JFK and Civil Rights

• 1960 campaign promised to support civil rights

• Af-Ams overwhelmingly supported JFK

• Appointed 40 Af-Ams to high-level positions in the gov’ts

• Appointed Thurgood Marshall to an Appeals Court in NY—one step below Sup. Crt

• Set up Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (CEE)to stop discrimination against Af. Ams within the federal gov’t with hiring and promotions

• JFK’s brother, Robert, head of the Justice Department supported Af. Ams right to register to vote throughout the South

Events of 1961 and 1962

• In pairs and your notebook, create two summary statements describing what happened with the following:– Freedom Rides, 1961– James Meredith, 1962

James Meredith• Applied at the

University of Mississippi• Sept 1962 Meredith

was blocked from entering by the governor of Mississippi

• President Kennedy sent 500 federal marshals to escort Meredith

• A white mob attacked• JFK ordered the U.S. Army to campus• Meredith attended classes for the year

under federal guard• Left U. of Miss and went to Africa to study• Returned to Colombia University in

1965earned a law degree• He was an active leader in the Civil Rights

Movement– Pushed for federal enforcement of voting rights

JFK’s Message

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6560000/newsid_6567500/6567555.stm?bw=nb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1

Protests in Birmingham, AL (Spring 1963)

• King was invited to Birmingham—”the most segregated city in America”

• Boycotts were planned of segregated businesses and stores

• Protest marches and sit-ins occurred• City claimed marches without a permit

broke the law• King and others continued and were

arrested by Eugene “Bull” Connor

Protestors in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, on 3 May 1963, being hit by a high-pressure water hose being used to

disperse people during a civil rights protest.

With the jails full, student protesters are incarcerated in

buildings at the county fair grounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggUt0gJh9U8

MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail• What does Dr. King claim is causing the

Negro community to demonstrate?• What effect does segregation have on

people?• What are the two groups of blacks that

King is stuck in the middle of?• Some people called King’s nonviolent

protests extreme. How does King react to the word “extremist”?

MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail• Letter to fellow clergymen who criticized his

direct confrontation in the South• White power structure in Birmingham kept

blacks down• Segregation creates a “superior” and “inferior”

class system• Blacks must obey the law, but didn’t have the

right to vote on them• Believed blacks are rational and need

educationDISOBEY “UNJUST” LAWS

JFK Reacts• Violence in Birmingham was broadcasted across

the U.S. and the world• JFK ordered his aides to prepare a new civil

rights bill• May 8, 1963—Business leaders of Birmingham

began negotiating with the protestors • RESULTS of Birmingham: Protestors won.

Desegregation of city facilities occurred slowly• JFK will propose Civil Rights Act of 1964 to

Congresscalls for desegregation of public places and equal opportunity in employment

George Wallace (June 1963)• Governor of Alabama• Pledged “Segregation now,

segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever”

• Told citizens to ignore the Sup. Crt and break the law

• Stood in the door to stop the integration of University of Alabama

• JFK and federal marshals forced Gov. Wallace to integrate Alabama’s schools

Audio Analysis: Bob Dylan’s “Only a Pawn in Their Game”

• Use youtube to listen to song with lyrics sheet.

• Research the “intent” of Bob Dylan in writing this song.

• Explain Dylan’s purpose in writing the song.

Medgar Evers (June 1963)• A NAACP officialOrganized a statewide

effort to register blacks to vote in Mississippi• White officials feared losing their office due

to the black vote• The KKK shot and killed Medgar Evers in his

home on the night JFK was to make a speech on race

• Evers’ killer was not convicted until 1994• Number of black voters in Mississippi rose

from 30,000 in 1963 to 500,000 by 1980

• September 1963—The KKK bombed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama and killed four black children.

To Obey the Laws or To Resist Peacefully

Follow Law and Order• What are the positives of

using the courts and legislature to protest?

• What are the negatives?

Civil Disobedience• What are the positives of

peacefully demonstrating and civil disobedience (knowingly breaking laws that you feel are unjust)?

• What are the negatives?

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/features/moore/mooreIndex.shtml