Civil Rights

1950 - 1968

Where did legal segregation come from?

Plessy v. Ferguson The state of

Louisiana enacted a law that required separate railway cars for blacks and whites.

Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1892, Homer Adolph Plessy--who was seven-eighths Caucasian--took a seat in a "whites only" car of a Louisiana train. He refused to move to the car reserved for blacks and was arrested.

Supreme Court ruled that what happened to Mr. Plessy was legal

“Separate but equal” became the rule of law.

that separate facilities for blacks and whites satisfied the Fourteenth Amendment so long as they were equal. (The phrase, "separate but equal" was not part of the opinion.)

Separate Schools

Separate Seating

Separate Water Fountains

Early “Cracks” In the Segregation Divides

1947 – Brooklyn Dodgers was the first to hire a “colored” player.

JACKIE ROBINSON Most Valuable Player

1949. Many other African

Americans began to join what had been “white only” sports.

The NAACP

NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Affairs team

sought cases to fight against segregation in the courts.

Rosa Parks was represented by the NAACP.

The NAACP: “Mr. Civil Rights”

Thurgood Marshall 1908 - 1993

Took on “Separate but equal” laws as unconstitutional.

What eventually happened to Thurgood Marshall?

First African American Supreme Court Justice in 1967.

Served until his death in 1993.

Brown v. Board of Education

1951 Topeka, Kansas Segregated Schools 8 year old Linda

Brown tries to go to school.

1954: US Supreme Court rules on Brown v. Board of Education

Unanimous decision. Separate but equal is

unconstitutional. Ordered

desegregation of Topeka schools “with all deliberate speed.”

Linda Brown today

Works for St. Louis Public Schools as an administrative assistant.

Public Reaction to Brown v. Board of Education?

African Americans rejoiced

Some whites thought this would bring about a peaceful desegregation

Public Reaction to Brown v. Board of Education?

The Klan did NOT approve. Klan violence went up

against African Americans and others who supported the changes.

Public Reaction to Brown v. Board of Education?

“The good people of Georgia will not tolerate the mixing of the races in the public schools or any other tax-supported institutions.” Governor Herman

Talmadge

90 Members of CONGRESS banned together to create the “Southern Manifesto”

“We pledge ourselves to use all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision, which is contrary to the Constitution, and to prevent the use of force in its implementation.”

Notes on the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK organized PASSIVE RESISTANCE movement.

Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted a YEAR

50,000 African Americans refused to get on the buses

Even though the bus service was losing money – they still refused to give up.

Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of buses in 1956.

Resistance in Little Rock, Arkansas

Fall of 1957, Governor Faubus posted National Guard troops around Central High School to turn away 9 African American students who were going to attend.

15-year old Elizabeth Eckford

The National Guardsman glared at me with a mean look and I was very frightened and didn’t know what to do.

15-year old Elizabeth Eckford

“I turned around and the crowd came toward me. They moved closer and closer. Somebody started yelling “Lynch her! Lynch her!”

“I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the mob – someone who maybe would help.”

15-year old Elizabeth Eckford

“I looked into the face of an old woman and it seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me.”

Eisenhower’s Reaction

Saw what was happening in Little Rock as a challenge to federal authority (the President’s and the Supreme Court’s)

Ordered US soldiers to escort the kids to school.

Other Voices of Protest

1947 – Mexican Americans sued to be able to attend the same schools as whites.

Native Americans protested against policies of “termination” of reservations.

Leaders and Strategies of the Civil Rights Movement

NAACP Interracial group Appealed mostly to people

with education. National Urban League

Helped African Americans moving from the South to find jobs and homes.

CORE Interracial Organized peaceful protests

against segregation.

Leaders and Strategies of the Civil Rights Movement

SCLC Southern Christian

Leadership Conference

1957 – created by Martin Luther King, Jr. and other ministers wanting civil rights changes.

Use of nonviolent protest.

SCLC was different

It was primarily focused on the South and was not dominated by African Americans / whites from the North.

Used Gandhi’s ideas on nonviolence as the only way to achieve victory against stronger foes.

Leaders and Strategies of the Civil Rights Movement

MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr. 1929 – 1968 Son and grandson of

Baptist ministers. Had white playmates

as a child but at school age became aware of segregation.

MLK

Eloquent and inspiring. Gave an example of

dignity despite all the prejudice around him.

Arrested, beaten physically and verbally many times.

Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964

MLK

Dream2.ram

Martin Luther King Assassination

April 1968 Memphis, Tennessee Came to give support

to the striking garbage men. Prophetic Speech the

night before his death.

The Killer?

James Earl Ray Caught in 1969 Sentenced to 99

years. Toward the end of his

life, met with King’s son and said he hadn’t been alone in the killing.

Nonviolence as a form of protest

Those who fight for justice must peacefully refuse to obey unjust laws.

MUST remain nonviolent, regardless of reactions. Required TREMENDOUS

courage and discipline.

17 Rules for Nonviolent Protest

“Pray for guidance and commit yourself to complete nonviolence in word and action as you enter the bus … Be loving enough to absorb evil and understanding enough to turn an enemy into a friend.”

17 Rules for Nonviolent Protest

“If cursed, do not curse back. If pushed, do not push back. If struck, do not strike back, but evidence love and good will at all times …

17 Rules for Nonviolent Protest

“If another person is being molested, do not arise to go to his defense, but pray for the oppressor and use moral and spiritual force to carry on the struggle for justice.”

SNCC: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

Students who wanted to be in the Civil Rights movement. Didn’t want to be a

part of church leaders work.

Sought more immediate change than the SCLC did.

Interracial at first.

The Struggle Intensifies

“As a child in the rural Mississippi town of Centreville, I grew up wondering what ‘the white folks’ secret’ was.

“There homes were large and beautiful with indoor toilets. Every house I ever lived in was a one or two room shack with an outdoor toilet.” Anne Moody - SNCC

Anne Moody (cont.)

“I was horrified when 14-year old Emmett Till, visiting from Chicago, was killed in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman.”

Anne Moody (cont.)

“After I was jailed for my involvement in the Civil Rights demonstrations, it wasn’t as bad as the reaction I got from home.”

Anne Moody

“My mother, afraid for the lives of her relatives, begged me to end my involvement.”

“My brother was beaten up and almost lynched by a group of white boys.”

Anne Moody

“The local sheriff warned me never to return to my hometown.”

“My sister angrily told me that my activism was threatening the lives of every colored in Centreville.”

Sit-ins Challenge Segregation

Sitting-in a place and disrupting business until they were served or arrested.

Sit-ins

It was a Woolworth in the heart of the downtown area, and we occupied every seat at the lunch counter, every seat in the restaurant ….

Sit-ins

“A group of young white men came in and they started pulling and beating primarily the young women. They put lighted cigarettes down their backs, in their hair, and they were really beating people.”

Sit-ins

“In a short time, police officials came in and placed all of us under arrest, and not a single member of the white group., the people that were opposing our sit-in was arrested.” John Lewis

Sit-ins

MLK called participation a “Badge of Honor”

70,000 participated by the end of 1960.

3,600 had been arrested. People were witnessing

how wrong segregation was.

The Freedom Rides

1960, Supreme Court ruled that interstate bus segregation was illegal.

Protestors decided to “test” this in “Freedom Rides” in 1961

As they traveled into the Deep South troubles happened.

Anniston, Alabama, white mob attacked the bus in the terminal, then followed, boarded the bus, disabled it, closed the door and barred it and threw a firebomb into the bus.

Freedom Ride

Through a broken window the students escaped, but were beaten by the mob.

Freedom Ride

There were thoughts of calling it off, but instead it was decided to send more buses.

Violence in Birmingham and Montgomery.

More volunteers arrived.

Freedom Ride

Finally, Attorney General Robert Kennedy saw the need to send Federal Marshals to protect the Freedom Riders in 1961.

Nation was horrified by the violence.

Integration of Colleges 1961

James Meredith was turned down for college at “Old Miss.”

1962 Supreme Court ordered Mississippi to admit Meredith.

The Governor himself blocked Meredith from entering the Admissions Office.

James Meredith’s Struggles for an Education

White crowds attacked the Federal Marshal cars and threw bottles at Meredith’s dorm room windows.

Two people killed in the riots.

James Meredith

Received his college degree.

Shot while on the Voter Registration March in 1966. Recovered to finish the March with MLK at his side.

James Meredith today

Has worked as a Congressional aide for former segregationist Jesse Helms.

Writes history books about Mississippi today.

Clash in Birmingham, April 1963

Birmingham, AL – 40% black, but “most segregated city in America.”

King was arrested. Marchers were

attacked.

A Nation Watches

Even Americans that didn’t approve of Civil Rights were horrified by the violence inflicted on the peaceful protestors.

Birmingham had to agree to change

New hiring practices Public facilities were

desegregated. Bi-racial committee to

have more communication between people.

The Political Response to the Civil Rights Movement?

Eisenhower – sent troops to integrate Little Rock High Schools.

But didn’t do much afterward.

FBI was NOT protecting the Civil Rights workers. OPPOSITE under J. Edgar

Hoover. HATED MLK

The Political Response to the Civil Rights Movement?

President John Kennedy (JFK) Slower to react

Attorney General Robert Kennedy (RFK) Once he saw the

violence he used Federal Marshals

JFK Speech, June 1963

“We preach freedom around the world … but what are we to say to the world and each other that this is the land of the free … except for the Negros?

“Now is the time for the nation to fulfill its promise.”

Reaction to JFK’s Speech?

Klan murder of Medgar Evers. NAACP worker Organized voter

registration drives. Gunned down in front

of his home.

Medgar Evers Murder

Byron de la Beckwith charged with the murder.

Two white juries were hung – he was released in 1964.

Retrial in 1994 FINALLY saw him convicted and jailed for life.

The March on Washington

August 1963 200,000 came from

all over the country to call for “jobs and freedom”

Kennedy feared the marchers would bring more violence and anger Congress.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

President Lyndon B. Johnson got it passed.

-considering he was from the SOUTH, it was unusual that he supported reforms.

Civil Rights Act 1964

Banned use of different voter registration standards for blacks and whites.

Prohibited discrimination in “pubic accommodations” Motels, restaurants, gas

stations, theaters, sports events

Civil Rights Act 1964

Allowed government to withhold funds to schools that practice discrimination

Banned discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin by employers and unions. Created EEOC

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate claims of discrimination.

Freedom Summer 1964

Focus of the Civil Rights Movement to register voters in Mississippi.

Went right for the “heart” of the Klan.

Murders of Civil Rights Workers

80 mob attacks 3 men “disappeared” and

were found buried in an earthen dam.**

Thousand arrests. African American

churches and homes were burned or bombed.

Basis of the movie Mississippi Burning

No convictions for the murders until 2005. Baptist minister Ray

Killen. Said KKK was a

“peaceful” group.

Voting Rights Act 1965 / 24th Amendment

Eliminated literacy tests, poll taxes, and most barriers to voting.

By 1965 400,000 African Americans were registered to vote in the Deep South

The Movement Takes a New Turn: Malcolm X and Black Nationalism

Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, NE in 1925.

-Father a Baptist minister who died when he was young.

- Drifted to Detroit, Boston, NYC and lived life of crime.

-Jailed by time he was 20.

Malcolm X

Converted to Islam and specifically Black Islam.

Believed Allah would someday reward them with a black nation.

Meantime live separately and be self-sufficient.

Malcolm X and Black Nationalism

Released from prison in 1952 Malcolm changed his name and preached his message of black nationalism.

Opposition to Integration

Disagreed with MLK and the March on Washington.

Disagreed with non-violent protest.

“Why would anyone want to join white society?”

Malcolm X leaves Nation of Islam

1964, had disagreements with the group’s leader Elijah Muhammad.

Made a pilgrimage to Mecca Seeing millions of all

nations and colors worshipping together made him rethink his ideas of separation.

Malcolm X

1965 returned to US with a new attitude and want to create integration. Enemies from the

Nation of Islam did not like these changes in him.

Killed him nine months later.

Black Power Movement

Stokely Carmichael NO to peaceful protest NO more going to jail NO more submitting to

beatings. BLACK POWER! “We shall overrun”

instead of “We shall overcome”

The Black Panthers

Bobby Seale and Huey Newton – 1966

Direct confrontation with white authorities.

“Power flows from the barrel of a gun.”

“Black is Beautiful”

Riots in the Street: “Burn Baby Burn!”

Black Panthers in Omaha, NE blew up an Omaha cop in 1970.

1967 Watts neighborhood riot in LA. 34 people dead

De Facto v. De Jure Segregation

De Jure Laws creating

segregation. Common in South

De Facto Not a law, but social

conditions create segregation.

Common in the North

Twin Tragedies in 1968

MLK assassination in April. Memphis, TN

Twin Tragedies in 1968

RFK’s assassination in June 1968. Los Angeles

The Legacy of the Movement

Segregation became illegal. We HOPE! (Omaha)

Voter registration has changed the power base in the South.

1970 – 1975 the number of African Americans elected to office went UP 88%

Side Note:

John Kennedy and “Camelot”

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK)

Youngest President. First Catholic

President Came from one of the

richest and most powerful families in the country.

Many think of the Kennedy years as “Camelot”

JFK and wife represented how most Americans saw – or wanted to see – themselves as.

Many like to think of JFK as a perfect president

He did give great speeches! “Ask not what your

country can do for you – but what you can do for your country.”

What Kennedy did do:

Worked on programs to combat poverty and inequality. Increased minimum

wage Gave surplus food to

unemployed people Redevelopment grants

for communities with long-term unemployment

What Kennedy did do

Continued the Arms Race with the Soviets

Signed a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Bay of Pigs Disaster Sent troops into

Vietnam Questions on Civil

Rights commitments

Cuban Missile Crisis

The CLOSEST we ever came to nuclear war.

10-Days in October 1961.

Cuba / Russia tried to put nuclear missiles in Cuba to be able to launch an attack on DC in less than 5 minutes. First strike capability with

maybe no chance the US could respond?

Jackie Style

Jacqueline Kennedy Mother Remodeled the White

House with historical accuracy

Seen as a style-setter for US women.

People always wanted to see what she wore.

November 22, 1963: Assassination in Dallas, TX

Questions about if Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone still linger today. Zagruder film

Pictures that no baby boomer can forget about JFK’s death / funeral

Images we never will forget

Images we never forget …

Only Caroline Kennedy is still alive

JFK’s assassin: Lee Harvey Oswald

Difficult childhood but doted / domineered on by mother.

18 years old – joined Marines. Failure.

19 – years old – defected to Russia.

Lee Harvey Oswald

Even though he married and had a daughter, he wasn’t content in Russia.

Came back to the US. Could only get menial

jobs and troubles in his marriage.

Lee Harvey Oswald

1962 – 1963: Weird time in Oswald’s life.Attempted Assassination of an anti-communist / segregationist.

Sometimes Pro-Castro ; Sometimes Anti- Castro.

Traveled to Mexico, New Orleans, back to Dallas.

November 22, 1963

Did Oswald act alone?

He also killed a Dallas cop that day that tried to stop him.

Oswald

In interviews over two days, he said that he was a “patsy” and being set up.

What happened to Oswald?

Murdered days after being taken into custody. Jack Ruby – local

small-time mobster and dying of cancer.