The Civil Rights Movement 1865-1968

Post-Slavery (“Reconstruction”) U.S. passed amendments banning slavery and saying *men* could vote regardless of their ethnicity Many moved to cities in the North; those who couldn't often lived in poor conditions Sharecropping

Jim Crow Laws After Reconstruction Period Racial segregation laws In in 1896 Supreme Court said “Separate But Equal” was okay Voting issues K.K.K. (Klu Klux Klan) Lasted until 1965

Brown vs. Board of Education In 1954, the Supreme Court decided that "separate but equal" schools were illegal and inherently *unequal.* Was the beginning of eliminating the "separate but equal" facilities--like buses Many cities and states tried to prevent integration. In 1957, President Eisenhower had to call in the army to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Historical fiction novel: Mississippi Trial 1955 Emmett Till In 1955, 13-year-old Emmett Till of Chicago was visiting his cousins in Mississippi. Allegedly at a store he whistled at a white woman. That night, the woman's husband and his brother kidnapped Emmett, tortured him, shot him, and dumped him in the river. His body was so disfigured that his mom only recognized him from a ring on his finger. His mom decided to have an open casket to show the world the racism that was going on. Emmett's death was one of the main motivations for the Civil Rights Movement. Historical fiction novel: Mississippi Trial 1955

Rosa Parks Was arrested in Alabama for refusing to move her seat on the bus. Asked M.L.K. to lead a bus boycott. So many blacks refused to ride the bus that the system almost went bankrupt. Months later, buses were finally integrated.

Peaceful Demonstrations; Violent Reactions “Freedom Riders”--people of all ethnicities, usually college students--would take buses down to the south to do "sit-ins" at counters, register voters, and protest against racism and segregation. Many were assaulted by townspeople and policemen--and many were murdered.

Lunch Sit-Ins Feb. 1, 1960: Greensboro, N.C.: 4 Black students begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolsworth’s lunch counter. They are refused service, but are allowed to sit at the counter. This even triggered similar nonviolent protests in the South.

University Student James Meredith was the first Black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violence and riots surrounding the incident cause President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Led Montgomery Bus Boycott Became the primary leader of the Civil Rights Movement Preached nonviolent protesting (based partially on Gandhi’s example) In 1963, he gave his famous "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. In 1968, Martin Luther King was killed on the balcony of his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.