The Civil Rights Movement

U.S. History 11R N. Stamoulacatos

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954)

Facts Four black children wanted to go to a white

school. The law deprived them of the equal

protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Decision

The Supreme Court of the United States looked at the effect of segregation itself on public education.

The Court decided unanimously that segregation of black children in the public school system was a direct violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

It rejected the “separate but equal” doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court reverses Plessy by stating that separate schools are by nature unequal.

Schools are ordered to desegregate "with all deliberate speed"

Opposition to Integration

Southern Manifesto -document written by members of congress against integration

1956 Over 100 southern members of Congress sign document attacking the Supreme Court decision.

Only Lyndon Johnson, Estes Kefauver, and Albert Gore refuse to join protest

Little Rock Central High School

Fall 1957 - Little Rock school board votes to integrate schools

National Guard troops prevent black children from attending school. 1000 federal paratroopers are needed to escort black students and preserve peace.

Arkansas Governor Faubus responds by closing schools for 1958-59 school year

University of Alabama

Governor Wallace stops desegregation of the University of Alabama June 1963

Standing in the schoolhouse door and promising segregation "today, tomorrow, and forever,"

Wallace is forced by President John F. Kennedy to allow blacks to enroll

***State Vs. Federal power- Feds win!***

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rosa Parks - African American Seamstress in Alabama

December 1955, Refused to give up her seat in the “neutral zone” of the bus to white passenger.

Mrs. Parks was arrested.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

1955-1957 Rosa Parks ignites 381-day bus boycott organized by Martin Luther King, Jr.

African Americans used car pools or walked to work.

Support from sympathetic whites. 1956 – Supreme Court outlawed bus

segregation

Selma to Montgomery March

March 1965 – 50 mile protest march from Selma to Alabama capital of Montgomery organized to protest police brutality and the denial of voting rights.

600 protestors began the march. Police attacked the marchers with clubs and

tear gas.

Selma to Montgomery March

New marchers come to Selma and over 3000 leave two weeks later on March 21st.

Numbers grow to 25,000 by the end of the march.

Actions of police and marchers leads to passage of Voting Rights Act of 1965

Urban Riots

In the mid 1960’s, clashes between white authority and black civilians occur in major cities around the country.

In NYC and the Watts section of Los Angeles, riots destroyed millions of dollars of property, mainly in black neighborhoods.

Civil Rights Organizations and Legislation

U.S. History 11R N. Stamoulacatos

Reflection

"Whites who come into the black community with ideas of change seem to want to absolve the power structure of its responsibility for what it is doing, and say that change can only come through black unity, which is the worst kind of paternalism..... If we are to proceed toward true liberation, we must cut ourselves off from white people..... [otherwise] we will find ourselves entwined in the tentacles of the white power complex that controls this country.“

Black Panther Party -Unknown

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Since 1909, fought to end segregation. From 1938, focus of legal counsel on ending the

worst inequalities in segregated public schools. Thurgood Marshall and NAACP lawyers won

landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education. Won 29 of 32 cases argued before the Supreme

Court.

CORE

Congress on Racial Equity 1942 - Staged first sit-ins at segregated

lunch counters in Chicago and refused to leave.

Grassroots movement to speed up desegregation.

SCLC

Southern Christian Leadership Conference Founded by Martin Luther King in 1957

following success of bus boycott. Goal “Carry on nonviolent crusades against

the evils of second-class citizenship.”

Nation of Islam

Black Muslims led by Elijah Muhammad Views that whites were the cause of the

black condition. African American’s should separate from

white society. Present day, lead by Louis Farrakhan

Malcolm X

Born Malcolm Little, jailed at 20 for burglary.

Studied teachings of Elijah Muhammad in prison of the Nation of Islam.

Dropped his “slave name” and became an Islamic minister when he was released from prison.

Malcolm X

Preached that whites were the cause of the problems for blacks.

Blacks should separate themselves from whites Advocated armed self-defense Rejecting integration and nonviolence, Malcolm splits

off from Elijah Muhammad's Black Muslims. Assassinated February 1965 by black opponents

Black Power

1966 Oakland, California Deeply rooted in the ideas of Malcolm X Militant Set up community based programs Bobby Seale

24th Amendment

Passed January 1964 Poll tax (which had been used to prevent

blacks from voting) outlawed. Black voter registration increases and

candidates begin to turn away from white supremacy views in attempt to attract black voters

Civil Rights Act 1964

Passed July 1964 Overcoming Senate filibuster, Congress

passes law forbidding racial discrimination in many areas of life, including hotels, voting, employment, and schools

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Approved August 6th, 1965 Ended the practice of requiring voters to

pass literacy tests and permitted the federal government to monitor voter registration

After passage, southern black voter registration grows by over 50% and black officials are elected to various positions. In Mississippi, black voter registration grew from 7% to 67%

26th Amendment (1971)

The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.

Lowered the voting age to 18 years old

Other Civil Rights Struggles In The Civil Rights Movement

U.S. History 11R

N. Stamoulacatos

Other Struggles

In the 1960’s, other groups of minorities sought to gain equal treatment and respect in the United States

Latinos (Americans of Latin American descent CHICANO Movement) population grew in the 1960’s.

Native Americans and Women also wanted more rights.

Cesar Chavez

Migrant farmer in California United Farm Workers Organizing Committee was

formed in 1966. Later merged with the AFL-CIO. Like Martin Luther King, believed in nonviolence.

Organized nationwide boycott of California grapes. Efforts eventually lead to an agreement between

growers and migrant workers for higher wages, safer working conditions, and more stringent government regulations.

American Indian Movement

In 1968, the American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded as a self-defense group against police brutality and as a response to the government's Termination Policy which was aimed at limiting or eliminating the financial assistance provided to native groups.

AIM used militaristic action to focus attention on native problems in order to gain publicity and protecting the rights of large Native American populations in northern and western states.

American Indian Movement

Many native groups have since filed land claims in New York State, claiming that negotiates that resulted in the loss of native lands were unconstitutional because states do not have treaty-making powers with foreign nations.

Unity League of California

Ignacio Lopez established the Unity League of California in order to promote political candidates who would represent Hispanic interests.

The Unity League also sought and achieved integration of public schools in California.

Women's Movement

The Women's Movement was rekindled after women's suffrage was obtained in 1920.

Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique in 1963 which question the traditional domestic female role in the United States.

Women's Movement

Friedan also went on to establish the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1996 in order to obtain legislation guaranteeing equality for all women.

Feminist Law

Equal RightsAmendment(Never Passed)

Equal Employment

Opportunity Act(1972)

Title IX ofEducational Amendments Act(1972)

Congress approved this proposal to guarantee that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex." However, the states failed to ratify it.

Required employers to pay equally qualified women the same as their male counterparts.

Gave female athletes the same right to financial support for individual and team sports as male athletes.

Disabled Americans

The rights of disabled Americans were first championed by Dorthea Dix in the early 1800s. She helped provide institutions for the disabled who were being mistreated across the nation.

However, problems with institutionalizing disabled American including abuse and neglect soon became the norm.

Disabled Americans Legislation

Education of All Handicapped Children Act(1972)

Americans With Disabilities Act(1990)

Required states to mandate education for all students regardless of mental and/or physical disability.

Mandated construction codes, public access, and employment opportunities for the disabled.

Gay Rights Movement

Freedom of Expression/ Pink Power Stonewall Riots of 1969 Harvey Milk / Mayor Mascone Stigma and Discrimination Anti-discrimination laws in employment and

housing Empire Pride Agenda Marriage Issue