■Essential Question: –What were the significant individuals & accomplishments of the Civil Rights movement? ■Warm-Up Question ■Warm-Up Question: –Let’s review your charts from Friday (Domestic & foreign policies of the 1950s & 1960s)

The Civil Rights Movement (25min)

Highlights: Highlights: The Civil Rights Movement

The Struggle Over Civil Rights ■The fight against Communist tyranny abroad made discrimination towards African- Americans at home more obvious –Blacks in the West & North had low-paying jobs & faced segregated neighborhoods –The Deep South was a totally segregated society due to Jim Crow laws Separate waiting rooms Separate & inferior schools Separate seats on trains & buses Separate water fountains Separate phone booths Separate hospitals

Civil Rights as a Political Issue ■Truman was the 1 st president to attempt to end any racial discrimination –Created a new commission on civil rights in 1946 –Called for an end to lynching –Truman’s lasting legacy was the desegregation of the armed forces Led to rise of the Dixiecrats in the 1948 election

Desegregating the Schools ■Schools became the primary target of early civil rights advocates: –The NAACP 1 st targeted unfair university graduate admissions –Thurgood Marshall attacked segregation in public schools & the Plessy v Ferguson as a violation of the 14 th Amendment Even “equal” schools, if separate, inflict profound psychological damage to black children

Desegregating the Schools Brown v Board of Education ■The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Brown v Board of Education (1954) ruled “separate facilities are inherently unequal” –Called for desegregation at “deliberate speed” by states –Border states complied quickly but the Deep South resisted— by 1960 less than 1% of blacks attended school with whites But…Pupil Placement Laws allowed for separate schools based on “aptitude” & “morality”

Desegregating the Schools ■Eisenhower’s silence on Brown sent a false message that he supported segregation –In 1957, Arkansas governor called the Nat’l Guard to prevent blacks to enter Central High –Ike sent in the army to force integration for the “Little Rock 9”

Little Rock’s Central High School Governor Orval Faubus

The Beginnings of Black Activism ■Instead of waiting for the gov’t to help, blacks pressed the issue ■Montgomery Bus Boycott ■Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) began after the Rosa Parks arrest –Effective carpool system forced buses to stop segregation –Supreme Court ruled AL bus segregation unconstitutional –This success led to the rise of MLK as a civil rights leader

Montgomery Bus Boycott ■Rosa Parks arrest ■Carpool system

The Beginnings of Black Activism Southern Christian Leadership Conference ■MLK’s popularity led to the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to direct attack on segregation: –MLK’s passionate oration inspired blacks to support cause –Passive resistance & appeal to Christian love were the basis of these resistance efforts “If cursed, do not curse back. If struck, do not strike back, but evidence love and goodwill at all times” “We will match your capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. We will not hate you, but we will not obey your evil laws. We will wear you down by pure capacity to suffer.”

The Beginnings of Black Activism ■In 1960, students from NC A&T led a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, NC: –Inspired similar sit-ins, wade-ins, & kneel-ins across the South –Led to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ■SCLC & SNCC soon surpassed the NAACP for leadership of the civil rights movement Nonviolent Protest Legal Action

Greensboro Sit-in ■NC A&T Woolwoth’s sit-in in 1960 Tougaloo Sit-in

Moving Slowly on Civil Rights ■JFK campaigned for civil rights, but his fear of alienating southern Democrats forced a retreat: –JFK deferred to Congress & sent his brother, Attorney Gen RFK, to help blacks in the South –The Justice Dept helped with voting rights lawsuits, but the FBI could not protect civil rights activists in the South

Moving Slowly on Civil Rights ■Civil Rights leaders refused to wait for JFK: freedom ride –Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) led a freedom ride to protest segregated buses –Activists attempted to break a ban on black enrollment at Ole Miss & University of Alabama

University of Alabama students burn desegregation notice Alabama Governor George Wallace blocks black students’ entrance into University of Alabama

"I Have a Dream" ■MLK forced JFK to openly support the blight of African-Americans: –In 1963, MLK led marches in Birmingham, AL –Police commissioner “Bull” Conner used brutal force to end the protests & MLK was jailed –Police brutality helped sway public sentiment & allowed JFK to begin civil rights legislation

"I Have a Dream" ■In Aug 1963, 20,000 protesters joined in March on Washington ■Unlike his predecessors, JFK did provide leadership for civil rights but waited until public opinion changed to make it a reality

Civil Rights under LBJ Civil Rights Act of 1964 ■The Civil Rights Act of 1964 –Declared segregation in public facilities illegal –Protected black voting rights Voting Rights Act (1965) ■After the Selma, AL march to protest voting restrictions, LBJ asked for Voting Rights Act (1965) –Banned literacy tests –Provided for federal registrars

Black Voter Registration in South Blacks became a voting force in Southern politics for the 1st time since Reconstruction