Who was he?

James Meredith was a Negro who applied to go to the white segregated University of Mississippi. But, when

the university found out he was coloured they denied him entry to

the school by saying he was ‘too late for entry’.

What was the problem?when the university found out he was coloured

they denied him entry to the school by saying he was ‘too late for entry’.

What did he do?Meredith took the University to the supreme court

and they ruled in his favour that the university must allow him to enrol.

Who was the Governor?Governor Ross Barnett appointed himself as the

acting registrar so he could refuse James Meredith’s admission; which is exactly what he

did.

What happened next?Meredith continued to try and apply. 5 days later he was met

by a large crowd who chanted “2,4,6,8 we don’t want to integrate!”

Who stepped in?President Kennedy tried to contact the Governor 3 times with

no success. He then took action and sent US army troops, then later planes and helicopters with more forces. Finally Meredith

was escorted to class under Federal protection.

Who reacted?The public. Riots took place and troops were attacked with

burning missiles, bricks and acid. But troops fought back with tear gas and by the morning 2 men were killed and 375 were

injured.

Outcome?James Meredith finally attended university but was definitely

not popular and graduated in 1963.

Ole’ miss – university of Mississippi

James Meredith governor Ross barnett

President Kennedy

What was the problem?Segregation in the Southern states was rigid and racist white groups were violent towards blacks

especially in the Southern States.

What was this? Birmingham was chosen as the city for the campaign because it was thought to be a city ruled by fear and hatred. The aim of the campaign was to activate the

black community and force desegregation of all public facilities. It also aimed to force the president and congress to pass laws which would desegregate

public facilities in the South.

When did it happen?In January 1963, SCLC leaders met to discuss plans to

desegregate Birmingham, where there was rigid segregation. SCLC budgeted $500 000 for the campaign, much of it was raised by the singer, Harry Belafonte. The local movement was led by Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth.

Successful law suits had led to facilities being closed down rather than integrated. Birmingham was considered

violently racist. Police Commissioner, ‘Bull’ Connor believed Blacks should

be kept in their place and he was considered likely to react violently to protests. This would create valuable

publicity.

Who was the governor?George Wallace was governor and he had promised,

“Segregation Now! Segregation Tomorrow! Segregation Forever!”

What happened next?In April 1963, the Birmingham campaign started. The campaign

aimed to provoke Connor to react. On the third, King arrived and demanded segregation. Sit-in demonstrators and marchers were arrested. Connor got an

injunction to stop demonstrations but King ignored this and led a demonstration on Good Friday. He was arrested and spent a

week in jail where he wrote ‘Letter from a Birmingham jail’, explaining why non-violent protest was justified.

Who reacted?James Bevel organised the children and students march. On

2nd May there was a march of children aged 6-18 yrs. Connor arrested 959 of them – shocking America.

The next day there was another young people’s march. Connor ordered police dogs and high-pressure hoses to be used on the

children. Police beat up many.

What happened next?The police reaction to the march provided a nationwide TV

audience with live drama. Further marches followed and the Black community was now united behind King. By 6th May, more than 2000 had been

jailed.More mass demonstrations occurred.

There was worldwide publicity and the American public was shocked.

What was the outcome?By Friday, 10 May, there had been negotiations with the city’s business leaders. Shops would be desegregated, Black people would be hired as clerks and salespeople and an inter-racial

committee would be formed. Bull Connor was furious and the KKK rallied. There were two nights of rioting but the agreement

survived.Victory in Birmingham confirmed the leadership roles of King

and the SCLC.

Martin Luther king jr. Ralph Abernathy

What was the problem?Every morning on the way to school Oliver Brown’s 8 year old daughter passed a primary school for white children only on the way to her black school, many miles away from her home. Mr Brown’s beliefs were that children were deserving of an education equal to that of white children.

He also believed the philosophy of ”separate but equal” -- Separate facilities but of equal value – was flawed, as although the education of

blacks and whites in Topeka was separate, they definitely weren’t equal.

What evidence did he have?Negro schools were not equal to white schools for instance the state of Mississippi was spending $98.15 per year for each white pupil and only

$43.14 for each Negro student.

What action did he take?He protested against and eventually took the Topeka board of education to court. (The Topeka board of education provided separate schools for

Negroes and whites.) Then he (with the assistance of the NAACP) appealed to the Supreme Court.

How was the browns case different?Because although it was a fact that negroes got hardly any money for

education but whites got more, he was able to prove it.

The verdict Monday 17 may 1954

Judge chief justice earl warren Verdict: that segregation of children in public schools on the basis of race deprives the children of the minority group of equal education

opportunities.

ReactionAlthough there was a bitter reaction, the border states accepted the

decision as inevitable and began to actively desegregate their schools. Unfortunately, by 1964

91 out of every 100 Negroes in the seventeen southern Border States still attended segregated schools.

Significance of the brown caseThe brown vs. Topeka board of education decision had placed the

constitution on the side of the civil rights movement.

Rosa ParksShe was Arrested and fined $10 for refusing to give up her seat for a

white person who got on the bus.

Protest plan: For all the blacks in Montgomery to collectively boycott the buses for

a dayNAACP- rights for blacks passive protesting.

Boycott extension MIA: Montgomery improvement association.

Taxi fares: They put the prices down to bus fare level to help the boycott.

Car poolWhat was it? Sharing rides to help in the bus boycott when they

were told to put their taxi fares up again.Who ran it? The MIA around 150 people and 3 whites.

Court actionAim: to have transport segregation laws of Alabama declared

unconstitutionalAction: NAACP to the case to federal court

Result: court ruled in favour of blacks so defeated city appealed to Supreme Court

Supreme Court decision Ruled in favour of blacks and made it law that buses had to be

desegregated

Results of the boycottStates could no longer insist on their own public transport laws.

Rosa paRKS

What was the issue?Little Rock High School in Arkansas would not allow nine black students to

enrol at their school in 1957.

Who stopped them?The Governor of Arkansas, Orville Faubus sent the National Guard in front

of the school to stop the students getting in.

Who tried to take action?President Eisenhower talked to Faubus and tried to get him to stop but

the governor would not. The supreme court ordered that the black students should be allowed to

enrol at the high school.

What was the reaction?State police tried to protect the black students but angry whites outside the school rioted and the situation became out of control. The students

had to be removed from the school for their own safety.

Eisenhower’s action?the president ended up sending Federal Troops and with the help of

many armed officers the students were able to attend classes with solider body guards.

In 1961 CORE undertook a new tactic aimed at desegregating public transportation throughout the south. These tactics became know as

the "Freedom Rides". The first Freedom Ride took place on May 4, 1961 when seven

blacks and six whites left Washington, D.C., on two public buses bound for the Deep South. They intended to test the Supreme

Court's ruling in Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. 

In the first few days, the riders encountered only minor hostility, but in the second week the riders were severely beaten. Outside

Anniston, Alabama, one of their buses was burned, and in Birmingham several dozen whites attacked the  riders only two blocks from the sheriff's office. With the intervention of the U.S.

Justice Department, most of CORE's Freedom Riders were evacuated from Birmingham, Alabama to New Orleans. John Lewis, a former seminary student who would later lead SNCC and become a US

congressman, stayed in Birmingham.

CORE Leaders decided that letting violence end the trip would send the wrong signal to the country. They reinforced

the pair of remaining riders with volunteers, and the trip continued. The group traveled from Birmingham to Montgomery without incident, but on their arrival in

Montgomery they were savagely attacked by a mob of more than 1000 whites. The extreme violence and the

indifference of local police prompted a national outcry of support for the riders, putting pressure on President

Kennedy to end the violence. 

The riders continued to Mississippi, where they endured further brutality and jail terms but generated more publicity and inspired dozens more Freedom Rides. By the end of the

summer, the protests had spread to train stations and airports across the South, and in November, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued rules prohibiting segregated

transportation facilities.

On February 1st, 1960, the first sit-in commenced at Greensborough Woolworths when four Negroes entered the lunch counter and sat at the

section reserved for whites. They were refused to be served but remained there for four hours until it closed.

The black students were retaliating and fighting against the unfair segregation laws that were ruling America at the time.

The result of the backlash was that hostile white students started to abuse protestors and the manager was forced to close the store and a

new form of non-violent protest was discovered.CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) held training sessions in non-violent

protests. The states that held the most sit-ins included North/South Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Texas.

The ResultIt took a total of 6 months before the Greensboro Woolworths served

Negroes at their lunch counter. Coloured and white signs were removed as the sit-ins continued.

Wad-ins, Read-ins and pray-ins took place to desegregate beaches and churches etc.

The March on Washington for jobs and freedom was one of the high points of the civil rights campaign. It took place on August 28 1963 in Washington DC. More than 200,000 protestors marched from Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument in a demonstration for racial equality for blacks in America. The focus of the march was to support the civil rights bill which

would allow the elimination of racial segregation in public schools; protection for demonstrators against police brutality; a major public-works

program to provide jobs; the passage of a law prohibiting racial discrimination in public and private hiring; a $2 an hour minimum wage;

and self-government for the District of Columbia, which had a black majority.

Martin Luther Kings InvolvementMartin Luther King along with other civil rights leaders from the NAACP and SNCC delivered speeches in hope to gain more support for the civil rights

bill. Here King delivered his famous I have a dream speech. In the speech he talked about a future where his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. Kings speech focused on the American dream and religious views. It is now regarded as one of the

greatest speeches in American history.

OppositionOriginally President Kennedy opposed the March, believing it would cause rioting and a threat to those involved. However

once he realized it would definitely go through he fully supported it.

Outright opposition came from two sided. White Supremacy such as the Ku Klux Klan groups obviously opposed the march

and any other event supporting racial equality. The march was also condemned by other civil rights activists such as Malcolm X who did not believe in peaceful protest and demanded a more direct approach. Malcolm X called it a Farce on Washington and temporarily suspended all members of the

nation of Islam who attended the march.

Research:

Jazzay alexander

Jess holland

Amie mellor

Moral support:

Raafey Khan

Sam davenport

Everything else:

David brown