'I have a dream' 1954-68

When was Brown vs. Board of Education and what did it do?

May 1954, overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, desegregated schools and facilities, Chief Justice Earl Warren pushed justices to rule unanimously

What was Brown II?

1955, ruled integration had to be achieved with ‘all deliberate speed’

How many Urban States in the South were desegregated within a year?

70%

What was the impact of Emmet Tills murder?

In 1955, 14-year-old till was murdered brutally for whistling at a white cashier, Carolyn Byrant in rural Mississippi, open casket funeral in Chicago, murderers acquitted by a white jury of all charges  

What and what happened in Little Rock Nine?

In 1957 Governor Orval Faubus sent troops to stop 9 Black Americans from attending Central Hough School in Arkansas, Eisenhower sent federal troops to protect them  

What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

The Monday after Rosa Park's arrest in December 1965, 40,0000 African Americans boycotted buses in Montgomery, Alabama, lasted 3 months, businesses lost $1 million, similar boycotts in 20 Southern cities

What was the SCLC?

Led by MLK, formed in 1957, failed ‘Crusade for Citizenship’

What was the Birmingham Campaign?

MLK and the SCLC launched a segregation protest in Alabama, MLK arrested and 1000 jailed, brutality of police chief Eugene ‘Bull’ Connor

What was the March on Washington?

28^th August 1963, crowd of 250,000 25% white, ‘I have a Dream’

What was the SNCC?

Formed in Feb 1960, sit-ins, February to April 1960 over 50,000 students took part, by end of 1961 150 cities desegregated public places

What was CORE?

Formed in May 1961, ride from Virgina to Mississippi testing desegregation laws, KKK attacked ‘Freedom Riders’, ride never completed

What happened during 1944-6 in Chicago?

There was a report of 46 firebombing of Black homes in Chicago

What are examples of problems in the Northern Ghettos?

Only 32% finished school, 46% unemployed, and over 40% lived in poverty

What happened in the LA Watts riot of 1965?

34 dead, 1000 injured, 3500 arrested, and $40 million worth of damage

How many riots were there during 1964-8?

238 and in over 200 cities

What did Truman do on July 26th, 1948?

Fully desegregated the military, Executive Order 9981

When was the Civil Rights Act passed, and by who?

July 1964, President Johnson broke filibuster of 57 days, NAACP lobbied Congress, banned racial segregation + implemented EEOC

When was the Voting Rights Act passed, and by who?

August 1965, LBJ, pressured by Freedom Summer, overturned literacy tests, black Americans elected in South increased 6-fold

When was the Civil Rights Act/Fair Housing Act passed?

LBJ passed it in April 1968, immediately after MLK’s assassination, outlawed housing discrimination and helped end de facto segregation

Why and when did the SNCC expel Whites?

Expelled whites in July 1967 after leadership turned more radical with Stokely Carmicheal and Henry Rap Brown, merged with Panthers in Feb 1968

Why and when did CORE expel Whites?

By 1964 80% organisation black, radical Floyd McKinssick took over in 1966 and in 1968 expelled white members

What was Black Power?

Coined by Stokely Carmicheal, could mean black economic power, pride or militancy and black violent protest

How were the Black Panthers formed?

Encouraged Black Power, formed in California in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, had a peak of 5000 members

What did the Black Panthers do?

 ‘Free Breakfast’ programme provided 1700 meals/week in South Carolina, over 40 clinics set up, raised awareness of sickle cell amenia, by 1970 FBI infiltration destroyed them

Who was Malcom X and what did he do?

Born Malcom Little, joined NOI but left in 1964, formed OAAU, assassinated in Feb 1965 by NOI gunmen

What was MLK’s stance on the Vietnam war?

Spoke out against it in 1965, expresses sympathy for Viet communists, NAACP + Urban League condemned this for it, lost influence with LBJ

How and when was MLK assassinated?

April 4, 1968, murdered by white James Earl Ray in Tennessee

Impact of MLK’s assassination

Immediate riots, LBJ declared national mourning, MLK day declared, unity in civil rights movement evaporated, as SNCC, CORE, Panthers abused violent protest