Civil Rights Era Unit 8

Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience, 1849 “But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it.”

Civil Rights Movement Time line https://www. youtube. com/watch Tuskegee Institute founded, 1882 Atlanta Compromise Speech, 1895 NAACP founded, 1909 Great Migration, 1910 – 1920 Scottsboro Case, 1931 – 1952 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) founded, 1942 Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955 Lasted 381 days Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded by MLK, Jr., 1957 Little Rock Nine, 1957 Greensboro Sit-in, 1960 Freedom Rides, 1961 Attempt to desegregate interstate bus travel in the South March on Washington, 1963 “Bloody Sunday” March from Selma to Montgomery, AL, 1965

Equal protection 1870s – 1970s Plessey v. Ferguson, 1896 Separate but equal is constitutional Brown v. BOE, 1954 Separate is inherently unequal Integration of public schools begins Washington, DC & Northern cities integration came quickly Shuttlesworth V. Birmingham BOE, 1958 Scholastic ability & social behavior could not be used to maintain segregation

Civil Rights Act of 1957 Estab. Commission on Civil Rights to investigate unconstitutional treatment (esp. voting rights) Civil Rights Act of 1964 Equal access to public facilities & employment Voting Rights Act of 1965 Attorney General could register voters where literacy test & poll taxes had been used to deny voting rights For federal elections only 24th Amendment, 1965 Prohibits poll taxes or other taxes in order to deny voting rights ensures right to vote in federal elections

‘Massive Resistance’ Eisenhower administration did not want to commit themselves to desegregation Lack of actions, led southern whites to believe that judicial decisions would not be enforced by the executive branch Mobs of white protesters blocked integration of schools in Arkansas, Virginia, Louisiana and North Carolina Eisenhower had to send in the 101st Airborne to restore to end mob rule https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xERXusiEszs

Langston Hughes What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore– And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over– like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

Rise of Black Nationalism Began w/ Marcus Garvey (UNIA) in the 1920s Nation of Islam –self-improvement and self-discipline & rejection of Christianity Popular in Chicago and NYC Malcolm X –preached militant separatism until 1964; then class & racial unity Assassinated by Nation of Islam members in 1965

Black Panther Party Founded by Huey Newton & Bobby Seale, 1966 -Advocated armed defense against law enforcement -Opposed Vietnam -Community Organizing in Oakland, CA & Philadelphia, PA Black Power Advocated by Stokely Carmichael and other SNCC & CORE -Secular movement -Questioned the merits of relying on white power structure to ensure racial equality -Focused on poverty & social injustice in the work force & business

MLK vs. Malcolm X Debate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jphm4cFDREw EQ: Was the Civil Rights movement the efforts of black leaders to secure equality in American society, or was it an attempt by white leaders to pacify militancy amongst black youth?

Civil Rights after Brown Affirmative Action –procedures in hiring & enrollment designed to make up for past discrimination Issues What constitutes a ‘disadvantaged group’? Does a quota system create discrimination against whites and males? Bakke v. University of CA, 1978 Court rejected quotas, but would not rule against affirmative action in principle Race needed to considered w/other factors Busing – 15yrs after Brown, only 1/3 of black children attended school w/whites Issues South– neighborhood schools limited integration ‘de facto’ segregation Only black students were bused by choice Swann v. CMS, 1971 Everyone is subject to busing North- middle class families (majority white) live in suburbs; minorities still live in city. Although neighboring municipalities, often different counties Milliken v. Bradley, 1974 Cannot force integration beyond county boundaries, only w/in a municipality

Other minority protest American Indians 1953 Congress’ ‘termination policy’ of ending legal recognition of tribes incites desire for centuries of abuse; overturned Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 American Indian Movement (AIM) 2nd massacre @Wounded Knee, 1973 Inspired song “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9bErRmuIGU Indians of All Tribes (IAT) Seizure of Alcatraz Island, 1969

Chicano –Mexican Americans Inspired by ‘Operation Wetback’ –1950s gov’t deportation practices Often labor relations (migrant workers) & education issues in the Southwest Caesar Chavez & Dolores Huerta – founded United Farm Workers union