29 Civil Rights

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CHAPTER OBJECTIVECHAPTER OBJECTIVE

INTERACT WITH HISTORYINTERACT WITH HISTORY

TIME LINETIME LINE

VISUAL SUMMARYVISUAL SUMMARY

SECTION Taking on Segregation1

SECTION The Triumphs of a Crusade2

SECTION Challenges and Changes in the Movement3

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29 Civil Rights

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CHAPTER OBJECTIVE

To understand the African-American struggle for civil rights during the 1950s and 1960s

29W I T H H I S T O R Y

I N T E R A C T

What rights are worth fighting for? Examine the Issues

The year is 1960, and segregation divides the nation’s people. African Americans are denied access to jobs and housing and are refused service at restaurants and stores. But the voices of the oppressed rise up in the churches and in the streets, demanding civil rights for all Americans.

• What are the risks of demanding rights?

• Are all Americans entitled to the same civil rights?

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• Why might some people fight against equal rights?

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The United States The World

1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision orders the desegregation of public schools.

1957 School desegregation crisis occurs in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1957 African nation of Ghana wins independence.

1960 John F. Kennedy is elected president.

TIME LINE

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1959 Fidel Castro assumes power in Cuba.

continued . . .

1955 Montgomery bus boycott begins.

1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower is reelected. 1956 Suez Canal crisis occurs in Egypt.

1963 Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president upon John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

1962 South African civil rights leader Nelson Mandela is imprisoned.

Civil Rights

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The United States The World

1969 U.S. astronauts walk on the moon.

TIME LINE

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1970 President Nasser of Egypt dies.

1966 Cultural Revolution begins in China.

1964 Lyndon B. Johnson is elected president. Congress passes the Civil Rights Act.

1967 Race riots occur in major U.S. cities.

1968 Richard M. Nixon is elected president. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated.

1968 Tet offensive begins in Vietnam.

Civil Rights

1Taking on Segregation

African Americans use strong organization and nonviolent tactics to confront the South’s policies of segregation and racial inequality.

OVERVIEWOVERVIEW ASSESSMENTASSESSMENT

KEY IDEA

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1Taking on Segregation

OVERVIEW

Activism and a series of Supreme Court decisions advanced equal rights for African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s.

Landmark Supreme Court decisions beginning in 1954 have guaranteed civil rights for Americans today.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOWWHY IT MATTERS NOW

TERMS & NAMESTERMS & NAMES

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• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

• Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

• Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

• Rosa Parks

• sit-in

• Thurgood Marshall

ASSESSMENTASSESSMENT

1Taking on Segregation

Morgan v. Virginia

Sweatt v. Painter

Brown v. Board of Education

NAACP

SCLC

SNCC

CORE

1. Give examples of tactics, organizations, leaders, and Supreme Court decisions of the civil rights movement up to 1960.

continued . . .

Tactic

s

Leader

sChallenging Segregation

Organ

izatio

ns

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ASSESSMENT

Suprem

e

Court Dec

isio

ns

nonviolent resistance

legal action

Thurgood Marshall

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Ella Baker

Jo Ann Gibson Robinson

1Taking on Segregation

2. Do you think the nonviolence used by civil rights activists was a good tactic? Think About:

ANSWERANSWER

Nonviolent protests, such as the Montgomery bus boycott and sit-ins, alerted people to the problem of racism while capturing their sympathy; television coverage depicted the extent of the problem.

• the Montgomery bus boycott

• television coverage of events

• sit-ins

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ASSESSMENT

continued . . .

1Taking on Segregation

3. How did the tactics of the student protesters from SNCC differ from those of the boycotters in Montgomery?

ANSWERANSWER

The students confronted businesses that had segregationist policies instead of boycotting them.

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ASSESSMENT

continued . . .

1Taking on Segregation

4. After the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling, what do you think was the most significant event of the civil rights movement prior to 1960? Why? Think About:

ANSWERANSWER

POSSIBLE RESPONSES:

• the crisis at Little Rock, because it forced the government to act

• the Montgomery bus boycott, which brought Martin Luther King, Jr., into a leadership role

• the role of civil rights leaders

• the results of confrontations and boycotts

• the role of grassroots organizations

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ASSESSMENT

End of Section 1

2The Triumphs of a Crusade

Civil rights activists break down numerous racial barriers through continued social protest and prompting of landmark legislation.

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KEY IDEA

HOMEMAP

2The Triumphs of a Crusade

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OVERVIEW

Civil rights activists break down numerous racial barriers through continued social protest and prompting of landmark legislation.

Activism pushed the federal government to end segregation and ensure voting rights for African Americans.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOWWHY IT MATTERS NOW

TERMS & NAMESTERMS & NAMES

ASSESSMENTASSESSMENT

• Freedom Summer

• Fannie Lou Hamer

• Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Civil Rights Act of 1964

• freedom riders

• James Meredith

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2The Triumphs of a Crusade

1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts. List the steps that African Americans took to desegregate buses and schools from 1962 to 1965.

continued . . .1962 A federal court case allows James Meredith to enroll in the

University of Mississippi.

Voting Rights Act passed.

Johnson signs Civil Rights Act.

• Protests, boycotts, and media coverage force Birmingham to end segregation.

• Kennedy orders troops to desegregate the University of Alabama.• March on Washington takes place.

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ASSESSMENT

1963

1964

1965

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2The Triumphs of a Crusade

2. What assumptions and beliefs do you think guided the fierce opposition to the civil rights movement in the South? Think About:

ANSWERANSWER

Many white Southerners considered blacks to be members of an inferior race—an attitude that dated back to the use of enslaved Africans. Southerners feared a backlash if African Americans gained equal rights. Some, like Governor Barnett, viewed the battle for segregation as a war. Police and others often acted accordingly, with violence.

• the social and political structure of the South

• Mississippi governor Ross Barnett’s comment during his radio address

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ASSESSMENT

• the actions of police and some white Southerners

continued . . .

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2The Triumphs of a Crusade

3. Just after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, white Alabama governor George Wallace said,

“ It is ironical that this event occurs as we approach the celebration of Independence Day. On that day we won our freedom. On this day we have largely lost it.”

What do you think Wallace meant by his statement?

ANSWERANSWER

Wallace apparently felt that the gaining of equal rights by African Americans would diminish the freedom of Southerners to do as they pleased and to maintain the kind of society and political structure to which Southerners were accustomed.

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ASSESSMENT

End of Section 2

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3Challenges and Changes in the Movement

The civil rights movement turns north, new leaders emerge, and the movement becomes more militant, thus leaving behind a mixed legacy.

OVERVIEWOVERVIEW ASSESSMENTASSESSMENT

KEY IDEA

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3HOME

TERMS & NAMESTERMS & NAMES

• de facto segregation

• de jure segregation

• Nation of Islam

• affirmative action

• Civil Rights Act of 1968

• Kerner Commission

• Stokely Carmichael

• Black Power

• Malcolm X

• Black Panthers

ASSESSMENTASSESSMENT

OVERVIEW

Disagreements among civil rights groups and the rise of black nationalism created a violent period in the fight for civil rights.

From the fight for equality came a resurgence of racial pride for African Americans, a legacy that influences today’s generations.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOWWHY IT MATTERS NOW

Challenges and Changes in the Movement

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3Challenges and Changes in the Movement

1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts. List five key events of the civil rights movement.

continued . . .

Malcolm X assassinated

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Harlem riots

Black Panthers founded

Feb. 1965

July 1964

Oct. 1966

Watts riots in Los Angeles

Aug. 1965Martin Luther

King, Jr., assassinated

April 1968

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2. What factors contributed to the outbreak of violence in the fight for civil rights? Think About:

ANSWERANSWER

Malcolm X, Black Panthers, and others’ philosophy of violent protests; African Americans’ reaction to the assassination of civil rights leaders; backlash against white racist acts; poor living and working conditions, especially in urban areas; difficulty in eradicating de facto segregation in the North

• different leaders’ approach to civil rights issues

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ASSESSMENT

• living conditions in urban areas• de facto and de jure segregation

Challenges and Changes in the Movement

continued . . .

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3. Compare and contrast the civil rights strategies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Whose strategies do you think were more effective?

ANSWERANSWER

Both wanted civil rights and greater opportunities. King preached racial equality. Malcolm X preached black separatism and armed self-defense.

Effectiveness: King, because his demonstrations caused civil rights legislation to be passed; Malcolm X, because he urged African Americans to fight back.

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ASSESSMENT

Challenges and Changes in the Movement

End of Section 3

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