1. The Civil Rights Movement (1950-1968)

2. Gains of the 1940s
Labor shortages during the war led to more job opportunities
African Americans served in fighting units
FDR had opened certain government positions to African Americans
FDR had responded to campaigns for voting rights

3. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Ruled to desegregate schools
Resulted in resistance & racial tensions
In 1955, Brown II called for states to desegregate “with all deliberate speed”

4. Desegregating Schools
In 1957, the “Little Rock Nine” forced Eisenhower to become involved in desegregation
Civil Rights Act of 1957 – Gave the federal government more power over desegregation & voting rights violations

5. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)
Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger & was arrested
Local leaders chose pastor Martin Luther King, Jr. to lead a boycott of the Montgomery bus system
Led to Supreme Court ruling to desegregate buses

6. Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Established in 1957 & led by King
Pursued desegregation through nonviolent means
SNCC, a related group for students, was formed in 1960
SNCC & other civil rights groups chose more confrontational tactics including sit-ins & picket lines

7. Freedom Riders 1961 Hoped to provoke government to get involved
After violence in Montgomery, the Justice Department sent 400 U.S. marshals & the ICC banned segregation in all interstate travel facilities

8. Ole Miss 1962
James Meredith’s enrollment & the governor’s radio plea set the stage for violence
Riots led federal officials to escort Meredith for months

9. Birmingham 1963 “Most segregated city in America”
King arrested – writes “Letters from a Birmingham Jail”
“Children’s Crusades” on May 2nd & 3rd
Televised violence resulted in greater pressure on Birmingham officials, who finally ended segregation

10. March on Washington – August 28, 1963
More than 250,000 called for passage of civil rights bill
King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech
After Kennedy’s assassination, LBJ signed Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law

11. Freedom Summer 1964
Massive push to register African American voters met with widespread violence
Subsequent voting rights march in Selma, AL led to televised police brutality
24th Amendment (1964) outlawed poll tax
Freedom Summer inspired Voting Rights Act of 1965

12. De Facto Segregation in the North
Great Migration led to “white flight”
Racial prejudice in the North resulted in difficulty finding jobs, decent housing, & equal educational opportunities
King’s 1966 campaign in Chicago did not meet goals
Urban violence erupted all over the nation
Harlem 1964
Watts 1965

13. New Leaders Abandoned Non-Violence
Malcolm X urged separation from white society, racial pride, & armed self-defense
Stokely Carmichael turned to “Black Power” after “Walk Against Fear” violence
Black Panthers organized to fight police brutality
King continued to oppose militancy
King’s death brought on a wave of racial violence