CIVIL RIGHTS A Summary of KEY EVENTS

CIVIL WAR Amendments & Plessy v. Ferguson 13th: 1865 abolished slavery 14th: 1868 established citizenship and due process 15th: 1870 universal male suffrage US Supreme Court legalizes segregation in the United States “SEPARATE BUT EQUAL” (Jim Crow Laws)

Early Civil Rights Leaders W.E.B. DuBois—pushed for immediate civil rights and equality. Leader of NAACP Booker T. Washington founder of Tuskegee Institute.

Civil Rights Organizations National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) The National Urban League (NUL) The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) (Black Power)

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him on April 15, 1947. 1948 Pres. Truman integrates the military

1954 Brown v. Board Supreme Court rules “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” and violates the 14th Amendment. Legally ends school segregation. Southern Congressmen resist Interrogation efforts.

1957 Central High School Little Rock, Arkansas “The Little Rock Nine” Pres. Eisenhower sends federal troops after Arkansas governor Orval Faubus uses the National Guard to deny entrance to African-American students at Central High.

Stand in the Schoolhouse Door Gov. George Wallace promises “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” Refuses to desegregate Univ. of Alabama Stands aside only after being confronted by federal marshals and the Alabama National Guard.

1962 Univ. of Mississippi Pres. Kennedy sends 5000 federal troops to Mississippi to allow James Meredith, the school’s 1st African-American student, to attend.

1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus. A boycott follows, leading to desegregation of public transportation in the city.

Boycott’s Impact Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus. A boycott follows, leading to desegregation. The boycott marked the start of a new era of the civil rights movement, one marked by mass participation, openly challenging unfair laws through civil disobedience.

1960 Sit-ins College students in Greensboro, NC stage sit-ins at the Woolworth’s lunch counter Freedom Rides Volunteers, black and white, take buses into the South to test new desegregation laws, often meeting with violence

Freedom rides http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHaXo6N_vh8

1963 Birmingham, AL Martin Luther King and the SCLC focus on segregation in Birmingham. Protests there ends in violence, riots, and arrests of adults and children. On May 2, heroic young people marched in groups where they were met violence. On September 15, the KKK bombed a Church, killing four young girls. Events grew more and more tragic.

The Letter from Birmingham Jail The Letter from Birmingham Jail (also known as "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother") is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. It says that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take direct action rather than waiting potentially forever for justice to come through the courts. Responding to being referred to as an "outsider," King writes, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere“

1963 Bombing in Birmingham 16th St. Baptist Church, a bomb explodes on a Sunday morning, killing four young girls. KKK member seen planting bomb, is arrested, but found guilty of possessing dynamite without a permit. Fined $100 and six months in jail.

Aug 1963 March on Washington 200,000 people hear Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington. Dr. King then delivered a powerful speech calling for the passage of a civil Rights bill, support for the poor, jobs, and an end to segregation.

What was the purpose of the march on Washington in 1963? A. to end racial discrimination B. to lower taxes on African-Americans C. to get Congress to approve Reparations D. to support affirmative action

1964 24th Amendment Outlawed poll tax. Black voter registration begins to increase.

1964 Civil Rights Act The Act prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin. The law made segregation illegal in most public places. Granted the federal government new powers to enforce the law.

1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Civil rights activists attempt to register African-Americans to vote The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), "snick“. SNCC's major contribution was in its field work, organizing voter registration drives all over the South. The KKK brutally murdered three SNCC workers

1965 Selma March Demanding voting rights, 600 protesters plan to march to Montgomery. 6 blocks into march, they meet state troopers armed with nightsticks and tear gas.

1965 Voting Rights Act After Selma, Johnson signs voting rights bill. Outlaws literacy tests, and other barriers to voting established federal oversight.

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New Civil Rights Issues The Civil Rights Movement achieved many goals: Segregation outlawed and voting rights protected. After 1965, there was still many visible problems, especially in poverty and de facto discrimination in housing.

1965-67 Urban Race Riots – a call for economic rights Watts (Los Angeles), Detroit, Newark

Black Power After 1965, many, especially urban young people, began to turn away from King. By the Late 60’s CORE and SNCC, believed that African Americans alone should lead their struggle. Many young African Americans called for black power, a term that had many meanings.

Different views KING: Non-violent, passive resistance, civil disobedience, Inclusive Influenced by Ghandi Black Power: proactive, militant, focus on black pride and African heritage. Exclusive

Malcom X and the Nation of Islam Born Malcolm Little, he learned the ideas of black pride and self-reliance from his father, a follower of Marcus Garvey and member of the UNIA. While in prison, he joined the Nation of Islam. He preached the superiority of blacks and separation from whites; he scorned King’s non-violence saying black people should use any means to protect themselves. Between 1952 and 1963, the Nation of Islam grew

Break with the Nation By 1964, Malcolm X had broken with the Black Muslims. Discouraged by scandals involving the Nation of Islam’s leader, he went to Mecca. After seeing Muslims from many races worshipping together, he no longer promoted separatism. he continued to criticize the organization. Because of this, organization members shot and killed him in 1965.

Black Panthers The Black Panther was a revolutionary Black Nationalist and socialist group active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. Panthers core practice was its armed citizens' patrols to monitor the police.

1968 Martin Luther King, Jr assassinated Memphis, TN, King is shot by James Earl Ray. He was 39 years old.

Legacy of the Civil Rights Today, blacks and whites interact in ways that could have only been imagined before the civil rights movement. In many respects, Dr. King’s dream has been realized. Unlike the earlier goals, the new issues were based on de facto segregation that were open to reasonable debate. The question remains what role should the government play in correcting past abuses.

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