Civil Rights II Civil Disobedience

African Americans in 1960: Health Education Work Life expectancy 7 years shorter than white Americans Education ½ the chance of completing high school 1/3 the chance of completing college Work ½ the yearly income Twice the unemployment

African Americans in 1960: Segregation persists: Voting: 1 percent of Blacks in desegregated schools Voting: ¼ of Blacks eligible to vote in the South

Activism: A Call for Equality “We can’t wait any longer. Now is the Time.” MLK “We Shall Overcome.”

Civil Disobedience: Civil Disobedience: Non-violent resistance or refusal to obey certain laws

1. If you were the man in the middle, how would you react to having smoke blown into your face?

Church: Churches used to organize activism and resistance Moral high ground

Martin Luther King Jr: Racial Equality Charismatic leader, fantastic speaker, and great organizer

United States Presidents: John F. Kennedy: Slow to act Media coverage, shocks Kennedy into action. Lyndon B. Johnson: Pushes civil rights acts through congress “Great Society” equal education and job opportunities

Accomplishments: Civil Right Act of 1964 discrimination in public places illegal equal employment enforcement 24th Amendment: Bars a poll tax in federal elections. Voting Rights Act of 1965 Prohibits literacy tests Federal employees sent to South to register Black voters Outcome: 450,000 Southern Blacks register to vote in 1965

The Cost: Police brutality (Birmingham, Orangeville, Selma) Violence, Vandalism, Murder, Terror: Countless Incidents Police brutality (Birmingham, Orangeville, Selma) Billy clubs, tear gas, dogs, high pressure fire hoses Vandalism: “Bombing ham” Murders

Martyr for the Movement: Medgar Evers, NAACP, Mississippi. Fought for desegregated schools, voting rights, and the end of discrimination. Numerous threats on his life.  Assassinated in 1963 Murderer not imprisoned until 1994, despite a murder weapon and a lot of evidence. Following his death, hundreds of demonstrators marched in protest.

Martyr for the Movement: Viola Luizzo: NAACP, mother of five Selma-Montgomery march Seen driving in a car with a black man KKK members (One was an FBI agent) followed Luizzo and shot her the three members of the Ku Klux Klan walk free President Johnson reopens the case.

Martyrs for the Movement: 16th Street Baptist Church: September 15th, 1963 Sunday morning bombing Carried out by KKK Four young girls killed Murderous act shocked the nation