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Published byDulcie Hancock Modified over 6 years ago
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The Civil Rights Movement The Struggle for Equality
“There is no noise as powerful as the sound of the marching feet of a determined people.” -Martin L. King Jr. Since passage of 13th amendment, … Reconstruction federal troops until 1877 South on its own … abuses and injustices Industrial Revolution Wars 20’s 30’s NRA regulations allowed for lower pay for blacks Postwar America …why not fix OUR nation?
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What was life like before the Civil Rights Movement?
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Plessy v Ferguson Is Separate, Equal ?
Facts: 1896 Homer Plessy took a seat in the “Whites Only” car of a train and refused to move. He was arrested, tried, and convicted in the District Court of New Orleans for breaking Louisiana’s segregation law. Question: Was the Louisiana law separating blacks and whites on railroad cars legal? Decision: Split decision that “separate but equal” law did not violate the 14th amendment. So segregated (the separation of people according to race or ethnicity) facilities became legal and commonplace.
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Types of Segregation de jure segregation Segregation by law
Common in the South Laws forbid African-Americans from attending the same church, using the same swimming pool, eating in restaurants, or marrying White people. de facto segregation Segregation without laws Common in the North Housing discrimination made segregation in the North. White community groups did not allow non-Whites to live in White neighborhoods. Every ethnic group had its own part of town.
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Reasons the 1950’s Brought Change
World War II and the Korean War During these wars, racial minorities made many gains. The U.S. military had allowed them to fight. Many came home heroes and earned respect. Most people believed America had fought these wars for democracy and freedom. Racial segregation started to seem un-American to many. The Cold War During the Cold War, America was trying to convince the world that it was better than the Soviet Union, racism made America look bad. Television Americans could watch the news every day. The non-violent civil disobedience used by King made the civil rights protesters look like good people and made their opponents look hateful, violent, and ugly.
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How DID CHANGE HAPPEN? Formation of Organizations by Civil Rights Leaders: NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) - notable founders W.E.B DuBois and Ida Wells CORE (Council on Racial Equality) -James Farmer, George Houser, Homer Jack, Bayard Rustin SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) -Ella Baker SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) -Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy
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Civil Rights leaders used: non-violent protests (boycotts)
civil disobedience (sit-ins) legal action Influenced by the ideas of Mohandas Gandhi Influenced by the ideas of Henry Thoreau Oliver White Hill, Sr. was an American civil rights attorney from Richmond, Virginia. His work against racial discrimination helped end the doctrine of "separate but equal.”
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Desegregation of the Military
A. Philip Randolph, Civil Rights Activist influenced President Harry S Truman to end segregation in the military. Executive Order 9981 officially ended segregation in the military in 1948.
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Brown vs. Board of Education
Facts: In 1954 Linda Brown’s parents wanted her to attend the school close to her home. Kansas law stated she had to attend a segregated school. NAACP and attorney Thurgood Marshall tested the law. Question: Can Linda Brown attend an “all white” school? Decision: “separate educational facilities inherently unequal” Schools would need to desegregate “with all deliberate speed” (left room for very slow desegregation especially in the South)
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
In Montgomery, Alabama, the bus company had a rule that said all African-Americans had to sit in the back of the bus. In 1955, Rosa Parks, an African-American women, was coming home from work and was very tired. The seats in the back were full, but the front seats were empty. She sat down in the front. When the bus driver ordered her to move, she refused and was arrested. The minister of Rosa’s church, Martin Luther King, decided to get involved. He told African-Americans to stop riding the bus. For months, African-Americans walked or gave each other rides. The bus company lost a lot of money because most of their passengers were African-Americans. Eventually, they were forced to change their rule. Then, in 1956, the Supreme Court declared segregation on public transportation unconstitutional. This success made King famous across the U.S.
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Little Rock, Arkansas Central High School
The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students who enrolled in Little Rock High School in Arkansas in 1957, following the 1954 Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubas the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the protection by the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S Army.
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