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