Comprehensive Study Guide: The Civil Rights Movement in the USA (1950-1970)

Definitions and Core Concepts

Segregation Defined as the racial separation of all public amenities. In the southern United States, this meant that African Americans were legally forced to use separate facilities and were prevented from voting. Examples provided in the material include “For Colored Only” signs and separate drinking fountains.

Demographics In the $1950s$, African Americans constituted approximately $10\%$ of the total American population.

Geography of Segregation The southern states of the USA were the primary sites of segregation laws. Key states identified include:

• West Virginia
• Virginia
• North Carolina (Site of Greensboro)
• Missouri
• Arkansas (Site of Little Rock)
• Tennessee (Site of Nashville)
• South Carolina
• Georgia (Site of Atlanta)
• Alabama (Site of Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery)
• Mississippi (Site of Jackson)
• Louisiana
• Texas
• Florida

Historical Origins of the Civil Rights Movement

The Post-Civil War Era African Americans were freed from slavery during the American Civil War ($1861\text{–}1865$). Initially, new laws granted political rights and voting power. However, these rights were gradually stripped away by conservative whites who regained political control in the South, passing laws to enforce strict segregation.

Role of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) A white supremacist extremist secret society that utilized violence and terror to ensure the enforcement of segregation laws.

Emergence of Resistance Groups

• NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People): Formed in $1909$ to fight segregation and discrimination through legal channels, housing access, and voting rights.
• CORE (Congress of Racial Equality): Formed in $1942$, this organization saw steady growth during and after the Second World War.
• Wartime Influence: During WWII, over a million African Americans fought in the US army and many found skilled work in industries. This experienced demographic returned with a renewed determination to end segregation.

Institutional and Legal Framework

The US Constitution The Constitution consists of a code of law for the $50$ individual states. While it has been historically “bent and twisted” to deny rights, it also provided the framework and the “ultimate shield” for activists to challenge unjust local laws. Activists believed segregation was wrong based on the nation's highest law.

The Supreme Court The highest court in the US. Its primary function is to ensure that all state and federal laws align with the principles of the Constitution. Individual states have the right to make local laws (e.g., education, transport), but the Supreme Court ensures these do not conflict with federal constitutional rights.

Federal Government The central or national US government located in Washington DC.

The Philosophy and Role of Martin Luther King Jr.

Background Born in Atlanta, Georgia in $1929$, Martin Luther King Jr. became a Baptist minister in $1954$. He was an NAACP member and rose to heroism during the Montgomery bus boycott.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Formed in $1957$ by King and a network of black ministers. The SCLC trained activists in organizing non-violent protests and managing interactions with the police, law, and media.

Philosophy of Non-Violence King was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's concept of Satyagraha (soul force), which Gandhi developed in South Africa and used in India's struggle for independence ($1947$).

• Civil Disobedience: Peaceful protest involving breaking laws deemed unjust or unconstitutional.
• Redemptive Power: King believed that non-violent endurance of attacks or jail time could “educate and transform” the oppressor.
• Goal: Multiracial integration and a belief that blacks and whites could live in equality and friendship.
• Honors: King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in $1964$.

Major Events and Milestones

Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka ($1954$) A landmark case where the NAACP challenged the public education system. Linda Carol Brown was refused entry to an all-white school nearby, forced instead to walk a long distance to an all-black school. The Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was illegal. Despite this, most southern schools remained segregated due to a lack of federal enforcement and white racist intimidation.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott ($1955\text{–}1956$)

• Incentive: Rosa Parks was arrested in $1955$ for refusing to give up her seat to a white man.
• Action: The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), led by King, organized a year-long boycott.
• Economic Impact: The bus company lost $65\%$ of its profits.
• Outcome: In December $1956$, the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional.

Sit-Ins and Student Activism ($1960$)

• Greensboro Sit-in: SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee) students held sit-ins at lunch counters where they were allowed to shop but not eat.
• Types of Protest: This expanded to “kneel-ins” in churches, “read-ins” in libraries, “play-ins” in parks, and “wade-ins” on beaches. Over $70,000$ students participated across various states.

Freedom Riders Members of CORE and SNCC traveled on interstate buses to force integration of buses and stations throughout the South. Despite savage attacks and the fire-bombing of buses, they eventually secured federal support for the desegregation of the interstate bus system.

The Integration of the University of Mississippi ($1962$) James Meredith became the first black student to enroll. He was protected by $500$ federal marshals. Violent opposition from thousands of white students led to $2$ deaths and $160$ marshals being injured; $5,000$ army troops were eventually required to restore order.

Freedom Summer ($1964$) Campaigners from the North went to Mississippi to build ‘Freedom Schools’ (teaching literacy, black history, and pride) and register voters.

• Results: $60,000$ new black voters registered.
• Violent Backlash: Churches were bombed, workers were beaten, and $6$ workers were murdered.

The Birmingham Campaign ($1963$) Led by King in a city known for police chief Bull Connor's racism and ties to the KKK. Police used electric cattle prods, dogs, and fire hoses on protesters. Over $1,000$ were arrested. President Kennedy eventually intervened to order desegregation and the release of protesters. In September $1963$, a KKK bomb killed four black children in a Birmingham church.

March on Washington ($1963$)$250,000$ people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial ($100$ years after the Emancipation Proclamation). King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, promoting racial harmony.

Selma-Montgomery Marches ($1965$) Protesting the low voter registration in Selma (only $2.4\%$ of African Americans were registered due to Jim Clark's intimidation). Police attacked marchers with batons and tear gas on “Bloody Sunday.” A subsequent, larger march was successful, leading to increased registration and the voting out of Jim Clark.

Legislative Success and Global Impact

Civil Rights Act ($1964$) Barred segregation and discrimination in employment and all public facilities (schools, hotels, restaurants).

Voting Rights Act ($1965$) Outlawed obstacles like literacy tests and allowed federal agents to inspect state registration procedures.

Global Influence The US movement inspired the Mass Democratic Movement in South Africa during the late $1980s$ to fight against the apartheid system. It also influenced domestic anti-war campaigns during the Vietnam War.

Protest Music: Song Lyrics

“If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus” “If you miss me at the back of the bus / You can't find me nowhere / Come on over to the front / I’ll be riding up there.”

“If You Miss Me in the Cotton Field” “If you miss me in the cotton field / You can't find me nowhere / Come on over to the swimming pool / I'll be swimming over there.”

Chorus of Resistance “We are not afraid today… We shall overcome someday.”

Questions & Discussion

Think and Discuss: US vs. South Africa Question: At this time South Africans were living under the apartheid system. In what ways was the legal situation for African Americans different from the one black South Africans lived under?

Source E Analysis (John Lewis Quote) John Lewis noted that the independence of $18$ African countries in $1960$ and $1961$ served as a “tremendous influence.” Lewis remarked: “They were getting their freedom, and we still didn't have ours in what we believed was a free country. We couldn't even get a hamburger and a coke at the soda fountain.”

Activity Questions

1. Examine why the Civil Rights Movement was necessary in the US.
2. Explain why the Constitution played an important role in the movement's ability to gain support.
3. Explain how the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka illustrates the strength and weakness of the Constitution as a guarantor of human rights.
4. Explain why Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in $1964$.