CHAPTER 22
THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA
1954-1975
22-1
A NEW BEGINNING
- The end of construction left blacks economically and politically second class citizens
o Share cropping system
o Jim Crow laws still existed
§ Denied them their rights
- Black civil rights leaders began working toward restoring full rights in the early decades of the 20th century
- Civil rights movement reaches full swing in the 1950s
o 1950s-1960s
§ Blacks boldly reject being second class citizens
§ Would not accept forced separation
§ Fought segregation in
· Trains
· Motels
· Schools
· Restaurants
· Buses
· Libraries
· Hospitals
- Supreme Court issues several decisions against racial discrimination
- Main force of change came from the black citizens and the white citizens willing to help them
BROWN VS BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA KS
- May 1954
- Ruling that overturns Plessy vs Ferguson 1896
o Separate but equal not allowed in school segregation
- 1950
o Linda Bower’s parents sue the school board
o Topeka would not allow her to attend an all-white school much closer to her home than the ‘black school’ miles away across town
o Supreme court orders that segregated schools integrate ‘with all due speed’
§ Did not set a specific deadline for segregation to end
The Southern Manifesto
- Some border states integrated
- The south still remained segregated
- Va. Governor threatens to close all public schools
o Send the white students to private schools
o Blacks would have no schools to go to
- A group of southern congressmen signed the Southern Manifesto
o Called the SC decision “ a clear abuse of judicial power”
o Pledged to use “all lawful means to bring a reverse of the decision.”
BOYCOTTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS
- Decisions of the Warren Court gave legal support to the black struggle for civil rights
o Fought by brave men and women who broke down barriers one by one.
Rosa Parks Takes a Stand
- December 1955
- Montgomery Alabama
o Seamstress Parks boards a segregated bus at the end of a workday
o All seats for blacks were filled
o Parks sits in the front of the bus
§ Seats reserved for whites
§ Refuses to give up her seat
§ Driver stops and has her arrested
o Arrest arouses anger in black community of Montgomery
o Leaders believe now is the time for action/change
o Decide to challenge Alabama’s segregation laws
o Hold meeting
§ Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
§ Decide action – boycott busses
o 26 year old Martin Luther King Jr. asked to lead the boycott
o Boycott began immediately
§ Lasted for almost 1 year
§ Bus companies lose business
§ Montgomery law eventually eliminated
o Parks was convicted and fined $10
o King and other leaders were arrested for sponsoring and “illegal boycott”
- November 1956
o Supreme court ruled segregation on public transportation was illegal
o Blacks return to riding busses in Montgomery
- Bus boycott solidified the civil rights movement and made King a inspiring leader
King Preaches Nonviolence
- Black churches and ministers take the lead in organizing the civil rights movement
- Dr. King uses his faith and the techniques of Indian leader Mohandas Ghandi
o Nonviolent resistance
§ Peaceful means of change
§ King tells his followers to disobey unjust laws
· Asks them to love their oppressors
· Never fight even if provoked
· Quote pg 672
- 1957
o King and other black leaders found “Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
§ Student organization – Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
§ Other organizations form to promote civil rights
· NAACP had existed for a time already
o Fought discrimination
§ Brown vs. Board of Education
· Urban League
o Established community programs for blacks
· Congress for Racial Equality
o Worked for economic and political opportunities
o King leads at the forefront of the movement
§ Receives the Nobel Peace Prize
CRISIS IN LITTLE ROCK
- Eisenhower administration and Congress do not want controversy
o Do not pass any civil rights legislation
o Civil rights groups turn to the courts with their disputes
- 1953
o Ike appoints Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the SC
§ “Warren Court”
§ Begins more liberal interpretation of the constitution involving individual rights
o NAACP brings a number of cases to the SC
§ Thurgood Marshall
· NAACP’s lead lawyer
· Wanted the court to strike down state laws requiring racial segregation in public schools
o May 17, 1954
§ Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka KS
§ Overturned Plessy v Ferguson
· 1896
· Separate but equal was allowed as long as equal facilities were provided for both races
· Quote Pg 673
§ Court did not set a deadline for ending segregation
· May 1956
· Court orders end of segregation “with all deliberate speed”
Civil Rights Legislation
- Ike does not want to ‘push’ the decision
- Ike believes that the federal government should remain neutral concerning controversial issues involving state and local governments
- “I don’t believe you can change the hearts of men with laws and decisions”
- 1957
o Congress passes first of civil rights laws since Reconstruction
o Creates a civil rights division in the Dept of Justice
§ Gives the government the power to seek court injunctions against those who denied any citizen’s constitutional rights
Confrontation
- September 1957
o Arkansas tests federal government policies on civil rights
o Federal court orders that 9 black students be admitted into the all-white Central High School in Little Rock
- Orval Faubus
o Governor of Arkansas
o Defied federal authority
§ Sent national guard to prevent student entry into the school
o Ike tries to convince Faubus to obey the court order
§ Faubus withdraws national guard
§ Black students now in danger from the angry mob
o Ike sends in 1000 paratroopers from the 101st airborne and federalized the Arkansas national guard.
§ Ike puts the ‘guard’ under the jurisdiction of the federal government
o Troops surround the school so the students could enter safely.
o Quote from Daisy Bates – President of the NAACP – pg 674
- Troops remained in Little Rock for the rest of the school year
- Central High School was closed for the 1958-1959 school year
- As the Eisenhower administration drew to a close the nation remained racially divided
- Custom and intimidation kept blacks from voting
- 1957-1960
o Only 10 lawsuits brought to the courts by the Justice Dept
o Only 25% of blacks vote in the Deep South
§ Only 5% in Mississippi
§ Movement of the civil rights movement was just beginning
VISUALIZING HISTORY PG 669, 671, 673
LINKING PAST AND PRESENT PG 672
SIDELIGHT: THURGOOD MARSHALL PG 672
CRITICAL THINKING PG 673
CURRICULUM CONNECTION PG 673