Civil Rights Movement 1950s and 1960s

Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision that segregated schools are unequal and schools must desegregate Supreme Court can reshape American society Virginia Case: Dorothy Davis v School Board of Prince Edward Separate but equal was actually NOT Equal

FARMVILLE, VA Brown v. the Board of Education Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (had said separate but equal was okay)

National & Virginia Response Massive Resistance – closing some schools, riots, etc. (in VA it was led by Senator Harry Byrd) Many school districts in VA and other states closed schools instead of desegregate Establishment of private academies “White flight” from urban school systems

KEY PEOPLE Thurgood Marshall – NAACP Legal Defense Team (would later become the first African-American Chief Justice of the Supreme Court)

Key People continued… Oliver Hill – NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Legal Defense Team in Virginia

NAACP African Americans, working through the court system and mass protest, reshaped public opinion and secured the passage of civil rights legislation 1963 March on Washington – inspired by the “I have a dream” speech given by Martin Luther King Influenced public opinion to support civil rights legislation Demonstrated the power of non-violent, mass protest (PASSIVE RESISTANCE)

MLK Jr.

What event does this picture show? What legislation does this event support?

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The act prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and gender Desegregated public accommodations President Lyndon B. Johnson played an important role in the passage of the act

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Act outlawed literacy tests (previously required for voters) Federal registrars were sent to the South to register voters – many faced violence and discrimination Act resulted in an increase in African American voters Pres. Lyndon Johnson played an important role in the passage of this also

Riots, protests, violence Freedom Riders – two buses of Af-Amer on a ride to challenge segregation across South – brutally attacked in Alabama Rosa Parks – sparked a bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama (381 days) Sit ins – lunch counter protests

Riots, protests, violence cont… SNCC-student non-violent coordinating committee Organized protests & sit ins around country – endured humiliation, beatings, arrests, tear gas, fire hoses Birmingham, AL – 1000 Af-Amer children march- faced with helmeted police, fire hoses, attack dogs – broadcast on TV

Rise of Black Power Malcolm X – controversial leader that initially encouraged black separation from white society but changed to a “ballots or bullets” mentality (head of Nation of Islam or Black Muslims)-assassinated after split with Black Muslims Black Panthers – political party organized to fight police brutality

Malcolm X

MLK Jr. dies Shot while standing on hotel balcony on April 4, 1968 Led to worst urban rioting in US history 100 cities exploded in flames

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