity occurred in August 1969 on a farm in upstate New York – it was called “Woodstock”
3. Changing Attitudes
§ While the counterculture movement faded, its casual “do your own thing” philosophy left its mark.
§ The prime example of this was the sexual revolution
The Conservative Response
Ø In the late 1960’s, many believed that the country was losing its sense of right and wrong.
1. Conservatives Attack the Counterculture
§ What were some of the arguments of Conservatives?
§ The angry response of mainstream Americans caused a profound change in the political landscape of the United States – a growing conservative movement was taking hold.