8.10 The African American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s

James Meredith, George Wallace, Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, march on Washington, I Have a Dream speech, Civil Rights Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 24th Amendment, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Black Muslims, Malcolm X, race riots, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Stokely Carmichael, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Black Panthers, Watts, Kerner Commission, de facto segregation

James Meredith

African American veteran guaranteed right to enroll at University of Mississippi by a federal court, protected by troops sent by Kennedy despite regularly ignoring civil rights for white voters

George Wallace

governor of Alabama, attempted to stop African American student from entering University of Alabama

Martin Luther King Jr.

recognized as leader of civil rights movement

• Letter from Birmingham Jail - connected desegregation and civil rights with democracy, moved Kennedy to support tougher civil rights bill

• March on Washington (1963) - led by MLK, 200,000 peaceful protesters marched in support of jobs and civil rights bill

  • I Have a Dream speech - King appealed for end of racial prejudice

federal civil rights acts 1964-1965

• Civil Rights Act (1964) - Johnson convinced Congress to pass act

  • made segregation illegal in all public facilities

  • gave federal government more power to enforce school desegregation

  • set up Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - ending discrimination in employment on basis of race, religion, sex, national origin

• 24th amendment (1964) - abolished poll taxes

• Bloody Sunday - voting rights march to Montgomery, Alabama was met with beatings and tear gas, televised violence sparked national outrage

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965 - ended literacy tests, provided federal registrars in areas where African Americans were prevented from voting

Black Muslims

cultural identity based on Africa and Islam, movement preaching Black nationalism, separatism, self-improvement led by Elijah Muhammed

• Malcolm X - Malcolm Little, criticized King as subservient to Whites, advocated self-defense, assassinated 1965

civil rights organizations

• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

  • Stokely Carmichael - chairman of SNCC, repudiated nonviolence, advocated black power and racial separatism

• Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) - also inspired by Malcolm X’s radicalism

• Black Panthers - organized by militants, revolutionary socialist movement advocating Black American self-rule

race riots

• arrest of young Black motorist by white police in Black neighborhood Watts led to large riot with deaths and building destruction

• Kerner Commission - federal investigation of race riots concluded that racism and segregation were responsible for riots 1965-1968

• de facto segregation - segregation not enforced by law but stemming from racist attitudes