Civil Rights
Civil Rights
In the Supreme Court
• In the Supreme Court– Brown v. Board of Education (1954)• Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson… “Separate but
Equal” is unconstitutional
• Montgomery, AL (1955)– Rosa Parks refused to
give her seat to a white passenger
– Bus Boycott– Led by Martin Luther
King, Jr.– Black passengers refused
to ride bus until policies changed
• Little Rock, AK (1957)– Governor Orval Faubus
refused to allow 9 black students to attend Central High School
– Eisenhower sent in 101st Airborne to force the desegregation
• “Ole Miss” (1962)– James Meredith denied
admission– JFK sent in troops to
restore order
• Civil Rights Organizations– National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (1910)
– Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE) (1942)
– Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) (1957)
– Formed after the success of the Montgomery bus boycott (MLK)
– Encouraged non-violent protest
– Church leaders moved to the forefront of the struggle
– Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (“SNICK”) (1960)
Civil Disobedience• SIT-INS– Blacks sat in a
segregated establishment and refused to move
– Many arrested
• FREEDOM RIDES– Blacks rode buses into
segregated areas to see if Southerners would obey the Supreme Court
– First Bus met with violence in Alabama
Additional Protests
• Albany Movement, 1961– Georgia protesters
began a year long struggle
– MLK went to help
• Birmingham, 1963– MLK and others protested– MLK arrested and released– MLK got children to join
protest– 900+ people got arrested– Protesters injured– Shot with fire hoses– Attacked by dogs– Beaten with clubs– Letter from a Birmingham
jail
• Washington, D.C., August 28th 1963– MLK marched on
Washington– MLK made “I have a
dream…” speech
Malcolm X
• Militant approach to civil rights– Joined nation of Islam– Supported “black
nationalism”– Believed equality could
come by any means necessary
Legislation
• Civil Rights Act of 1964– Ended voting restrictions– Prohibited
discrimination based on– Race– Gender– Religion
• Voting Rights Act of 1965– Ended voting restrictions– Ended literacy tests