THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT Chapter 17; Section 3

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES THE PUSH FOR VOTING RIGHTS In the summer of 1964, student volunteers, both black and white, staged a “Freedom Summer” These students focused on registering African-Americans to vote In Early 1965 a major campaign was organized in Selma, Alabama to pressure the federal government to enact voting rights legislation A series of confrontations took place on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, on the main route from Selma to Montgomery

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES On March 7, 1965, a day that became known as “Bloody Sunday”, heavily armed state troopers and other authorities attacked the marchers as they tried to cross the bridge Page 601 Primary Source President Johnson went on national television and called for a strong federal voting rights law (historically, voting rights had been left to the states) “It is wrong to deny any of your fellow citizens the right to vote. Their cause is our cause too, because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And, we shall overcome”

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress and banned literacy tests and empowered the federal government to oversee voting registration and state elections with a history of discrimination The 24 th Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1964 This amendment banned the poll tax which had been used to keep poor African Americans from voting These laws and decisions had a profound impact particularly in the Deep South where African American participation in politics skyrocketed

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES FRUSTRATION EXPLODES INTO VIOLENCE Less than a week after President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, one of the worst race riots in American history took place in the predominantly African-American neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles Violence, looting and arson spread for several days before National Guard troops restored order Other riots erupted in Newark, New Jersey and Detroit, Michigan. Many people died in these riots and property damage was many millions of dollars

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES In previous race riots whites had used violence to keep African- Americans “in their place” Now blacks were using violence against police and white business owners in black neighborhoods President Johnson established a commission to study the causes of these riots The commission recommended establishing and expanding federal programs aimed at overcoming problems of American’s urban ghettos There was never any follow-up on the findings of the study due to the looming Vietnam War

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES NEW VOICES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS Malcolm X was a radical, outspoken supporter of African American rights While in prison, Malcolm X became a convert to Islam and when released he became one of Islam’s most prominent ministers He eventually denounced Islam and formed his own organization The philosophies of his organization included limiting acceptance of whites In February 1965, Malcolm X was shot and killed Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of the murder

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES Many young African-American’s began to move away from the philosophy of non-violence The idea of “black power” became popular, encouraging African- Americans to use their economic and political power to gain equality Many white Americans felt threatened, believing that black power meant black violence Soon the Black Panthers became the symbol of young militant African Americans The Black Panthers organized armed patrols of urban neighborhoods to protect people from police abuse

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES The Panthers’ style appealed to many young African-Americans Young people started to wear their hair in “Afros”, referred themselves as “black” rather than “Negro” or “colored” Some followed the lead of Malcolm X and changed their names to celebrate their African heritage MARTIN LUTHER KING’S FINAL DAYS MLK understood the anger and frustration of many African- Americans whose lives have changed little despite the civil rights reforms of the 1960’s

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES However, he disagreed with the call for “black power” and looked for non-violent ways to stop economic injustice King made a plan to start a “Poor People’s Campaign” whose goal was to pressure the nation to do more to address the needs of the poor On April 3, 1968, King was in Memphis, Tennessee to offer assistance to sanitation workers who were striking for better wages and working conditions The next morning, as King stood on the balcony outside his motel room, he was shot and died at the hospital shortly after

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES MLK was 39 years old James Earl Ray, a white ex-convict, was later charged with King’s murder Robert F. Kennedy was campaigning for the presidency in Indianapolis when he heard the sad news. He stopped his campaign speech to share the news with the audience He then reminded them how he lost his own brother to an assassins bullet He asked those present to replace anger with an effort to understand with compassion and love Despite his plea, riots broke out in hundreds of cities Two months later, Robert Kennedy’s life too, was cut short by an assassin

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES Page 606 Turbulent Times SIGNIFICANT GAINS AND CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES Thurgood Marshall is the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court Congress passes the Fair Housing Act which bans discrimination in housing President Nixon (who succeed Lyndon Johnson) established a plan of “affirmative action” which called for an increase in African- American representation in schools and the workforce

NEW SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES Affirmative action proved controversial, as some whites argued that it constituted reverse discrimination Justice Thurgood Marshall disagreed: “Three hundred and fifty years ago, the Negro was dragged to this country in chains to be sold into slavery. The position of the Negro today in America is the tragic but inevitable consequence of centuries of unequal treatment” Until the nation addressed this legacy of unequal treatment, it would not fulfill its promise of providing equal rights and opportunities to all