THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Plessy v. FergusonCivil Rights Act of 1875 outlawed

segregation Declared unconstitutional in 1883

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) established separate but equal Many states passed Jim Crow Laws separating

the races Facilities for blacks were always inferior to those

for whites

THE SEGREGATION SYSTEM

The NAACP Legal Strategy

By the 1950s, the NAACP is ready to challenge segregation in court Focuses on the

inequalities of public education

Places a team of law students under Thurgood Marshall Win 29 out of 32 cases

argued before the Supreme Court

CHALLENGING SEGREGATION IN COURT

Marshall’s greatest victory is Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Supreme Court unanimously

struck down school segregation

Some districts actively resist the order

Eisenhower refuses to enforce compliance – considers it impossible

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

NAACP enrolls nine black students at Little Rock’s Central High School for the 1957-58 school year Arkansas governor Orval Faubus has the National

Guard turn them away Elizabeth Eckford faces an abusive crowd when she

tries to enter the school Eisenhower calls out the 101st Airborne to supervise

school attendance Students harassed by whites at the school all year Leads to the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Act

giving the federal government power over schools and voting

CRISIS AT LITTLE ROCK

CRISIS AT LITTLE ROCK

In 1955, NAACP offi cer Rosa Parks is arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus Montgomery Improvement

Association is formed and organizes a bus boycott Elects Martin Luther

King, Jr. leader Leads to a 1956 decision by

the Supreme Court outlawing bus segregation

MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

King calls his brand of nonviolent resistance “soul force” Includes civil disobedience

and massive demonstrations

Organizes the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in in 1957 By 1960, some African

American students think the pace of change is too slow Join the Student Nonviolent

Coordinating Committee

MARTIN LUTHER KING & THE SCLC

SNCC adopts nonviolence, but calls for a more confrontational strategy Influenced by the Congress of Racial Equality

(CORE) to use sit-ins: First used at the lunch counters at the Woolworth’s

in Greensboro, NC In spite of abuse and arrest, the movement

continues to grow By late 1960, lunch counters were desegregated in

48 cities in 11 states

GREENSBORO SIT-INS

GREENSBORO SIT-INS

In 1961, CORE tests the Court decision banning interstate bus segregation Organizes the Freedom Riders – blacks and

whites who sit on buses and use station facilities together as they travel from Washington, DC towards New Orleans, LA Riders are brutally beaten by mobs and one bus is

firebombed Newspapers throughout the country denounce the

beatings Kennedy sends 400 US marshals to protect the

riders Leads to the Interstate Commerce Commission Act

banning segregation in all interstate travel facilities

FREEDOM RIDERS

FREEDOM RIDERS

In 1962, federal courts rule that James Meredith may enroll at the University of Mississippi Kennedy orders federal

marshals to escort Meredith to the registrar's offi ce

Met by thousands of white demonstrators

Federal offi cials continue to accompany Meredith to classes and protect his parents

INTEGRATING OLE MISS

In 1963, the SCLC demonstrates to desegregate Birmingham, AL Martin Luther King is arrested, writes “Letter from

Birmingham Jail” TV news shows police led by ‘Bull’ Connors attacking child

marchers with fire hoses, dogs, and clubs Continued protests, economic boycotts, and bad press ends

segregation in the city

Later in 1963, Kennedy sends federal troops to force Governor George Wallace to desegregate the University of Alabama

NAACP leader Medgar Evers is murdered in his own driveway Hung juries lead to the killer’s release

TURNING POINT - 1963

TURNING POINT - 1963

In August 1963, over 250,000 people demonstrate in Washington, DC demanding the immediate passage of a civil rights bill Martin Luther King gives his “I

Have a Dream” speech

In September 1963, 4 Birmingham girls are killed when a bomb is thrown into their church

TURNING POINT - 1963

Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination because of race, religion, and gender

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

In August 1963, over 250,000 people demonstrate in Washington, DC demanding the immediate passage of a civil rights bill Martin Luther King gives his “I

Have a Dream” speech

In September 1963, 4 Birmingham girls are killed when a bomb is thrown into their church

FREEDOM SUMMER