Major Events of the Civil Rights Movement

Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to give up her seat in the colored section to a white man NAACP and black citizens organize a bus boycott Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) emerges as the leader of the movement In 1956 a year after the strike began the Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation

Justice in Montgomery Watch the following video clip and answer the following questions: 1.How was the bus boycott organized? 2.What was the white reaction to the boycott? 3. How long did the boycott last and how many boycotters were there?

MIA-Integrated Bus Suggestions As a class read the suggestions the MLK and Rev Powell sent out to the black community after the desegregation of the buses. How do these instructions fit with MLK’s brand of non-violent resistance, cite specific examples Why do you think MLK chose to combat racism with non-violent tactics?

The Movement Spreads Sympathetic whites join the movement Students organize sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters Freedom Riders rode on segregated interstate buses and occupied segregated waiting rooms Riders were beaten by mobs waiting at the bus stops

Birmingham Alabama 1963 All areas of public life in Birmingham were segregated King was arrested during a protest march While in jail King writes “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in response to white religious leaders who fear he is pushing too hard and ask him to wait. Extract from Letter from a Birmingham Jail

1964 Civil Rights Act (ends segregation) America witnesses children being clubbed, beaten and attacked by the police department These images increase support for the movement and segregation is ended in Birmingham March on Washington & events in Birmingham lead to Civil Rights Act (which is technically 14 th amendment)

Selma & The Voting Rights Act.(technically 15 th amendment) SNCC had been working in the South to register blacks to vote King arrives in Selma Alabama to lead a protest march Violence and mayhem break out, Johnson sends Federal troops for protection 1965 Voting Rights Act (ends literacy test) 24 th Amendment to Constitution- right of all citizens to vote (do not have to pay a poll tax).