New Successes and Challenges

Why It Matters Racial injustice was not fully eradicated Some African Americans moved to violence Some were left with a bitter legacy

SNCC Stages Freedom Summer SNCC spent time on voter education in Mississippi Had little success 1964 led Freedom Summer 1,000 volunteers to register African Americans to vote Created the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Alternative to the all-white Democratic Party

SNCC Continued Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman came up missing Found dead in a earthen dam Shot at point blank range MFDP was not seated at first at Democratic Convention in New Jersey Eventually allowed 2 seats Regular Democratic Party left in protest

Marching on Selma 1965 MLK and the SCLC organized a campaign in Selma, Alabama To pressure the government to enact voting rights legislation Confrontation took place on the Edmund Pettus Bridge March 7, 1965 “Bloody Sunday” TV exposure outraged Americans LBJ called for strong voting laws

New Legislation Guarantees Voting Rights Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Banned literacy test Federal government to oversee voter registration and elections 1975 expanded to Hispanic voters in the Southwest Twenty-fourth Amendment 1964, banned the poll tax

New Legislation Continued Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Simms Limited the practice of redrawing districts Dilute African American votes “one man, one vote” Voter participation rose 1964 = 7% 1986 = 70% Elected officials rose from 100-6,000 by mid 1980s

Racial Violence Plagues Cities After Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act Rioting broke out in Watts in Los Angeles Violence, looting, and arson Also happened in Newark, NJ and Detroit, Michigan Violence no longer kept the African Americans down

The Kerner Commission Seeks the Cause Kerner Commission created to find the reason for riots Found that long-term discrimination was the cause Said to established and expanded federal programs to help those in the ghetto Some felt they were rewarding the rioters Vietnam War consumed money, leading to changes being overlooked