Challenging Segregation

The Sit-In Movement

• Many African American college students saw the sit-in movement as a way to take things into their own hands. (Jesse Jackson for ex)

The Sit-In Movement

• NAACP and SCLC feared the students may not remain peaceful once provoked– They did stay peaceful though and the sit-ins

attracted national attention

SNCC

• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee• An organization formed by Ella Baker to

encourage students to be a part of their own organization rather than joining the NAACP or SCLC

• Became very instrumental in desegregating public facilities in many communities

SNCChttp://www.history.com/topics/student-non-violent-coordinating-committee

• Began working towards voting rights for African Americans in the rural areas of the Deep South. – 3 member of SNCC were murdered after

attempting to register African Americans in Mississippi

Freedom Riders

• Group of African Americans (and some whites) who traveled to the South in order to draw attention to segregation of bus terminals.

Freedom Ridershttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/rides

• Many members were met with severe beatings when they arrived at bus stations– Became increasingly common

Freedom Riders

• JFK recognized that something had to be done to get the violence under control

JFK and Civil Rights

• In his campaign, he promised to support the civil rights movement if elected

• He named about 40 African Americans to high-level positions in the federal government

JFK and Civil Rights

• Kennedy also set up the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (CEEO).

• Formed to stop the federal government from discriminating against African Americans when hiring and promoting people.

The Justice Department Takes Action

• After the Freedom Riders were attacked, JFK urged them to stop their rides– They refused

• Kennedy made a deal with Southern senators to prevent violence but he wouldn’t object to arresting the Freedom Riders.

The Justice Department Takes Action

• JFK ordered the Interstate Commerce Commission to tighten regulations on segregated bus terminals when he realized the Freedom Riders were not going to stop.

• By late 1962, segregation on interstate travel had come to an end.

James Meredith

• At the time of the Freedom Riders, people continued to work to integrate public schools

• James Meredith tried to register at the University of Mississippi. – He was blocked from

entering by the governor

James Meredith• President Kennedy sent

500 US marshals to escort Meredith– A riot started

• JFK sent army troops to the campus

• Meredith attended class under federal guard for the rest of the year

Violence In Birmingham

• MLK realized that JFK only got involved in civil rights issues when violence occurred– Ordered demonstrations in Birmingham knowing

it would likely lead to violence• MLK believed this was the only way to get Kennedy’s

support of civil rights

Violence In Birmingham• Authorities ordered the use of clubs, police dogs, and high-pressure fire

hoses on demonstrators– Kennedy became worried that he was losing control, and began

preparing a new civil rights bill

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

• In support of the bill MLK and 200,000+ protestors marched on Washington on August 8, 1963

– Here he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech

The Civil Rights Act of 1964http://www.history.com/topics/selma-montgomery-march/videos#brown-vs-board-of-education-separate-is-not-equal

• gave Congress the power to outlaw segregation in most public places

• gave the attorney general more power to bring lawsuits to force schools to desegregate

• also set up the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

• oversees the ban on job discrimination

The Struggle for Voting Rights

• There still wasn’t any law that guaranteed the right to vote

• The 24th Amendment (1964) abolished poll taxes

The Selma March

• Selma, AL was where the campaign for voting rights began

• The Sherriff there prevented blacks from registering to vote by deputizing and arming white citizens.

• MLK and other SNCC activists organized a march from Selma to Montgomery on March 7, 1965.

The Selma March• Protestors were stopped from crossing the bridge that led out of Selma

and beaten by state troopers and deputized citizens– More than 70 African Americans were hospitalized and many more

injured• President Johnson was furious and went before Congress to present a new

voting rights law.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

• It ordered federal examiners to register qualified voters.

• Got rid of discriminatory practices like literacy tests.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

• By the end 1965, almost 250,000 African Americans had registered to vote.– African American elected officials in the South also

increased• With the passage of this law, the civil rights

movement had achieved its two goals– End segregation– Protect voting rights