1. CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE USA INTERACTIVE 1920-1970
GCSE MODERN WORLD HISTORY
CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE USA
INTERACTIVE
How successful was the Civil Rights Movement in achieving its aims?

2. Some areas that were segregated:
Jim Crow Laws
Image 2
A rest stop for bus passengers from Louisville, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee, with separate entrance for Blacks,1943
Jim Crow Laws
Image 3
A segregated bus station in Durham, North Carolina, May 1940.
Jim Crow Laws
Image 5
An all Black segregated school, common across most of the Southern states of America.
Jim Crow Laws
Image 4
A Black American going in the coloured entrance of a movie house, Belzoni, Mississippi.
Bus station waiting rooms and ticket windows.
Railroad cars or coaches.
Restaurants and lunch counters.
Schools and public parks.
Restrooms and water fountains.
Sections of movie theatres.
There were even separate cemeteries.
The Jim Crow Laws
The most common types of laws ordered business owners and public buildings to keep Blacks and Whites separated. Across the whole of the South, many states (and cities, too) could punish people for talking with members of another race. These laws enforced the strict segregation of the races and rigidly maintained the inferior status of Black citizens.
Jim Crow Laws
Image 6
Signs of segregation still existed well into the 1960s. A sign in a Florida restaurant window, read “No Mexicans, Niggers, or Dogs Allowed.”
Jim Crow Laws
Image 1
A Black American drinking from a segregated water fountain in Oklahoma City 1939. 7
GCSE Modern World History Black Civil Rights USA

3. “Separate but not equal”
Challenging School Segregation
In 1953, there were 21 states with segregated schools. Some Black children had to travel lengthy distances to get to a Black school.
“Separate but not equal”
Blacks and Whites were forced to attend different schools.
There was little that was equal in the quality of education between the schools.
White schools were bigger with better resources.
Black teachers were paid significantly less than their White counterparts.
Black students often had to use old textbooks previously used in White schools.
Carolina state spent $43 per year educating Black children.
Carolina state spent $179 per year educating White children.
Segregation required
No Segregation
Segregation optional
Segregation forbidden
School segregation by state 1954
An all-Black school, North Carolina.
An all-White school, North Carolina. 22
GCSE Modern World History Black Civil Rights USA

4. Central High School, Little Rock
The State Governor, Orval Faubus, stopped the Little Rock Nine by surrounding the school with state troops.
Governor Faubus was so against integration that he closed down all the schools in Little Rock but the Supreme Court ordered him to reopen them.
Central High School, Little Rock
President Eisenhower sent 1000 paratroopers to protect the Black students for the rest of the school year.
Why was Little Rock important to the Civil Rights Movement?
 It showed that the President was willing to get involved and support Black Americans.
 There was worldwide publicity for the civil rights campaign and a lot of sympathy for the Black students.
 Although the Supreme Court got involved, in 1964, only 2-3% of Black children in the USA attended desegregated schools.
Southern states reject school integration
In 1954, 21 states had laws segregating public schools. There was a mixed reaction to the Brown decision in these states. In Virginia, for example, several White officials blocked school integration and closed any school that tried to integrate. In 1955, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered public schools to desegregate “with all deliberate speed”.
The first real test of the Federal governments determination to enforce the law came in 1957 at Little Rock, Arkansas.
President Eisenhower, forced Faubus to remove the troops but about 1000 White people protested outside the school.
In 1957, out of 75 bright African American students who applied to enter Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas only 9, were selected. The 9 students, who were known as the Little Rock Nine, met much resistance as they tried to enter the school.
This famous photograph shows Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine as she walks to Central High School in September1957. The girl shouting at her is Hazel Massery.
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division escort the Little Rock Nine students into the all-White Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.
Orval Faubus speaking to a crowd protesting against the integration of Little Rock schools. 24
GCSE Modern World History Black Civil Rights USA

5. The Voting Rights Act 1965 How successful was the Voting Rights Act?
Eliminated literacy tests if Blacks wanted to register to vote.
Federal officials could register voters if city officials refused.
400,000 Black Americans registered to vote in the Deep South.
By 1968, Black voters had a significant impact on Southern politics.
How successful was the Voting Rights Act?
The Impact of the Selma to Montgomery March
The Selma to Montgomery March was a huge victory for the Civil Rights Movement. President Johnson watched the violent images of the march and this made the politicians in Washington take action.
President Johnson pressed Congress to pass a Voting Rights Act (1965) which finally removed all restrictions against Black people voting in the Southern states.
% OF BLACK POPULATION REGISTERED TO VOTE
State
1964
1968
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Mississippi
South Carolina 14 26 22 4 11 56 62 59
Within 3 years, most of the Black population of the South were registered to vote.
White politicians now needed Black votes to stay in power.
Some Blacks saw an opportunity to became politicians themselves.
President LB Johnson 39
GCSE Modern World History Black Civil Rights USA

6. What did Malcolm X believe?
Why did some Blacks turn to Malcolm X?
He recruited thousands of young African Americans to the Nation of Islam.
He was a brilliant speaker who attracted a lot of publicity.
He encouraged Blacks to take responsibility for themselves and be proud of being Black.
Malcolm X raised awareness of the hardships in the Black ghettos.
Some Blacks believed that White racism could only to be tackled with force.
He was a member of the Nation of Islam.
He believed in the idea of Black Power.
He rejected Black/White integration.
Described himself as a ‘Black Nationalist Freedom Fighter’.
He said that White racism must be tackled with force.
He was very critical of Martin Luther King.
Malcolm X
The most famous supporter of Black Power was Malcolm X. When he met Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, he changed his name to X. He believed that even after 1965 nothing had really changed for Black Americans. He criticised Martin Luther King and believed that King’s methods would never gain equality. His ideas were very popular amongst young Blacks and Malcolm X helped set up education and social programmes for young Black Americans.
Martin Luther King versus Malcolm X
Malcolm X’s views differed from those of Martin Luther King. Malcolm X wanted the separation of races, not integration. He spoke of King’s non-violence as ‘the philosophy of the fool’ and called for a ‘Black revolution’ to overthrow White power. Martin Luther King seemed to offer the people of the Northern Black ghettos nothing. So they looked to new leaders such as Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X briefly meet in 1964 before going to listen to a Senate debate about civil rights in Washington.
Malcolm X 43
GCSE Modern World History Black Civil Rights USA