Civil Rights Gains Ground

Protests in the South in the 1950’s and 1960’s were met by violence, but eventually resulted in change – Freedom Riders took buses from the cities of the North into the deep South to bring attention to the plight of African Americans there Met with violence by white protesters Gained national attention and, eventually, the support of the US Government – Federal Marshalls protected an African American Air Force veteran when he attempted to attend Ole Miss The riots that followed took thousands of soldiers to put down – In Birmingham, nonviolent protesters were met by police with fire hoses, attack dogs, and clubs

Protest Song Guiding Question: How did participants in the Civil Rights movement feel about the future? Analyze the protest song on the following slide

In 1963, the focus of the Civil Rights movement shifted to Washington, D. C. – Kennedy spoke publicly in favor of the Civil Rights movement – On August 28, 1963, Civil Rights leaders organize a March on Washington to demand passage of a Civil Rights bill Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered what is one of the most famous speeches in American history, his “I Have a Dream” speech

Speech Guiding Question: How did participants in the Civil Rights movement feel about the future? Analyze the excerpt from the “I Have a Dream” speech on page 920

In 1964 and 1965, African Americans finally see progress in fighting for voting rights – In the summer of 1964, thousands of college students went to the South to help register voters Many were met with violence, some were murdered – LBJ pushed through the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Outlawed literacy tests and allowed federal workers to enroll voters

Bloody Sunday in Selma