Civil rights 1955-80 - key facts

William and Daisy Myers

• Bought a home in a white suburb in 1957

• 3000 neighbours surrounded their house, threw stones through windows, burning crosses on front lawn

Black bus users in Montgomery

• Over 75% of bus users were black

• 90% stayed away from buses

Duration of Montgomery bus boycott

380 days - ruled unconstitutional by Supreme Court in November 1956

SCLC

Set up by King in 1957

Number of reporters and photographers at Little Rock (1957)

250

Greensboro sit-in (1960)

SNCC

Set up in 1960

Number of participants in direct action protests by 1961

Over 70,000

Freedom rides

• 1961

• Bus firebombed at Anniston, Alabama and chased by 50 cars

• 3 freedom riders killed

Birmingham’s publicity (1963)

A poll after showed that 42% of people thought race was the USA’s most pressing problem → only 4% said this in 1962

Participants in March on Washington

• 200,000-500,000

• Singers like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan

Success of Freedom Summer (1964)

• 17,000 black people tried to register to vote

• Only 1600 accepted

• 35 shooting incidents

Loving v Virginia 1967

State laws banning interracial marriage deemed unconstitutional

Nation of Islam

• Promoted black supremacism and separatism

• 100,000 members by 1960

Black power salute

Used by some black American athletes who won medals at the 1968 Olympics

Black Panthers

• Set up in 1966

• Community projects - free school breakfasts

• Wore uniform and carried guns

Radicalisation of NAACP

Atlanta leader accepted the slowing of desegregation in 1973 in return for more control over black schooling

Riots

Took place 1964-71 in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia

1965 Watts riot

$18 million of federal aid following the riot triggered white backlash

1966 Northern Crusade

• 20 major riots in city slums

• King aimed to set up tenant unions, improve working conditions and teach young people about non-violent protest

1961 executive orders

Introduced affirmative action

1962 Executive order 1106

Bans discrimination in the allocation of federal housing

1964 Civil Rights Act

• Bans discrimination for sex or race in hiring, firing and promoting

• Equal Opportunities Commission is set up to enforce this

1965 Voting Rights Act

• Banned attempts to stop people voting because of their race

• Provisions put in place for five years for federal enforcement of this → enforcement provisions have to be reconfirmed, with extensions, in 1970, 1975, 1982 and 2007

1971 Swann v Charlotte

Upholds policy of busing children out of poor areas to desegregated schools

Voter registration

• 1966 - 58.2%

• 1980 - 60%

Socio-economic employment score - men

• 1940 - 16

• 1960 - 21

• 1980 - 31

Socio-economic employment score - women

• 1940 - 13

• 1960 - 21

• 1980 - 36

High school dropouts

In 1980, 75% of black high school dropouts, aged 25-34, had criminal records