Civil Rights Movement Pt 2 Major Events

Events Montgomery Bus Boycott- 1955; Rosa Parks refused to give up seat to white passenger on a segregated bus; arrested Af Ams started boycott against city buses to end segregation Martin Luther King- helped lead boycott President of SCLC- Southern Christian Leadership Conference Advocated non-violent protesting to gain attention and rights Lasted a year; successful; city agreed to desegregate busses Sit-Ins- non-violent protests (1957-1960) College students sat at segregated lunch counters in protest; many arrested; faced violent reactions Would have more students to take place of those arrested Also boycotts of businesses that discriminated

Events Freedom Rides-1961; series of bus tours To see if “separate but equal” was true in interstate travel Black and white college students rode buses through south Attacked several times; fire-bombed Organized by CORE- Congress of Racial Equality Desegregation of the University of Mississippi- 1961 James Meredith tried to enroll, denied twice Court order said they had to enroll him; sent US Marshals to protect him Campus rioted, 2 were killed; army sent to restore order Desegregation of University of Alabama- 1963 Gov. George Wallace tried to block black students Forrest Gump scene

Events Birmingham Protests-1963- site of several protests Thousands arrested, including MLK Wrote famous Letter from Birmingham Jail Encouraged civil-disobedience through non-violence Civil disobedience = purposefully disobeying laws; usually peacefully 16th Street Baptist Church- bombed by white supremacists Killed 4 young girls; led to support for Civil Rights Media coverage showed marchers being hosed by firefighters, beaten by police, attacked by dogs; bombings Convinced JFK to pass stronger Civil Rights Act Hurt image of US- Soviets could use for propaganda

Events March on DC- 1963; over 200,000 gathered in DC to protest Wanted a civil rights bill Where MLK delivered “I Have A Dream” speech Freedom Summer- Summer of 1964 100s of volunteers (white and black) traveled rural areas of Miss. to register black voters Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) 1960; helped register voters; used sit-ins; March on Washington 3 volunteers (two white, one black) disappeared Discovered bodies in local dam; had been tortured and shot by law enforcement

Freedom Summer Effects Over the course of the ten-week project: 4 civil rights workers were killed (one in a head-on collision) 3 Mississippi blacks were murdered because of their support for the civil rights movement 4 people were critically wounded 80 Freedom Summer workers were beaten 1,062 people were arrested (volunteers and locals) 37 churches were bombed or burned 30 Black homes or businesses were bombed or burned 1964- only 6.7% of Mississippi's voting-age blacks were registered to vote, 16.3% below the national average 1969- 66.5% were registered to vote, 5.5% above the national average

Events March from Selma to Montgomery (1965) 50 mile walk Tried 3 times Used to bring attention to lack of voting rights Also to show police brutality Protest murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson- black man killed by state trooper; tried for 4 years to register to vote; never could First march stopped when Alabama state troopers attacked marchers; called “Bloody Sunday” Second March forced to turn around 3rd attempt was successful MLK helped lead march Protected by federal troops, FBI agents, federal marshals

Diversity of the Movement Racial diversity- mainly black, but support from white people Religious diversity-Christian churches, Catholic, Jewish Class diversity- mainly middle class, but poor people also Regional diversity- all over; both supporting and protesting segregation