Civil Rights in the 60’s

What success was seen in the 1950’s?

Major Victory Challenging the law: · African Americans continued their struggle for equality, which became known as the civil rights movement. · In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional. A Sign at the Greyhound Bus Station, Rome, Georgia September 1943. (Esther Bubley, photographer)

"The Rex theater for Negro People." Leland, Mississippi, November 1939. Marion Post Wolcott, photographer.

"A cafe near the tobacco market." Durham, North Carolina. May 1940.

" People waiting for a bus at the Greyhound bus terminal " People waiting for a bus at the Greyhound bus terminal." Memphis, Tennessee. September 1943. Esther Bubley, photographer.

· With help from the NAACP, the case of Brown v · With help from the NAACP, the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka reached the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of Plessy v. Ferguson.

· In the case, Oliver Brown challenged that his daughter, Linda, should be allowed to attend an all-white school near her home instead of the distant all-black school she had been assigned to. Oliver Brown was a welder for the Santa Fe Railroad and a part-time assistant pastor at St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church. Linda Brown was in the third grade when her father began his class action lawsuit.

· Brown’s lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, argued that “separate” could never be “equal” and that segregated schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee to provide “equal protection” to all citizens.

* In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Brown family, and schools nationwide were ordered to be desegregated. George E.C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and James M. Nabrit, following Supreme Court decision ending segregation.

MLK Fourth generation Minister Rose to prominence during the Montgomery Bus Boycott The most influential Civil Rights Movement leader

Sought to awaken moderate Americans Lived with constant death threats and physical intimidation

Kennedy and Civil Rights Actively courted black votes Proposed Civil Rights legislation, but was blocked by Southern Congressmen

Was accused to have moved slowly on Civil Rights issues Kennedy did not want to lose Congressional Support.

March on Washington - 1963 “March for Jobs and Freedom” Opposed by Kennedy, who didn’t want to alienate southern congressmen

Scorned by many Black Nationalist Groups Became a very powerful symbol

“I Have a Dream” speech August 28, 1963

Johnson and Civil rights Picked up where Kennedy left off Johnson acted more than Kennedy did on Civil Rights legislation

Johnson and Civil Rights CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 Banned different voting standards Banned discrimination in public places Banned discrimination on the base of race, sex, age, religion or nation of origin

“We have lost the south for a generation” - LBJ

Freedom Summer - 1964 Mostly college students (white and black) Sought to register voters

Subject to extreme violence Churches and houses were burned and bombed James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerman were murdered

Selma, Alabama - 1965 Protest led by MLK Violence against protestors LBJ supports with federal troops

Led to important legislation: Voting Rights Act of 1965 Federal officials could register voters 24th Amendment Banned Poll taxes

The Rise of Black Nationalism

The Rise of Black Nationalism Many disavowed non-violence, felt it did not work, or took too long. “We shall overcome” became “We shall overrun” Clashed with police, violence was not uncommon

Malcolm X Born to activist parents Outstanding student in Junior High, but dropped out Very critical of MLK and non-violence, very distrusting of white society. 1965 – Allegedly Assassinated by the Nation of Islam

"At one time the whites in the United States called him a racialist, and extremist, and a Communist. Then the Black Muslims came along and the whites thanked the Lord for Martin Luther King."

Black Panthers Most influential Black Nationalist group Originally created to monitor police in California

1968 Assassination of MLK leads to widespread rioting and disillusionment The Civil Rights movement is robbed of its most prominent leaders Considered end to Civil Rights Movement

Tensions run high throughout the country; minor incidents set off riots that last for days, and destroy black neighborhoods.

Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement Barbara Jordan (Texas) 1st Black State Senator in Texas since Reconstruction, later US Congresswoman

Black Mayors in many cities Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman elected to Congress

Civil Rights reform Stalls after 1968 Black officials up 90% Thurgood Marshall becomes a Supreme Court justice