Race relations in the US/ The Civil Rights Movement - TBC

Disclaimer!: this is a broad topic, and this covers far more than would be in an essay/ in certain date parameters. The break between 1965 and after will be highlighted, and paragraphs that could be stuck together in a longer essay will be highlighted.

Intro: despite slavery being outlawed in the US in 1865, Black people all across the US and especially in the south are faced with huge racial discrimination. Jim Crow laws - separate but unequal.

Aftermath of WW2 - black troops travel to Europe to fight only to see countries without segregation. Push for equality in the army which is passed. Black veterans still treated poorly at home despite fighting for their country. NAACP ( national association for the advancement of coloured people)

Brown Vs Topeka - Linda Browns father wanted his daughter to go to an equal school, took the schoolboard of Kansas to court. The law finds schools being separted to be unequal, and schools are no longer segerated. By 1969, only 20% of black children are in non segregated schools.

Little Rock - High school in little rock wanted to take in 9 black students, the town reacted violently. Protests and demonstrations erupted outside the school, Arkansas governer sends in troops to refuse entry to students. President Kennedy was not willing to allow states this power, and sent in federal troops; showcasing the governments ability to stand by its laws.

Montgomery buses & Rosa Parks - in the city of Montgomery (70,000 white people and 50,000 black people), the movement would kick off. Segregation on buses means black people have to sit at the back. 75% of bus users are black, leading to complications. 1st of December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, kick change

NAACP and boycott - Parks due to appear in court on december 5th, the NAACP organises the boycott to begin the same day. 35,000 leaflets are distributed, Dr Martin Luther King Jr chosen to lead the movement. Officials expect it to only last for a few days, but the boycott just keeps going. Bus companies losing huge profits

The boycott continues - carpooling is organised to help people get around, taxi servies are also set up. When the city threated to take taxi lisences, the NAACP funded them. Weekly masses held in support of the boycott. Everything is totally peaceful, however violence erupts. King and other leaders are arrested, black churches are bombed. The boycott holds strong despite the pushback from the white community