Taking on Segregation Chapter 21, Section 1 Notes

Objectives Explain how legalized segregation deprived African Americans of their rights as citizens Summarize civil rights legal activity and the response to the Plessy and Brown cases Trace MLK, Jr’s civil rights activities, beginning with the Montgomery Bus Boycott Describe the expansion of the civil rights movement

Main Idea and Terms/Names Activism and a series of Supreme Court decisions advanced equal rights for African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s Thurgood Marshall Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Rosa Parks Martin Luther King, Jr. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Sit-in

The Segregation System Civil Rights Act of 1875 Outlawed segregation Supreme Court overturned it in 1883 Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” did not violate the 14th amendment (equal treatment) Allowed Southern states to pass Jim Crow laws (separating the races) Allowed restrictions on inter-race contact

Civil Rights Movement WW2 set the stage for the civil rights movement Opened new job opportunities One million African Americans served Came home and fought to end discrimination During the war, civil rights organizations fought for voting rights and challenged Jim Crow laws

Challenging Segregation in Court Campaign led by the NAACP Focused on inequality between separate schools that states provided Thurgood Marshall argued many of these cases Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Marshall’s most stunning victory Supreme Court struck down segregation in public schools as a violation of 14th amendment To be implemented “with all deliberate speed”

Reaction to Brown Official reaction was mixed Within a year, 500 school districts had desegregated Some areas resisted Reappearance of KKK Governor of Georgia – “Georgia will not comply”!

Crisis in Little Rock State had been planning for desegregation Governor Faubus ordered the National Guard to turn away the “Little Rock Nine” the 9 African American students who would integrate Little Rock Central High A Federal judge ordered Faubus to let the students attend the school Eisenhower placed the National Guard under federal control to watch the 9 attend school A year later, Faubus shut down the high school

Montgomery Bus Boycott African Americans were impatient with the slow speed of change Took direct action 1955 – Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and was arrested JoAnn Robinson suggested a boycott of the buses Leaders of the African American community formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Elected 26 yr old Martin Luther King to lead

Montgomery Bus Boycott Dr. King made a passionate speech and filled the audience with a sense of mission African Americans boycotted the buses for 381 days and filed a lawsuit Organized car pools Walked long distances 1956 – Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation

Martin Luther King, Jr. MLK called his nonviolent resistance “soul force” Influences Jesus – love one’s enemies Henry David Thoreau – concept of civil disobedience (refusal to obey an unjust law) A. Philip Randolph – massive demonstrations Gandhi – non violent resistance

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) SCLC founded in 1957 by MLK and other civil rights leaders Purpose – carry on nonviolent crusades against discrimination Used protests and demonstrations Helped organize a student protest group (SNCC) – Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Challenge the system!

Movement Spreads Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) staged the first sit-in in 1942 African Americans would sit at segregated lunch counters and refuse to leave until they were served 1960 – students in North Carolina staged a sit-in at a lunch counter Television crews covered the protest African Americans were non-violent, but white resistance was not Movement spread across nation (sit-ins in 48 cities)