1. Unit 10: The Civil Rights Movement
5.9.18

2. Freedom Rides
1961

3. Freedom Rides
May 4, 1961
13 activists recruited by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), both black & white
Washington, D.C. – the South
Attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way
Black Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters, and vice versa

4. Freedom Rides

5. Freedom Rides Violence from white protestors along route
international attention to cause

6. Freedom Rides May-Sept: 100s of Freedom Riders did same thing
September 1961: Interstate Commerce Commission prohibited segregation in bus & train stations nationwide

7. Birmingham March
1963

8. King organizes in Birmingham, AL
MLK decided to focus on Birmingham, one of the most segregated cities
Closed its parks, pools, & golf courses rather than integrate them

9. Birmingham In 1963, people began to march demanding desegregation
Arrested for marching without a permit
On May 2 & 3, 1000 Birmingham middle & HS students marched for equal rights
“The Children’s Crusade”

10. Birmingham Police chief “Bull” Connor
Arrested so many marchers that the jails could not hold any more
Unleashed police dogs & sprayed the children with fire hoses with 700 lbs. of pressure

11. The Images

17. Responses
How do you think people around the country would have responded to seeing these images?

18. Responses to MLK
8 white Alabama clergymen wrote public letter about Marches in Birmingham - "A Call for Unity"
Agreed social injustices existed, but argued that the battle should be fought in the courts, not in the streets
Called King an “outsider” who was causing trouble on the streets of Birmingham

19. Letter from Birmingham Jail
MLK was arrested for marching in Birmingham
While in jail, he wrote a letter to the ministers of Birmingham who called him an “outsider”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

20. Effects of Marches in Birmingham
People were horrified by images of violence in Birmingham
Kennedy administration intervened & pushed businesses to negotiate
After tense negotiations, signs mandating segregation came down
Civil Rights Movement had gained an important victory

21. 16th St. Baptist Church
Meeting place for Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Man placed a box under steps of the church
10:22am: bomb exploded, killing 4 children who were attending Sunday School

22. Violence in Birmingham
Birmingham proved resistant to change & violent
Bombings
1st an integrated motel
Then MLK’s brother’s home was destroyed
Shootings
NAACP field rep. Medgar Evers shot in the back
16-year-old shot from behind by police
13-year-old shot while riding his bicycle

23. March on Washington
1963

24. A. Philip Randolph 1941 - A. Philip Randolph planned a March on DC
Forced FDR to desegregate arms manufacturing
Civil Rights Movement gaining force
Marches, sit-ins, violence in response
A. Philip Randolph began planning a new March on Washington

25. March on Washington August 28, 1963 More than 200,000 demonstrators
One of the largest peaceful demonstrations of the Civil Rights Movement

26. Goals Comprehensive Civil Rights Bill
Desegregation of public facilities
Voting protections
Desegregation of schools in 1963
Jobs program
Federal ban on discrimination of employment

34. John Lewis
23 years old
Chairman of SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee)
Wrote one of the major speeches of the march
Other leaders asked him to modify it to make it less inflammatory
He did, but the second version was still more radical than other speeches at the March

35. MLK Speech: http://www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php

36. Civil Rights Act of 1964 First proposed by JFK, June 1963
Survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress
Signed into law by Johnson, July 1964

37. Civil Rights Act of 1964 Ended segregation in public places
Banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin
Considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement

38. Selma
1965

39. Selma, Alabama
Efforts to register black voters met with fierce resistance in southern states
Early 1965: MLK decided to make Selma, AL focus of a black voter registration drive

40. Selma, Alabama
Governor George Wallace was a notorious opponent of desegregation, & local county sheriff had led opposition to black voter registration drives
Only 2% of Selma’s eligible black voters (about 300 out of 15,000) had managed to register to vote

41. Selma, Alabama
February 18: white segregationists attack group of peaceful protestors in Marion
State trooper fatally shot Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young black demonstrator
March from Selma to Montgomery (54 mi)
600 people, including John Lewis , left Selma on Sunday, March 7

42. Selma, Alabama
State troopers wielding whips, nightsticks & tear gas rushed the group at the Edmund Pettis Bridge & beat them
Brutal scene was captured on TV, enraging many Americans & drawing civil rights & religious leaders of all faiths to Selma in protest

44. Selma, Alabama
March 9: MLK led 2,000+ black & white marchers from Selma to Montgomery again
Took them 3 tries, made it to Montgomery on March 25

45. Selma, Alabama
March 15: President Johnson went on national TV to pledge his support to the protesters & call for passage of a new voting rights bill
“There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem,” Johnson said, “…Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is not just Negros, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.”

46. Voting Rights Act of 1965 Banned literacy tests
Provided federal oversight of voter registration (where <50% of non-white population had not registered to vote)
Authorized the U.S. AG to investigate use of poll taxes in state & local elections
In 1964, the 24th Amendment made poll taxes illegal in federal elections