1. Civil Rights Movement
1950s-Present

2. The 1950s Civil rights movement began
Ike showed little interest, but Supreme Court Justice Warren led court in Brown v. Board of Education decision
Segregation overturned in public recreational facilities, transportation, and housing
“Urban renewal”- wanted to keep money in cities after whites had moved to suburbs
Denied both vote and education

3. Events of the 1950s 1948: Desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces
1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
1955: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
1957: School Desegregation Battle in Little Rock, Arkansas and Southern Christian Leadership Conference Founded (SCLC)

4. The 1960s
JFK needed southern support, reluctant to pass civil rights legislation
After violent treatment of protesters in Birmingham, forced to propose sweeping civil rights legislation
LBJ got Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed- barred discrimination in public accomodations and employment on basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin
Freedom Summer (1964)- Tried to register black voters

5. Kennedy and Civil Rights
Civil rights groups sent thousands of pens to to the White House in an “Ink for Jack” protest against the president’s slowness
Needed support of south to pass economic and social legislation, believed that these measures would eventually benefit African-Americans
Washington dispatched federal marshals to protect the Freedom Riders when southern officials refused to do so
Sent 400 federal marshals and 3,000 troops to enroll James Meredith at University of Mississippi

6. King and Civil Rights
1963: Civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama horrified public when they saw violence on television- civil rights marchers repeatedly repelled by police with attack dogs, electric cattle prods, high-pressure water hoses
“March on Washington” showed support for Kennedy’s proposed legislation
Helped 1/3 of blacks rise above the poverty line

7. Johnson and Civil Rights
Passed landmark Civil Rights Act of banned racial discrimination in many public places, strengthened the federal government’s power to end segregation, created Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
War on Poverty helped black population- over 40% suffered in poverty
More schools integrated in the South than in the North

8. The Black Revolution
24th Amendment abolished poll tax, which was used in South to prevent voting by blacks
1964: three civil rights workers murdered, but white juries refused to convict whites
LBJ passed Voting Rights Act of 1965 in response to violence at Selma
In 1970s, for first time, black migrated to South

9. …Black Power…
Watts explosion in Los Angeles began new era of militant confrontation, aimed not at interracial cooperation but at black separatism
Malcolm X called for black separatism, killed by rival Nation of Islam gunmen
Carmichael, leader of Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee urge abandonment of peaceful demonstrations and instead promoted “Black Power”
In North, focused more on economic demands rather than civil rights

10. Events of the 1960s 1960: Sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina
1961: Freedom Rides
1963: Civil Rights Protest in Birmingham, Alabama, March on Washington
1964: Freedom Summer, Civil Rights Act

11. More Events of the 1960s
1965: Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Voting Rights At, Malcolm X assassinated
1966: Stokely Carmichael Proclaims Black Power
1967: Race Riots in Detroit and Newark
1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated

12. 1970s-Present
Nation of Islam argued against integration into white society and emphasized black pride
“Black Power”- militant organization Black Panthers rises
Waves of riot led to diminished white support
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders called to investigate riots
Affirmative action branded “reverse discrimination”, as seen in Bakke v. University of California

13. Events of the 1970s
1971: Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Institutes Busing Programs
1974: Busing Controversy in Boston
1978: Bakke v. University of California Limits Affirmative Action

14. Today Has desegregation worked?
Though segregation may have diminished, racism remains
Native-Americans and Chicanos adopted the strategies of African-Americans to fight discrimination
Large disadvantaged urban city population still remains