Civil Rights Movement Chapter 25

Segregation in North & South World War II, African American soldiers were in segregated fighting units African American veterans did not have an equal chance to participate in the improving economy African Americans faced discrimination in jobs, housing and education Both in the North and the South

Segregation in North & South Jim Crow Laws Laws unfair to African Americans Segregated (separated) the races 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson Said “separate but equal” treatment of African Americans was legal and constitutional Northern US Most African Americans lived in poor city neighborhoods Hard time finding good jobs Children went to segregated schools

Integrating the Armed Forces After World War II, Many white Americans began disagreeing with unequal treatment of African Americans Civil rights leaders spoke out against segregation in the armed forces They pushed for the military to integrate 1948, President Truman signed an executive order The armed forces must open all jobs to African Americans 1954, Defense Department announced No longer any African American units in the armed forces – all units would be integrated

Integrating Sports & Entertainment 1940s, major league baseball had a color barrier no teams allowed African Americans 1947, Jackie Robinson signed on with Brooklyn Dodgers At first, he was treated badly by fans Helped them become a winning team

Integrating Sports & Entertainment 1962, Robinson became first African American elected to Baseball Hall of Fame Late 1940s and early 1950s, African Americans won small victories However, few laws were changed that allowed discrimination against them

Unequal Schools Southern states sent African American children and white children to different schools Southern lawmakers said the schools were equal – however, they were not equal The white schools had much better classrooms, teachers, books Many African American children had to walk miles to their schools and their classes were overcrowded

“Separate but Equal” Schools Online book, page 701

Parents Fight for Equal Schools Since 1935, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had been working to end segregation In 1950, Oliver Brown, the father of an African American student, Linda Brown, went to the NAACP for help to enroll his daughter into a white school closer to their home

Parents Fight for Equal Schools Mr. Brown decided to sue the Topeka Board of Education and take them to court The court ruled against Brown and the NAACP and said that the Supreme Court had ruled that separate but equal schools were legal.

Parents Fight for Equal Schools Brown and the NAACP decided to appeal the case to the Supreme Court and other African American parents joined the fight Thurgood Marshall, the lawyer who argued the case for the African American parents and the NAACP, said that the idea of “separate but equal” was impossible.

Victory in the Supreme Court In May 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education Topeaka decision said that in public schools “separate but equal” has no place The Supreme Court said that public schools must desegregate or end the separation of races.

Problems at Little Rock After the Supreme Court ordered all schools to desegregate, some political leaders and other citizens tried to stop desegregation In 1957, a court in Little Rock, Arkansas decided to integrate an all-white school called Central High School Orval Faubus, the governor of Arkansas, did not want the schools to integrate and he called out the National Guard to stop it

Problems at Little Rock Nine African American students, known as the Little Rock Nine tried to enter Central High School but were stopped by the National Guardsmen Photographs of crowds yelling at the nine African American students appeared in newspapers around the country

Federal Government Sends Help President Eisenhower was upset by the news from Little Rock and he sent U.S. troops to protect the students Armed troops had to take the nine African American students to classes for several weeks because some white students were treating them so badly

Federal Government Sends Help As the 1950s ended, many schools in the south began to desegregate and Americans knew the federal government stood behind the right of African Americans to an equal education

Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. The Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that African Americans would boycott the buses until their demands were met

Montgomery Bus Boycott The Montgomery bus boycott lasted for more than a year and finally the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on Alabama buses was illegal

Sit-ins Across the South After the Montgomery bus boycott, people began to believe that non-violent protests against restaurants, movie theaters and other segregated places could bring down segregation A sit-in is a non-violent protest in which people sit down and refuse to get up. Hundreds of these took place across the south

Sit-ins Across the South By 1961, more than 70,000 African Americans and white students had taken part in sit-ins; lunch counters and other segregated places had almost disappeared in the south

Freedom Riders In 1961, African Americans and white protesters who wanted end segregation on interstate buses were called Freedom Riders The Freedom Riders broke segregation rules in restaurants, waiting rooms and rest rooms in bus stations. This kind of protest is called civil disobedience The Freedom Riders faced violence but eventually the U.S. government made tougher rules against segregation on interstate buses

Protests in Birmingham Dr. Martin Luther King and other leaders organized sit-ins and other protests across Birmingham, Alabama It was one of the most racist cities in US Dr. King wrote a famous letter called Letter from Birmingham Jail, after he was arrested and put in jail

Birmingham Protests In May, 1963, 25,000 protesters marched into Birmingham and were attacked by police and firefighters with dogs and high-powered fire hoses Protesters included many women & children Pictures of the violence appeared on television and shocked many Americans – especially the violence against children Birmingham buses finally agreed to desegregate and to hire more African Americans

March on Washington In 1963, civil rights leaders planned a march to urge Congress to pass a civil rights bill On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous speech called the “I Have a Dream” speech The Civil Rights Act protected the right of all citizens to vote, made segregation in public places illegal and made discrimination illegal Even though laws had been passed giving African Americans the right to vote, the laws could not be carried out in the South

Action for Voting Rights The summer of 1964 became known as Freedom Summer Volunteers headed to the South to register African Americans to vote Three young volunteers were arrested in Mississippi and later were found shot to death The Ku Klux Klan attacked civil rights volunteers and many churches and houses were destroyed. However, by the end of the summer of 1964, more than 170,000 African Americans had registered to vote

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 said that states could not prevent African Americans from registering to vote By the end of the year, more than 2.5 million African Americans were registered to vote