Civil Rights Movement

Legal Milestones

Brown v. Board of Education

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGHLdr-iak

• What implications did this court ruling have on American education?

• What kinds of disadvantages did segregated schooling have on minorities?

Controversy• Busing• Private schools, parochial schools, vouchers• Southern reaction• “all deliberate speed”• “white flight”

• What benefits come from desegregation and increased diversity in schools?

• What disadvantages resulted from desegregation?• Do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages?

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK2GdOxz3s0

• http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3525

• What did the Civil Rights Act do?• Does it surprise you that President Johnson

would support such legislation?

LBJ remarks after signing bill• We believe that all men are created equal. Yet many are

denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights. Yet many Americans do not enjoy those rights. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty. Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings—not because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin. The reasons are deeply imbedded in history and tradition and the nature of man. We can understand—without rancor or hatred—how this all happened. But it cannot continue. Our Constitution, the foundation of our Republic, forbids it. The principles of our freedom forbid it. Morality forbids it. And the law I will sign tonight forbids it.

• July 2, 1964 (Miller Center)

What hardships did the Civil Rights Act address?

• Travel• Job discrimination• Public facilities

• Where did Congress draw their authority to legislate in all these areas?– Commerce clause

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxEauRq1WxQ

• http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3386

• How does President Johnson attempt to unify the country in his speech? What evidence can you find from the video?

LBJ speaks before Congress • There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern

problem. There is only an American problem. And we are met here tonight as Americans—not as Democrats or Republicans--we are met here as Americans to solve that problem.This was the first nation in the history of the world to be founded with a purpose. The great phrases of that purpose still sound in every American heart, North and South: "All men are created equal"—"government by consent of the governed"—"give me liberty or give me death." Well, those are not just clever words, or those are not just empty theories. In their name Americans have fought and died for two centuries, and tonight around the world they stand there as guardians of our liberty, risking their lives.Those words are a promise to every citizen that he shall share in the dignity of man. This dignity cannot be found in a man's possessions; it cannot be found in his power, or in his position. It really rests on his right to be treated as a man equal in opportunity to all others. It says that he shall share in freedom, he shall choose his leaders, educate his children, and provide for his family according to his ability and his merits as a human being.

• March 15, 1965 (Miller Center)

What long-term consequences did the Voting Rights Act have?

• Many Southern states and counties in other areas are still required to get approval from the Department of Justice before changing any laws affecting voting

• Still in effect today• Texas still has issues with the VRA– When redistricting

What opposition did those in favor of these laws face?

• Dixiecrats• Many white Americans (particularly in the

South)

• What tactics did they use in their efforts to stop the passage of these bills?– filibuster

Take out a sheet of notebook paper

• Write down something that you didn’t understand during class and what you think might help you to get it (something you’d like me to explain in a different way, or go over again).

Civil Rights Methods

• Boycotts• Desegregation• Sit-ins• Freedom rides• Marches

Montgomery Bus Boycott• Lasted for 381 days• 90% of African Americans in Montgomery

participated• Reduced bus revenue by 80%• Federal court ordered Montgomery’s buses

desegregated in November 1956• Directed by MLK Jr. who was then relatively

unknown• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/

resources/vid/02_video_bus_qt.html

School Desegregation: Little Rock• Gov. of Arkansas, Orval Faubus called on National

Guard to prevent black students from attending Little Rock Central H. S.

• President Eisenhower ordered the National Guard to stand down, and deployed the 101st Airborne Division to protect students

• Only 1 of the Little Rock 9 was able to graduate• The Little Rock school system shut down the

following year to avoid further integration• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/

eyesontheprize/resources/vid/03_video_schools_qt.html

Sit-ins• Students dressed professionally, sat quietly, and

sat in every other seat at the lunch counter• Many demonstrators were sent to jail• Protests often led to physical violence on

students• Led to the formation of SNCC (Student Non-

Violent Coordinating Committee)• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/

eyesontheprize/resources/vid/04_video_nonviolence_qt1.html

Freedom Rides

• Activists decided to test Boynton v. Virginia (ended segregation in interstate travel)

• Passengers were often beaten in the South, particularly in Alabama

• Jailed riders were usually treated poorly• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/

eyesontheprize/resources/vid/05_video_riders_qt.html

Selma (Alabama) March 7, 1965

• March from Selma to Montgomery• Before they reached Montgomery

demonstrators were attacked by police with clubs, tear gas, barbed wire and whips

• 16 marchers were hospitalized• Two weeks later, they finished the march• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/

eyesontheprize/resources/vid/10_video_march_qt.html

Washington D. C. • August 28, 1963• 200,000-300,000 demonstrators• “I have a dream” speech• Goals– Support for civil rights laws– Federal works program– Full/fair employment– Decent housing– Right to vote– Integrated educationhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/

resources/vid/08_video_washington_qt2.html

Birmingham

• Mass arrests (including of MLK Jr.)• Children’s Crusade- included high school students

who were met by police dogs and fire hoses• Led to increased sympathy for civil rights activists • KKK bombed a church, & killed 4 young girls• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/

eyesontheprize/resources/vid/07_video_c_qt.html

Race riots• Watts (Los Angeles)- poor area, with high

unemployment• Police department had a history of abuse against

blacks• $30 million worth of property was destroyed

• Detroit (Michigan) –residents rioted after a bar was shut down & customers were arrested

• White flight• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/

eyesontheprize/resources/vid/13_video_detroit_qt.html

Watts

• August of 1965• 35 killed• Rioters targeted white businesses

• McCone Commission Report on LA riots– Not enough jobs– Poor education system– Resentment of police

193193rdrd Street, Downtown Los Angeles Street, Downtown Los Angeles

Watts Riots, 1965Watts Riots, 1965

Take out a sheet of notebook paper

• Write down the most important thing you learned today

• and one question you still have