After the Civil War, several policies prevented blacks for gaining equality. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment provided for equality for all citizens. The 15th Amendment gave black males the right to vote. But….

Black Codes restricted blacks from meeting together, traveling, or mixing socially with whites. The Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate was equal. This made Jim Crow laws constitutional (legal). Literacy tests, poll taxes, and terrorism by the KKK, prevented blacks from voting.

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that separate was not equal. Brown v In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that separate was not equal. Brown v. Board was a landmark Supreme Court case that required schools to desegregate. This case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.

In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus. She was arrested. The black citizens in Montgomery took direct action. They organized a boycott. They refused to ride the bus for approximately one year. This is an example of using economic power to force change. Eventually the buses were required to allow blacks to sit where they wanted. Direct action was successful.

The Little Rock 9 - a group of 9 black students integrated Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas. Federal troops had to be called in to protect the students. They were still harassed and one of the black students had acid thrown in her face. Her vision was affected.

Some college students from the North and the South organized Freedom Summer. During Freedom Summer black college students and white students from the North organized a direct action campaign to register black voters in the South. In addition, they offered summer school classes for black children. Three students involved in Freedom Summer were killed by the KKK. Their bodies were found several weeks later in an earthen dam in Philadelphia Mississippi. A voter’s registration drive is an example of direct action.

Fannie Lou Hamer and Bob Moses were civil rights leaders who participated in Freedom Summer. Fannie Lou Hamer was arrested on false charges and almost beaten to death by the police. The beating did not shake her resolve to gain equal rights. She saw the civil rights movement as a spiritual journey and sang songs and hymns to lift everyone’s spirit.

Two important civil rights groups were the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The leader for the SCLC was Reverend Martin Luther King The leader for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was Stokely Carmichael. These organizations engaged in nonviolent direct action campaigns like marches, sit-ins and boycotts. Eventually Stokely Carmichael rejected nonviolence and subscribed to the more radical “by any means necessary” approach to civil rights.

In August of 1963, MLK organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was at this event where MLK delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech.

After many direct action campaigns, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, gender, religion or national origin. It also ended segregation in public places The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended literacy tests for voting qualifications and placed voter registration under federal supervision. These were two of the main accomplishments of the civil rights movement.

The modern civil rights movement used a variety of strategies that were generally based on - Direct Action - Civil Disobedience - Legal Challenges (going through the court system) (Brown v. Board) - Collective Action and Nonviolence. These strategies were successful but slow. They allowed people to see the civil rights activists had the moral high ground. The people who opposed civil rights used violence and terrorism to maintain the status quo. Some black leaders grew impatient with this process.

Malcolm X is sometimes associated with the phrase - “By Any Means Necessary” He rejected the idea that nonviolence would bring change. He called for blacks to fight back. At first he called for separatism. Later his ideas changed and he agreed that all races needed to work together for change.

The Black Panthers: - organized by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton - called for land, bread, housing, education, justice, and peace - carried weapons - monitored police activities in black neighborhoods - called for Black Power