1. Triumphs of the Movement in the 1960s
Chapter 21 Section 2 Notes
Triumphs of the Movement in the 1960s

2. Bus Desegregation Challenged
White leaders in South ignore Supreme Court
1956 (Montgomery – Rosa Parks/MLK)
Nat. Govt. doing very little about it
Civil Rights leaders want media attention

3. Freedom Riders
Group of black and white activists that sat together on buses throughout the South
Encountered a lot of violence
no police help at 1st (even arrested)
Got a lot of media attention
Forced Nat. Govt. to act
Used Fed. Marshals to forcibly integrate interstate travel facilities
Buses, lunch counters, restrooms

4. Desegregating Southern Colleges
By early 1960s, K-12 schools were integrated
Not colleges though

5. University of Mississippi
all white up to 1962
James Meredith = Black Air Force Veteran
Won lawsuit to go to school there
JFK had Fed. Marshals escort him for a yr.
Shot 4 yrs later on Civil Rights march

6. University of Alabama all white up to 1963
George Wallace = Alabama Governor
tried to prevent blacks from attending
Fed. Marshals sent there too.
James Hood & Vivian Malone were the 1st to register for classes

7. Desegregating an Entire Southern City
Occurs in Birmingham, Alabama (April & May 1963)
MLK Jr. led peaceful demonstrations
Arrested and jailed for 11 days (wrote famous letter… in all newspapers)
1,000 black children marched afterwards
Almost all arrested peacefully
Released to parents later that day
3 more “Children’s Crusades” occurred in a row
law enforcement reacted more aggressively
Fire Hoses, Dogs, Violence, etc…
all captured by TV cameras
JFK threatens sending in the army to contain the police… not the marchers!
City finally agrees to end ALL segregation

9. Aftermath of Birmingham
Inspired other communities to have similar demonstrations
Led to March on Washington DC. (Aug 1963)
About 250,000 people (most black)
gets a lot of media attention
MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
Inspired JFK to write framework for new Civil Rights law
died about 8 months before it took affect

11. Civil Rights Act of 1964 (July)
Outlawed discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, and religion
Most important Civil Rights legislation in history

12. African – American Voting Progress

13. 24th Amendment (Jan 1964)
Eliminated having to pay a fee to vote (poll taxes)
Had targeted low income people
Mainly blacks

14. Freedom Summer (1964)
Group of mostly college students that attempt to legally register black citizens in Mississippi
Only 5% of Blacks registered before
Met with violence.
3 volunteers killed, others beaten
Nationwide TV coverage

15. Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Formed so blacks could have a say in politics in that state
The major parties didn’t allow blacks to run for office
Fannie Lou Hamer
Spoke at the national convention on behalf of blacks
Talked about her struggle registering to vote
A lot of media attention

16. The Selma Campaign (Mar. 1965)
Marches led by MLK Jr.
To protest voting injustices in Alabama
1st 2 met with a lot of violence and arrests
Media captured it (Bloody Sunday)
3rd March (much larger, 25,000 people) occurred with Fed. Govt. protection
Also covered by media.
Took 5 days to do (53 miles total)
Fed. Govt. pressured to make sure blacks can vote from here on out…

19. Voting Rights Act of 1965
Eliminated having to pass a literacy test to vote
Allowed National Govt. to Register blacks
Previously had to go through Racist local officials
or put volunteers in harms way.
End Result: # of Registered black voters tripled