Civil Rights & The Warren Court

Civil Rights & Conflict Civil rights movement gained momentum during Kennedy’s presidency Due to a close election, Kennedy was hesitant to push for civil rights early on More than once, Kennedy used federal troops to control mob violence and protect black students’ rights to attend classes at public schools and universities

The Leadership of Dr. King Civil rights activists in the South were met by beatings, bombings, and murder Dr. King committed to nonviolent protests Jailed in 1963 for a peaceful march The arrest and jailing of King sparked outrage across America- many believed he had been jailed unjustly From his jail cell, King wrote the famous essay “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Influenced Kennedy to support tougher civil rights bills

March on Washington August 1963: Dr. King led one of the largest and most successful peace demonstrations in U.S. history 200,000 black and white protestors The highlight of the demonstration was King’s “I Have a Dream” speech

March to Montgomery Voting rights march from Selma, Alabama to state capitol of Montgomery met with beatings and tear gas “Bloody Sunday” Televised pictures of the conflict proved to be a turning point in the civil rights movement National outrage prompted LBJ to send federal troops to protect Dr. King and the other marchers Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Malcolm X Converted to Islam while serving a prison sentence Adopted the name Malcolm X Criticized Dr. King as an “Uncle Tom” and advocated self- defense or black violence After a visit to Mecca, Malcolm X began to soften his stance on violence but was assassinated in 1965

Race Riots & Black Power Radicalism of Malcom X influenced young blacks in SNCC and CORE Repudiated nonviolence, advocated “black power” and racial separatism 1966: Black Panthers organized by Huey Newton, Bobby Seale as a revolutionary socialist movement Advocated self-rule for American blacks Race riots continued to erupt each summer; made whites suspect black extremists and revolutionaries were behind the violence A federal investigation into the increasing number of race riots concluded racism and segregation (not black activism) were responsible for turning the U.S. into “two societies, one black, one white- separate and unequal” By the mid-1960’s, civil rights was no longer a Southern issue, but a national one

Murder in Memphis Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 But his nonviolent approach was under increasing pressure King’s peaceful marches were met with little success, and he also broke away from LBJ on the Vietnam war because it drained resources from social and civil rights programs April 1968- Dr. King was assassinated while standing on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee

Murder in Memphis Massive riots erupted in 168 cities in response to Dr. King’s assassination At least 46 dead Violence did not reflect Dr. King’s beliefs, but revealed the anger and frustration among African Americans Also fed a growing “white backlash”

The Warren Court Earl Warren was Chief Justice from 1953 to 1969 His impact on the nation was comparable to John Marshall’s Warren’s decision in Brown v. Board was by far the most important race relations case in the 20th century 1960s: Warren Court profoundly affected the criminal justice system, state political systems, and the very definition of individual rights