Civil Rights Movement SSUSH22: The student will identify dimensions of the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1970. Explain the importance of Presidents Truman’s order to integrate the U.S. military & the federal government Identify Jackie Robinson & the integration of baseball Explain Brown v. Board of Education & efforts to resist the decision. Describe the significance of Martin Luther King, Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail & his I Have a Dream Speech Describe the causes and consequences of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 & the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Integration of Major League Baseball After WWII, people fought to end segregation It began in the most popular sport of the time 1947- Jackie Robinson First African American to play for a major league baseball team Brooklyn Dodgers Signed Robinson; rookie of the year in 1947 He was the most valuable player in 1949 Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962

Integration of the U.S. military July 1948: Truman issued executive order 9981 Banning racial discrimination in the military No longer would there be separate units in the military Korean War was the first time white troops & African American troops fought along side each other

Brown vs. Board of Education Declared the “Separate but Equal” law unconstitutional & denied African American students their right to the 14th Amendment Reversed the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson Governor of Arkansas tried to keep students from attending Central High School in Little Rock– become known as the Little Rock Nine President Eisenhower is forced to send Federal troops to enforce the integration

Martin Luther King, Jr. Led the Montgomery Bus Boycott—it was a success Began the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) An alliance of church-based African American organizations dedicated to ending discrimination Pledged to use nonviolent resistance King called it confronting “the forces of hate with the power of love”

Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolent protestors began to focus on Birmingham, AL SCLC began a series of boycotts, marches, & sit-ins to protest the segregation laws of the city Hundreds of participants; many were jailed; the number of protestors willing to go to jail started to decline SCLC then started to use school children 1,000 youth marched in the streets; 600 of those were arrested Protesters started the next day & were met with dogs, fire hoses, & nightsticks Public support increased when these attacks appeared in newspapers & on TV

Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. King wrote this while confined to jail in 1963 This was written to local religious leaders who urged him to slow down his protests; published in the newspapers & offered a response to critics who questioned the need for protests Very effective in getting President Kennedy to take a stand on civil rights

I Have a Dream 1963; to build more support for the civil rights movement; African American leaders organized a March on Washington More than 200,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial A. Philip Randolph spoke & Dr. King gave the final speech

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Success of the march was short-lived September of 1963-4 young girls were killed when a bomb exploded in a Birmingham church November of 1963-President Kennedy was assassinated Lyndon Johnson supported a new civil rights bill It was passed in 1964 Banned the discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin Outlawed discrimination in public accommodations & gave the Justice Department the authority to bring lawsuits to enforce school desegregation

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Activists also focused on voting rights for African Americans Their focus was Mississippi; where only 5% of the African American population was registered to vote Violence soon erupted where officials were trying to register voters Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) workers were arrested & attacked by protestors

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Violence worried many Af-Am, who refused to register to vote SNCC used a new strategy; use white volunteers Twenty-fourth Amendment was passed (1964) Banned the payment of poll taxes Freedom Summer began in 1964; white volunteers when to Mississippi to register voters In June the bodies of some of these volunteers were discovered These murders shocked Americans; volunteers continued to try to register voters

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Civil rights workers began a campaign in Selma, AL Protest march from Selma to Montgomery; some 600 people began the 54 mile walk; were attacked by the police Thousands of Americans began to show their support President Johnson was also shocked by “Bloody Sunday” & urged the passage of a voting rights bill

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Protestors, with the protection of the National Guard completed their march Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed 5 months later Put the entire registration process under federal control Federal examiners came to the South to sign up new African American voters