Baby Boomers and Civil Rights Movement

Baby Boomers Baby Boom- The sudden increase in births in the United States following World War II People born between 1946 to 1964 are considered baby boomers These baby boomers are now between the ages of 64 and 46 The baby boom contributed to the growth of suburbs

Definitions Civil disobedience-Refusal to obey civil laws in an effort to induce change in governmental policy or legislation, characterized by the use of passive resistance or other nonviolent means. Non-violent resistance-Not passive, but behaving in a non-violent manner when approached or provoked Segregation-to separate people according to race

Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Frederick Douglas Born a slave-successfully escaped at about age 20 Editor of an abolitionist newspaper

On a side note….Are they related??

Harriet Tubman Helped slaves escape through the underground tunnel

John Brown He and his sons murdered 5 slave owners in Kansas in 1858 Tried to incite a slave revolt Was a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad

Amendments 13th-Abolished slavery 14th-guarenteed all citizens equal protection under the law 15th-right to vote regardless of race

Plessy v. Ferguson Plessy v. Ferguson: In June of 1892 Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the “white” car of the East Louisiana Railroad Company after identifying himself as black, in response to Louisiana passing the Separate Car Act Plessy’s case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where his lawyer argued that separate cars violated the 13th and 14th amendments The Plessy v. Ferguson case stated that separate but equal public facilities were constitutional Jim Crow laws were enforced

Dallas Bus Station

Sign in a Texas restaurant

NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Created by W.E.B. Dubois in 1909 Fights for equality

Brown v. Board of Education Seven year old Linda Brown has to travel thru a train switch yard to get to the bus stop to take her to the “black” school, even though there was a “white” school only a few blocks from her house With help from the NAACP, Linda’s father fights the system Landmark case that decided that segregation in public schools is illegal-May 17, 1954

Thurgood Marshall Lawyer who fought for Linda Brown First African American Supreme Court Justice

Little Rock Nine Many states were not following federal laws, so feds were sent in to enforce them In 1957 nine African American students integrate Central High School in Arkansas President Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division

Rosa Parks December 1, 1955-Rosa Parks arrested after refusing to relinquish her seat to a white man On December 5 the Montgomery Bus Boycott begins Boycott continues into 1956 for more than a year-people carpool and walk regardless of weather Supreme Court rules that segregation on Montgomery busses is illegal

Martin Luther King Jr. Southern Baptist minister who promoted non-violent methods of protest Was arrested 38 times in his quest for equality Constant death threats, as well as bomb threats at his home Was assassinated at age 38

MLKJ Violence never solves problems. It only creates new and more complicated ones. If we succumb to the temptation of using violence in our struggle for justice, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and our chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos. --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Facing the Challenge of a New Age"

Sit-Ins People wanting a sandwich or a hamburger popped over to the lunch counter of department stores, drugstores and five-and-dime stores to have a bite Store lunch counters were like fast-food restaurants today African Americans could spend money in those stores but couldn't eat at the stores' lunch counter African American college students and a few of their white peers fought against the city's white power structure and its downtown merchants over the right to sit down and eat lunch A sit-in is a form of civil disobedience in which demonstrators occupy seats and refuse to move

How Sit-Ins worked… The basic plan of the sit-ins was that a group of students would go to a lunch counter and ask to be served If they were, they'd move on to the next lunch counter If they were not, they would not move until they had been If they were arrested or had to leave, a new group would take their place immediately The students always remained nonviolent and respectful

Sit-in movement began in Greensboro, N. C Sit-in movement began in Greensboro, N.C., with these four gentlemen who went to the lunch counter at Woolworths and were refused service…

Sit-In Tactics Dress in your Sunday best. Be respectful to employees and police. Do not resist arrest! Do not fight back! Remember, journalists are everywhere!

In addition to sit-ins… Swim ins (beaches, pools) Kneel ins (churches) Drive ins (at motels) Study-ins (universities)

Marches People marched in protest over many of the issues faced by African Americans Police used dogs to quell civil unrest Fire hoses were turned on young civil rights demonstrators

March on Washington 1963 This was a peaceful demonstration to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans

March on Washington 1963 The event was highlighted by King's "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. August 28, 1963

Bloody Sunday March 7, 1965 Six hundred marchers assemble in Selma, Alabama to march in protest over voting rights of African Americans They were blocked by Alabama State troopers and local police who ordered them to turn around When the protesters refused, the officers shot teargas and waded into the crowd, beating the nonviolent protesters with billy clubs and ultimately hospitalizing over fifty people Bloody Sunday was televised across the nation

Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River en route to Montgomery

Civil Rights Act of 1964 New law that made it illegal for restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and other public places to discriminate against people on the basis of race Other new laws made it illegal to deny equal housing opportunities, and to charge a poll tax or otherwise keep minorities from voting (24th amendment to the U.S. Constitution) Pushed through by Lyndon Baines Johnson

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Prohibits the states and their political subdivisions from imposing voting qualifications or prerequisites to voting, or standards, practices, or procedures that deny or curtail the right of a U.S. citizen to vote because of race, color, or membership in a language minority group Texas minorities finally had the power to elect representatives of their choice

Civil Rights Leaders from Texas…

Dr. Hector P. Garcia Organized the American GI forum-a civil rights organization devoted to securing equal rights for Hispanic Americans Pushed for equal medical care for Hispanic Americans

James Farmer Founder of Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) One of the “Big Four” civil rights leaders in the 1960’s Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998

Henry B. Gonzales First Mexican-American elected to the Texas Legislature in the 20th century Eventually elected to the House of Representatives

Barbara Jordan First African American state senator Elected President Pro Tempore of Senate in 1972 Gave keynote address to Democratic convention in 1976 and 1992