The Civil Rights Movement

Mr. BlaisAmerica in the World

Central High School, Little Rock Arkansas

Sit-ins• Sit-ins were another form of

nonviolent protest• They were begun in 1960

when four African-American students sat at a southern dinner and refused to leave until they were served

• Only 7 months later 70,000 students around the country were using sit-ins to create social change

Violence in Birmingham• In April 1963 Birmingham

police used fire hoses, clubs, and attack dogs on men, women, and children partaking in a peaceful demonstration.

• These attacks were seen by millions of Americans by way of the television.

• Americans were outraged and President Kennedy now fully supported the civil rights activists.

March on Washington• This was the largest civil rights

demonstration in U.S. with over 200,000 people involved.

• They marched on Washington to support the passing of Kennedy’s Civil Rights bill that was being debated in Congress.

• This is where Martin Luther King Jr. made his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech and when America and the world realized just how many people supported the civil rights bill

Civil and Voting Rights• Civil Rights Act of 1964– Stated that all citizens should

have equal access to public facilities and private businesses. Also outlawed job discrimination and discrimination in education

• Voting Rights Act of 1965– Solidified voting rights for all

minorities in America• Both bills were signed into law

by Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) after Kennedy’s assassination

Black Muslims• This group, founded in the 1930s,

preached the idea of black nationalism or the idea that African-Americans should completed separate themselves from whites and govern themselves.

• They also advocated for self-defense and one of their most popular speakers was Malcolm X.

• He was later shot and killed in 1965 for his rift with the ideals of the Nation of Islam.

Black Power and the Black Panthers• This was a new philosophy developed

during the Civil Rights Movement which stated:– Blacks need to take back control of all

aspects of their lives, separate from whites, and do it with violence if necessary

• This idea also preached racial distinctiveness and pride

• The Black Panthers, a militant group, took black power to an extreme and called for blacks to arm themselves and force whites to grant them equal rights.

Riots and the Death of MLK• From 1963-1968 riots broke out

in major cities throughout the U.S.

• Most riots happened due to poor wages, housing, and jobs available to African-Americans in the cities

• Then when MLK was assassinated in 1968 major riots broke out in over 125 cities.

• The death of a nonviolent man caused an outbreak of violence.