History -> US Civil rights 1880s - 1950s

What is segregation?

The enforced seperation of racial groups in a community/society/establishment

• From the 1880s into the 1960s, a majority of American states enforced segregation through "Jim Crow" laws

• Many states (and cities, too) could impose legal punishments on people for associating with members of another race.

Jim Crow laws - Reason

A Key Supreme Court case

• Plessy V Ferguson (1896)

  • 1890

  • A law in Louisiana said that Blacks and Whites have to use seperate railway cas

    • Railways for blacks were of a lesser standard.

    • Resulted in jail or a fine if broken

      • Homer Plessy 7/8 white 1/8 Black

      • Sat on ‘white only’ railway car, was asked to move, refused, then promptly arrested

      • In the court, Plessy argued that the the law violated the 14th amendment in the Const.

        • States may not “deny to any person equal protection of the laws”

      • Argued that this implicated that black people were inferior to whites and therefore was unequal

Jim Crow Laws, Plessy v Ferguson court case outcome

Supreme court disagreed with Plessy

• Said that the 14th amendment upholds a legal/political equality

• The issue of railway cars were considered a social issue

• Court stated that separating races did not take away civil or political rights.

• Only one justice dissented (Justice Harlan), stating that the ruling would lead to racial hatred and increased attacks of black peoples rights

Plessy V Ferguson impact

• The allowance of Jim Crow laws set a new doctrine/precedent/belief of the term ‘Seperate but Equal’ under the law

  • Keep in mind there were facilities for African Americans, yet they were often of a lower standard/quality compared to facilities for white people

• The ruling gave way to many more years of discrimination against people of colour in America

• States were free to pass laws that kept races separate and although facilities were supposed to be equal, they rarely were.

• This doctrine would not be abolished until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What were the laws put in place in the South to limit African American

1950s to 1960s racial laws which were legal loopholes in the Constitution (primarily in the Southern states) were made and called ‘Jim Crow Laws’.

Used to enforce segegration, to isolate African Americans and place them in a inferior positon

What was the significance and impacts of the Jim Crow Laws?

Jim Crow laws allowed white (southerners) to establish social dominance over African Americans

Why are some Southerners hostile towards African Americans at the time?

US Civil war 1861-1865

• Southern states (Alabama, Texan, Georgia) wanted to break away from northern states (e.g. New York, Pennsylvania, Washington) and form a separate nation.

• Slavery was an important part of the economy for southern states.

• 1863 US president Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation - all slaves would be free

• Was part of the reason why southern states were fighting against the northern ones

• Even thought Southern States lost, it still did not erase already well established racist views + attitudes towards African-Americans

Examples of Jim Crow laws

• Intermarriage: The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a N*gro, Mongolian, Malay, or Hindu shall be null and void. Arizona

• Textbooks: Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them. North Carolina

• Barbers: No colored barber shall serve as a barber [to] white women or girls. Georgia

• Education: Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any coloured child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school. Missouri

What was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Created by: U.N in 1948

• Rights: the moral, ethical or legal entitlement for a person to have or do something

Why were the Universal Declaration of Human rights so significant?

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) set a global standard for human rights by outlining fundamental rights and freedoms for all individuals, regardless of nationality, race, religion, or gender.

• It promotes equality, justice, and dignity, influencing international human rights law and national constitutions.

• The UDHR remains crucial in advocating for human rights globally.

What are the categories of human rights and why are they so important?

3 Sections

• Social : related to society/organisations → everyday aspects of life

• Economic: related to economics/economy

• Political: relating to the government or public affairs of a country

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  • They are important because they protect individuals' fundamental freedoms, ensure equal treatment, and promote dignity and well-being for all.

Be able to name and explain at least three of Human Rights and be able to understand their impact on society.

Three Examples of Human Rights and Their Impact:

1. Freedom of Speech: This right allows individuals to express opinions without fear of punishment. It promotes open dialogue, diversity of thought, and a democratic society.

2. Right to Education: This ensures equal access to quality education. It empowers individuals, contributes to societal development, and creates an informed citizenry.

3. Right to Equality: This guarantees equal treatment before the law regardless of race, gender, or religion. It combats discrimination and fosters a fair and just society.

These human rights uphold justice, equality, and freedom, benefiting individuals and communities.

Who was Emmett Till?

• 14 year old African American teenager boy

• Home town Chicago

• Murdered in Money, Mississippi

What happened to Emmett Till?

• In August 1955, Till had been brutally beaten and shot, and his body dumped in the Tallahatchie River, after allegedly insulting a white woman, (saying bye baby).

  • Lynched → A public display of a murder of a African American, often used as a threat to others

• Four weeks his uncle was asked if he had 2 boys, then 4 weeks later his mutilated body was found, identified by a monogrammed ring

• Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were arrested on August 29th 1955, found not guilty

Why were people so outraged by the court case that followed?

• People were outraged by the court case as the jury was all-white and debated for only over a hour

• The Emmett Till case was a highly controversial and racially charged trial that took place in 1955.

• People were outraged by the court case that followed because despite overwhelming evidence, the two white defendants accused of Till's murder were acquitted by an all-white jury.

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  • This decision highlighted the deep-seated racism and injustice prevalent in the American legal system at the time, leading to widespread outrage and protests.

What was the worlds and many African American population’s reaction to the trial?

Till’s murder was the most openly scandalous act of racial violence in the country at the time.

• It was very rare there’s documentary/media coverage evidence of those cases. People start to talk about racial violence.

• Organisations such as the NAACP pushed to help keep the case out in the world and the media

What made Till's murder particularly heinous?

• The perpetrators targeted Till solely because of his race, highlighting the deep-seated racism and injustice prevalent during that time.

• The murderer’s actually admitted to murdering Till later

Impact of Till’s murder

• The murder gained national attention and became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

• Created momentum for the making of the 1957 Civil Rights Act

Brown v Board of Education → cause

1954

• Brown, a parent of a African American student who got denied entry at a all white schoo argued that “separate but equal schools” are a violation of the 14th Amendment in the constitution

• The standard and facilities in schools for black students were of a lesser standard than schools for white students and will not be improved under Jim Crow laws

  • Lower education, materials and facilities

Brown v Board of Education → ruling

• All the justices ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional and inherently ‘unequal’

• Argued that public education had become a essential part of a citizen’s public life

Brown v Board of Education → impact

• All public schools throughout the USA had to desegregate

• Shows a clear shift in understanding of civil rights.

• Much opposition to ruling in the south:

  • Many schools in the south simply closed instead of allowing black students

  • Texas Attorney General John Ben Shepherd organised a campaign to create obstacles to desegregation in schools.

  • Hostile attitudes developed in southern states - attacks on black citizens (e.g. Emmett Till

Where and when was the Montgomery Bus Boycott

• December 1st 1955 (after Emmett Tills’s death)

• Alabama, Montgomery

Montgomery bus boycott cause

• 2 women arrested before, was organising the boycott before Rosa Parks

• African Americans were only allowed 1/3 of the bus seats

• Rosa Parks (part of NAACP)

  • Boarded a bus, refuses to give up her seat to a white passenger

  • Arrested → sparked a protest movement against segregration on public transport

Montgomery Bus Boycott → protest and impact

5th of December

• A successful one day boycott (to not take the bus) turned into a year long boycott.

• Impact → 2/3 of the customers of the bus company were African Americans

  • This boycott lessened their revenue

  • Pressure on the bus company

    • Attention to the mayor, then eventually to a Supreme Court Hearing

Montgomery Bus Boycott → impact

• A act of non-violent protest to enact change

• 13th of December 1956

  • Desegregation achieved from the Supreme Court Hearing that it was unconstitutional

Montgomery Bus Boycott → significance

• Demonstrated that sustained passive protest could achieve change, violence was not needed.

• One of the first example of civil disobedience

• By mid-1956 the boycott was receiving national attention;

• This demonstrated to African-Americans across the US that they were capable of sustained collective action against racism in the US

  • People are forced to realise the racial inequality.

  • Showed how the media would play an important role in the civil rights movement.

Montgomery Bus Boycott → MLK

• MLK made many inspiring speeches at the black churches as safe meeting places to disseminate information and organise the boycott.

• The role of Rev Martin Luther King in inspiring and supporting the determined community in seeing through the change

• Martin Luther King’s home was bombed and he received many death threats.

Little Rock 9 → cause

• Even following the BVBE ruling (1954) many southern schools still refused to desegregate schools

• In 1957 9 black students were recruited to integrate Little Rock Central High School in the state of Arkansas.

Little rock 9 → reactions

• Negative

• Students were met with a crowds of white protesters

• The governor of the state Orval Faubus (against desegregation) employed the State National Guard (Arkansas National Guard) to block their entry to the school.

• Martin Luther King Jr sent a telegram to President Eisenhower calling on him to intervene.

  • State vs National troops

Little Rock 9 → significance

• Due to international media coverage Eisenhower deployed the 101st Airbourne Division to walk the students to school in safety.

  • Creates mob mentality, students are targeted by racist and segregationally groups

  • Idea of the treatment of the young students

  • Allowed the desegregation of schools, opening up the experiment of desegregation of school

  • Giving the African Americans a chance to have higher education.

• The end of that year marked the graduation of the first black student from Little Rock Central High School.

• It was significant, as it was one of the southern states which had Jim Crow laws,