1. Civil Rights Movement
Chapter 25

2. Segregation in North & South
World War II, African American soldiers were in segregated fighting units
African American veterans did not have an equal chance to participate in the improving economy
African Americans faced discrimination in jobs, housing and education
Both in the North and the South

3. Segregation in North & South
Jim Crow Laws
Laws unfair to African Americans
Segregated (separated) the races
1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson
Said “separate but equal” treatment of African Americans was legal and constitutional
Northern US
Most African Americans lived in poor city neighborhoods
Hard time finding good jobs
Children went to segregated schools

5. Integrating the Armed Forces
After World War II,
Many white Americans began disagreeing with unequal treatment of African Americans
Civil rights leaders spoke out against segregation in the armed forces
They pushed for the military to integrate
1948, President Truman signed an executive order
The armed forces must open all jobs to African Americans
1954, Defense Department announced
No longer any African American units in the armed forces – all units would be integrated

7. Integrating Sports & Entertainment
1940s, major league baseball had a color barrier no teams allowed African Americans
1947, Jackie Robinson signed on with Brooklyn Dodgers
At first, he was treated badly by fans
Helped them become a winning team

8. Integrating Sports & Entertainment
1962, Robinson became first African American elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Late 1940s and early 1950s, African Americans won small victories
However, few laws were changed that allowed discrimination against them

10. Unequal Schools
Southern states sent African American children and white children to different schools
Southern lawmakers said the schools were equal – however, they were not equal
The white schools had much better classrooms, teachers, books
Many African American children had to walk miles to their schools and their classes were overcrowded

11. “Separate but Equal” Schools
Online book, page 701

13. Parents Fight for Equal Schools
Since 1935, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had been working to end segregation
In 1950, Oliver Brown, the father of an African American student, Linda Brown, went to the NAACP for help to enroll his daughter into a white school closer to their home

14. Parents Fight for Equal Schools
Mr. Brown decided to sue the Topeka Board of Education and take them to court
The court ruled against Brown and the NAACP and said that the Supreme Court had ruled that separate but equal schools were legal.

15. Parents Fight for Equal Schools
Brown and the NAACP decided to appeal the case to the Supreme Court and other African American parents joined the fight
Thurgood Marshall, the lawyer who argued the case for the African American parents and the NAACP, said that the idea of “separate but equal” was impossible.

16. Victory in the Supreme Court
In May 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education Topeaka decision said that in public schools “separate but equal” has no place
The Supreme Court said that public schools must desegregate or end the separation of races.

17. Problems at Little Rock
After the Supreme Court ordered all schools to desegregate, some political leaders and other citizens tried to stop desegregation
In 1957, a court in Little Rock, Arkansas decided to integrate an all-white school called Central High School
Orval Faubus, the governor of Arkansas, did not want the schools to integrate and he called out the National Guard to stop it

19. Problems at Little Rock
Nine African American students, known as the Little Rock Nine tried to enter Central High School but were stopped by the National Guardsmen
Photographs of crowds yelling at the nine African American students appeared in newspapers around the country

20. Federal Government Sends Help
President Eisenhower was upset by the news from Little Rock and he sent U.S. troops to protect the students
Armed troops had to take the nine African American students to classes for several weeks because some white students were treating them so badly

21. Federal Government Sends Help
As the 1950s ended, many schools in the south began to desegregate and Americans knew the federal government stood behind the right of African Americans to an equal education

22. Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.
The Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that African Americans would boycott the buses until their demands were met

23. Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott lasted for more than a year and finally the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on Alabama buses was illegal

24. Sit-ins Across the South
After the Montgomery bus boycott, people began to believe that non-violent protests against restaurants, movie theaters and other segregated places could bring down segregation
A sit-in is a non-violent protest in which people sit down and refuse to get up. Hundreds of these took place across the south

26. Sit-ins Across the South
By 1961, more than 70,000 African Americans and white students had taken part in sit-ins; lunch counters and other segregated places had almost disappeared in the south

27. Freedom Riders
In 1961, African Americans and white protesters who wanted end segregation on interstate buses were called Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders broke segregation rules in restaurants, waiting rooms and rest rooms in bus stations. This kind of protest is called civil disobedience
The Freedom Riders faced violence but eventually the U.S. government made tougher rules against segregation on interstate buses

30. Protests in Birmingham
Dr. Martin Luther King and other leaders organized sit-ins and other protests across Birmingham, Alabama
It was one of the most racist cities in US
Dr. King wrote a famous letter called Letter from Birmingham Jail, after he was arrested and put in jail

31. Birmingham Protests
In May, 1963, 25,000 protesters marched into Birmingham and were attacked by police and firefighters with dogs and high-powered fire hoses
Protesters included many women & children
Pictures of the violence appeared on television and shocked many Americans – especially the violence against children
Birmingham buses finally agreed to desegregate and to hire more African Americans

34. March on Washington
In 1963, civil rights leaders planned a march to urge Congress to pass a civil rights bill
On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous speech called the “I Have a Dream” speech
The Civil Rights Act protected the right of all citizens to vote, made segregation in public places illegal and made discrimination illegal
Even though laws had been passed giving African Americans the right to vote, the laws could not be carried out in the South

36. Action for Voting Rights
The summer of 1964 became known as Freedom Summer
Volunteers headed to the South to register African Americans to vote
Three young volunteers were arrested in Mississippi and later were found shot to death
The Ku Klux Klan attacked civil rights volunteers and many churches and houses were destroyed. However, by the end of the summer of 1964, more than 170,000 African Americans had registered to vote

38. Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 said that states could not prevent African Americans from registering to vote
By the end of the year, more than 2.5 million African Americans were registered to vote