Civil Rights and Reform in the 1960s

The Civil Rights Movement Strengthens

• African Americans fought for their rights for a long time, but after World War II, they became even more determined because they were unhappy with their second-class status.

Separate but Not Equal

• In the South, Jim Crow laws made sure that the races were kept apart. This is called de jure segregation, which means segregation by law.

• In 1896, the Supreme Court said in Plessy v. Ferguson that this kind of segregation was okay as long as the facilities for blacks and whites were "separate but equal." But, most of the time, the facilities for African Americans were not equal at all.

• Segregation was common in the South and other places in different parts of life, like schools, hospitals, transportation, restaurants, cemeteries, and beaches. One city even prohibited blacks and whites from playing checkers together.

• Rosa Parks started a movement that led to the Supreme Court declaring segregation on public buses illegal. A year later, she sat at the front of the bus.

• After the war, many people were doing well, but most African Americans were still not treated as equals.

• The civil rights movement aimed to make the nation live up to its ideal that everyone is created equal. It also showed that ordinary people can do amazing things to achieve social justice, which is still inspiring people today.

Discrimination Throughout the Country

• Even in the North, African Americans faced segregation and discrimination. Even without specific laws, de facto segregation, which is segregation based on custom or tradition, was common.

• In the North, African Americans were often denied housing in certain neighborhoods and faced job discrimination, often only being able to find low-paying jobs.

• Jim Crow laws and other subtle discrimination greatly affected African Americans, putting them at the bottom of the economic ladder with higher poverty and illiteracy rates, and lower rates of homeownership and life expectancy compared to white Americans.

• Most African Americans in the South couldn't vote, and very few held public office, although those in the North could.

• In the West and Southwest, Asian and Mexican Americans also faced de facto segregation and legal restrictions in some cases.

Civil Rights Advance Slowly in the 1940s

• World War II helped set the stage for the modern civil rights movement.

• In 1941, President Roosevelt banned discrimination in defense industries.

• In 1944, Gunnar Myrdal's book, An American Dilemma, brought the issue of American prejudice to public attention.

• After defending freedom abroad, African Americans were no longer willing to accept discrimination at home.

• In the 1940s, new organizations emerged to fight racial injustice and increase participation in the democratic process.

• James Farmer and others founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to end discriminatory policies and improve relations between races. They were inspired by Henry David Thoreau and Mohandas Gandhi's nonviolent protest methods.

• CORE organized nonviolent protests like sit-ins against segregation in public facilities in cities like Chicago and Detroit. While success was limited, Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, becoming the first African American to play major league baseball.

• Robinson faced death threats and rough treatment, but won the hearts of millions and paved the way for integration in other sports.

• Segregated drinking fountains in the South served as a reminder that the ideals of equality in the Declaration of Independence had not yet been realized.

• In February 1946, racial tensions in Columbia, Tennessee, led to mass arrests of African Americans, and Thurgood Marshall helped with their legal defense.

The NAACP Turns to Litigation in the Courts

• The NAACP used the court system to fight segregation and inequality, challenging the idea of "separate but equal."

• Thurgood Marshall played a key role in this strategy.

• The Supreme Court heard cases about whether graduate schools could deny admission to black students.

• In Sweatt v. Painter, the Court ruled that the University of Texas Law School had to admit an African American student (Sweatt) because the separate black law school was not equal in terms of resources and prestige.

• In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, the Court ruled that the University of Oklahoma could not treat a black student (McLaurin) differently from other students.

• These cases showed that segregation in education was not providing equal opportunities and that the "separate but equal" doctrine was not being upheld.

A Landmark Supreme Court Decision

• The NAACP's legal challenges led to a major Supreme Court case that questioned the legality of segregation in public schools.

• Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark case that challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson.

• The Supreme Court stated segregation in schools was unconstitutional in the case of Brown v. Board of Education.

• The Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education was influenced by Chief Justice Earl Warren who ensured a single, clear decision.

• The Supreme Court considered evidence about the effects of segregation on black children and concluded that it was inherently unequal.

• The Hernandez v. Texas case demonstrated that Mexican Americans also faced discrimination and were denied equal protection under the law.

The Public Response

• The Brown v. Board of Education decision received different reactions across the country.

• Some people supported the decision, while others resisted it.

• In 1955, the Supreme Court issued a second ruling, often called Brown II, which stated that school districts should desegregate with "all deliberate speed".

• Many Southern states actively resisted desegregation efforts, and some officials vowed to prevent integration.

• Desegregation efforts improved education and opportunities for African Americans as shown by the data on high school and college completion rates, dropout rates, and per capita income.

Conflict Between Federal and State Power

• The Brown v. Board of Education ruling sparked conflicts between the federal government and state governments, primarily in the South.

• Some state officials, like Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas, openly defied the Supreme Court's decision and resisted desegregation efforts.

• In Little Rock, Arkansas, Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to block nine African American students from entering Central High School.

• President Eisenhower intervened by sending federal troops to Little Rock to ensure the students could attend school.

• Eisenhower emphasized the importance of respecting the rule of law but believed the situation would need the support of his citizens.

• The events in Little Rock illustrated the challenges of implementing desegregation and the resistance faced by the civil rights movement.

• Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock students, faced an angry crowd as she tried to enter the high school.

Political Lobbying Leads to a New Civil Rights Act

• Lobbying efforts led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which aimed to protect voting rights and address racial discrimination.

• The act established a Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department and empowered federal officials to prosecute those who interfered with voting rights.

• It had limitations but marked a step forward in protecting civil rights.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

• The Montgomery Bus Boycott arose from a single act of defiance by Rosa Parks.

• Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a bus sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

• Parks was a civil rights activist who had been involved in the NAACP.

• Her act of defiance was a planned action designed to challenge segregation on public transportation.

• The Black community in Montgomery organized a boycott of the bus system to protest segregation.

• The boycott lasted for over a year and had a significant impact on the city's bus system.

• Rosa Parks' act galvanized the civil rights movement and brought national attention to the issue of segregation.

• The Montgomery bus boycott demonstrated the power of nonviolent resistance and collective action to achieve social change.

• Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as a leader during the boycott, advocating for nonviolent protest and racial equality.

• King's leadership and powerful speeches inspired people to join the movement for civil rights.

• The Montgomery Bus Boycott faced resistance and violence from segregationists, but participants remained committed to nonviolent principles.

Ministers Inspire the Movement

• Many ministers played key roles in the civil rights movement, providing leadership, organization, and moral support.

• Martin Luther King emphasized the role of the church in the movement and promoted nonviolent resistance as a means of achieving social change.

• Ministers and church leaders organized meetings, rallies, and protests, mobilizing communities to fight for civil rights.

• The church served as a sanctuary and a source of strength for civil rights activists, offering spiritual guidance and financial assistance.

• The Montgomery Improvement Association asked African Americans to boycott the Montgomery bus system to protest segregation and demand equal treatment.

The Movement Surges Forward

• Despite the Brown decision and other civil rights victories, little had changed in the everyday lives of most African Americans.

• Activists continued to struggle.

• The movement experienced a growth of support.

• Results of this produced a dramatic shift in race relations, led to the passage of landmark civil rights legislation in 1964, and set the stage for future reforms.

Student Activists Promote Civil Rights

• After the Brown decision, many black youths expected that their schools would integrate quickly and that other racial reforms would follow.

• Change was not quick to come, so young African Americans began to challenge segregation with new determination.

Nonviolent Protests Challenge Segregation

• On February 1, 1960, four African American college students ordered doughnuts and coffee at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

• They were refused service but they sat down on the stools at the lunch counter, where they stayed until closing time.

• Word of the Greensboro sit-in spread rapidly, sparking a wave of similar protests across the nation.

• Students in Nashville staged sit-ins and, later, marches to protest racial inequality.

• Protestors held “wade-ins” at public beaches and “read-ins” at public libraries, refusing to leave beaches or libraries reserved for whites only.

• African Americans boycotted buses.

• Groups of demonstrators knelt in prayer.

• Other activists carried picket signs in demonstrations and wrote letters to newspapers and government officials to express their support of the protests in the South.

• Protestors used nonviolent methods to make it clear that they were determined to expand political rights and economic opportunities.

Political Organizations Encourage Nonviolent Protest

• The sit-ins marked the birth of a new militancy, especially among young African Americans.

• To build on their momentum, about 175 students from 30 states met at Shaw University, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

• James Lawson said the demonstrators were trying to raise the 'moral issue' and that the pace of change was too slow and at this rate it will be another generation before the major forms of segregation disappear.

• Ella Baker, a veteran of the struggle for civil rights, organized the meeting.

• She helped the young activists to establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC.

• Its goal was to create a grass-roots movement that involved all classes of African Americans in the struggle to defeat white racism and to obtain equality.