Exhaustive Guide to the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1965)

General Overview of the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1965)

• Time Period: The traditional chronological scope for the movement is identified as $1954$ to $1965$.
• Core Definition: Traditionally interpreted as a "heroic narrative of moral purpose and personal courage by which great men and women inspired ordinary people to rise up and struggle for their rights."

Historiography of the Civil Rights Movement

• Traditional Interpretation (Brinkley Textbook): Focuses on a narrative of moral victory and courage spanning from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s.
• Newer Schools of Thought and Additions:
  • Local Understanding: Some historians argue for a more localized understanding of the movement rather than a strictly national one.
  • Chronological Disagreement: There is historical debate regarding the exact start and end dates of the movement.
  • Geographic and Ideological Shifts: Newer interpretations focus on events in the North and the role of more militant groups.
  • Gender Roles: Scholars have noted that women’s contributions were frequently minimized or overlooked in traditional narratives.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954 and 1955)

• Consolidation of Cases: The $1954$ decision was a consolidation of several cases including that of Linda Brown of Kansas.
• Key Legal Figures:
  • NAACP Attorneys: Thurgood Marshall and Oliver Hill.
  • Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Earl Warren.
• The Case of Linda Brown: Linda Brown had to travel several miles to a segregated public school despite living next to a school reserved for white students.
• The Decision: The court ruled that segregation was unconstitutional.
  • Reasoning: It violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
  • Impact: The court determined that segregation inflicted unacceptable damage to those affected, regardless of the relative quality of the separate schools.
• Verbatim 14th Amendment Context: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
• Brown v. Board of Education II (1955):
  • Specifically addressed the implementation of desegregation.
  • The Ruling: Ordered desegregation to occur "with all deliberate speed."
  • Enforcement: Provided no specific deadline; granted federal district courts the authority to review desegregation plans.

Historiography of the Brown Decision

• Traditional Interpretation: Viewed as a "triumph over injustice."
• Patterson’s View: Argues that the Brown decision was less decisive than commonly believed.
• Klarman’s View: Argues that the decision actually slowed progress by inciting a massive white backlash.
• Ogletree & Bell’s View: Suggest that the lack of an enforcement mechanism made the decision difficult to implement and contributed to ongoing social issues.

Massive Resistance and Opposition

• Strategy: Local opposition attempted to delay, contravene, or ignore federal rulings.
• Key Examples:
  • Little Rock Crisis: (Details in subsequent section).
  • Prince Edward County, Virginia: Public schools were closed entirely from $1959$ to $1964$ to avoid integration.
• Segregation Academies: Private schools founded specifically for white students. These were eventually ruled unconstitutional in $1974$ in the case Runyon vs. McCrary.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)

• Local Context: Montgomery, Alabama had a pre-existing tradition of civil rights activism, supported by a Black college, a local newspaper, legal support, and voter registration efforts.
• The Incident: Rosa Parks, an NAACP secretary and activist, was arrested for challenging the segregation of city bus lines.
• Leadership: Local leaders invited a then-unknown Martin Luther King, Jr. to lead the boycott.
• Outcome: The nonviolent protest lasted over a year and led to federal courts ordering the desegregation of city buses in $1956$.

The Little Rock Crisis (1957)

• Date: September $1957$.
• Target: Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
• The Little Rock Nine: Nine students enrolled under the guidance of Daisy Bates, leader of the local NAACP branch.
• State Resistance: Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to block the students from entering, directly defying federal authority.
• Federal Intervention: President Dwight Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne to protect the students and enforce integration.
• Aftermath: In the fall of $1958$, Governor Faubus closed all public schools, resulting in a "lost year" for students. Schools reopened in $1959$, though hostility and hate speech persisted.

Sit-In Movements (1960)

• Greensboro Sit-In (February 1, 1960): Four university students (Ezell A. Blair, Jr., Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond) sat at a whites-only lunch counter at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina.
• Protest Progression: More participants joined despite threats. After approximately $5$ months, the lunch counters were desegregated.
• Formation of SNCC: The momentum from sit-ins led to the creation of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
• Jackson, Mississippi Sit-In (May 28, 1963):
  • Participants included Anne Moody, Joan Trumpauer, and John Salter.
  • Conditions: Protesters had sugar, mustard, and ketchup poured on them.
  • Anne Moody’s Personal Narrative: Moody described the mob violence, including her being cut with brass knuckles and a broken sugar container. She noted the "unbridled hatred" and the brainwashing of white youth by white councils using special curriculums.

The Election of 1960

• Candidates and Electoral Results:
  • John F. Kennedy (Democrat): $303$ electoral votes.
  • Richard Nixon (Republican): $219$ electoral votes.
  • Harry F. Byrd (Independent/Unpledged): $15$ electoral votes.
• Notes: Alabama split its electoral votes between Byrd ($6$) and Kennedy ($5$). One Nixon elector voted outside the party endorsement.

Freedom Rides (1961)

• Objective: To demonstrate the lack of enforcement of the $1946$ and $1960$ Supreme Court rulings declaring segregation in interstate travel unconstitutional.
• Organizations: CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and SNCC.
• Key Figures: Diane Nash (Nashville Student Movement/SNCC), John Lewis, and James Zwerg.
• Violence and Resistance:
  • Anniston, Alabama: A bus was firebombed and riders were beaten on May $14$.
  • Birmingham, Alabama: Police Commissioner "Bull" Connor made a pact with the KKK to allow them $15$ minutes to beat protesters without police interference.
  • Protective Custody: In Birmingham, riders were taken into "protective custody" and then dropped off by Bull Connor in a rural area near the Tennessee line known for Klan activity.
• Outcome: Massive publicity and outrage forced federal enforcement of the desegregation of interstate bus lines.

Albany Campaign (1961-1962)

• Leadership: SNCC (John Lewis) and SCLC (Martin Luther King, Jr.).
• Goal: To "fill the jails" with nonviolent protesters in Albany, Georgia, until desegregation occurred.
• Police Strategy: Local officials de-escalated by avoiding violence, which reduced media attention. They used neighboring town jails once Albany's were full.
• Result: The campaign reached a stalemate and failed to achieve immediate desegregation.

Birmingham Campaign (1963)

• Leadership: SCLC and Martin Luther King, Jr.
• State Leadership: Governor George Wallace, who famously declared: "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever."
• Tactics: The "Children’s Crusade" involved children marching; they were met with police dogs and high-pressure fire hoses under Bull Connor’s orders.
• Violence: The KKK bombed houses and motels.
• 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing: September $15$, $1963$. Four young girls were killed and $22$ others were injured by a dynamite blast planted by KKK members.
• Legal Philosophy - Letter from a Birmingham Jail: MLK argued the distinction between Just laws (which square with moral law/God) and Unjust laws (which degrade human personality). He stated that one who breaks an unjust law must do so "openly, lovingly… and with a willingness to accept the penalty."

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963)

• Date: August $28, 1963$ (the $100th$ anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation).
• Objective: To pressure the Kennedy administration into passing a Civil Rights bill.
• Key Event: Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
• Program Participants: Speakers and performers included Daisy Bates, Diane Nash Bevel, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, and Mahalia Jackson.
• Juan Williams Commentary: Noted that the White House feared the march would turn into a mob, but organizers defined it as a "massive moral revolution."

Freedom Summer (1964)

• Objective: To register Black voters in Mississippi.
• Participants: Sponsored by SNCC and CORE; involved local leaders and predominantly white college student volunteers from out of state.
• Violence: Three volunteers—Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner—were murdered by the KKK.
• Statistical Result: Only about $1,200$ new voters were successfully registered.
• Political Fallout: The Democratic Party refused to seat an integrated delegation from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), led by Fannie Lou Hamer, at the national convention.

The Election of 1964

• Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat): $486$ electoral votes.
• Barry Goldwater (Republican): $52$ electoral votes.

Selma to Montgomery March (1965)

• Bloody Sunday (March 7, 1965): Protesters led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams were brutally attacked by Alabama state troopers with nightsticks and tear gas at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
• Completion of the March (March 21-25, 1965):
  • Approximately $3,200$ people started the $50$-mile ($80$ km) trek.
  • By the time they reached the state capitol in Montgomery, the crowd grew to $25,000$.
• King’s Speech Conclusion: King referenced "Sister Pollard," a $70$-year-old woman from the bus boycott, noting her quote: "My feets is tired, but my soul is rested."

Local History: Fairfax County

• Specific Focus: Narrative history of Luther Jackson High School.
• Topics of Study: How public schools began in Fairfax, education changes before and after the Brown decision, and student interviews regarding local experiences with integration.