Civil Rights Movement 1955-1968

During the years between 1955-1968, the Civil Rights Movement took place in the United States and had significant political and social changes in society. It was a mainly biblical movement that was led by clergymen such as Joseph Lowry and Martin Luther King Jr. During this time, many protests and peaceful civil disobedience acts that took place, which helped to eventually extend the rights of African Americans with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Plessy vs. Ferguson Supreme Court case that ruled that “separate but equal” public facilities were constitutional and acceptable. The decision was argued from April 13 th – May 18 th 1896 , when the final decision was made with a majority ruling of 7:1.

Homer Plessy, a man who was 7/8 Caucasian, tried to sit in an all white section of a train. However, under Louisiana law, he was considered African American, and could not sit in this area.

He refused to move and was immediately arrested, and forced to pay a $25 dollar fine. He sued the state of Louisiana, stating that the segregation of the railroad violated his 13 th and 14 railroad companies within the state. th amendment rights. However, the judge presiding over his case, John Howard Ferguson, ruled that Louisiana had the right to regulate

He continued to appeal his case until it reached the U.S Supreme Court, where they ruled that Louisiana and the railroad car did not violate the 14 th Amendment. This ruling made “separate but equal” facilities acceptable. This would not be challenged again for another 60 years. This set the precedent for segregation in the South.

Segregation-to require, often with force, the separation of (a specific racial, religious, or other group) from the general body of society. This practice became common, in the South especially ,during the Jim Crow Era which started after Reconstruction. During the Jim Crow Era, it was legal to segregate people based on skin color. It was seen in public facilities such as bathrooms, restaurants, and movie theaters.

Hate crimes such as lynching and burning of people’s houses took place often during this time period. The Klu Klux Klan rose as a white supremacy group. Violence was committed mainly against blacks with no punishment. There was a lot of government corruption as well.

Between 1870 and 1884 11 Southern states legally banned interracial marriage. School segregation was common in nearly every Southern state.

As a result of this, many African Americans started to protest their treatment. Some famous civil rights activists are W.E.B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., Ida B. Wells and Rosa Parks. These people were very influential in the civil rights movement. They organized and/or participated in many demonstrations.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent minister and a Civil Rights activist who led many of the important marches and protests that took place during the Civil Rights Movement. He was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which became a major organizing force during the Civil Rights Movement He was an advocate for non-violent civil disobedience.

W.E.B. Dubois

“history cannot ignore W.E.B. DuBois because history has to reflect truth and Dr. DuBois was a tireless explorer and a gifted discoverer of social truths. His singular greatness lay in his quest for truth about his own people. There were very few scholars who concerned themselves with honest study of the black man and he sought to fill this immense void. The degree to which he succeeded disclosed the great dimensions of the man.” –Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

CIVIL RIGHTS

DuBois’ life goal was to insure equality to his race. He demanded equality and wanted it as soon as possible, opposed to Washington’s view of gradual equality. DuBois was an important part of the civil rights movement. He founded the NAACP and pushed for political and educational rights for African-Americans

Brown vs. Board of Education Landmark court case that was between the Brown family and Topeka Kansas. Linda Brown was denied admission to her local elementary school because she was black.

Her family sued, and the case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where, on May 17, 1954, justices unanimously ruled that “separate but equal” facilities were unconstitutional.

Brown vs. Board of Education This case was monumental because it was the biggest court victory that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement Set the stage for future integration of public schools, which was met with a lot of resistance and violence from Southern Whites

Important Civil Rights Protests

the Emmett Till case Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy from Chicago who, while visiting his family in Mississippi, was beaten and brutally murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman The two white men who were arrested for allegedly committing the crime were acquitted by an all white jury. They later admitted to committing the murder in an interview for LOOK magazine The case became a widespread controversy and shined more light on the Civil Rights Movement in the South

Rosa Parks Bus Boycott Rosa Parks was an NAACP member and a seamstress. She refused to give her seat up to a white man while on a bus on her way home from work. She was arrested and forced to pay a $25 dollar fine.

In response, the African American community launched a boycott against Montgomery local buses, which lasts for over a year.

It ended on December 1 st, desegregated. 1956 when buses were Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent leader during this protest.

Freedom Riders The Freedom Riders were a group of Civil Rights activists who rode interstate buses through the segregated South to protest and challenge the status quo in the South by participating in lunch counter sit-ins and boycotts of other segregated facilities

They were often met with violence, especially in the deep South. Many Southern local and state governments saw the actions of the Freedom Riders illegal, and arrested them. Some police officers were in league with the Klu Klux Klan and allowed them and other whites to attack the Freedom Riders without due cause.

The Freedom Riders, while oppressed by some government officials, still earned the respect of many blacks and whites throughout the country, and inspired many to directly join the Civil Rights movements. They participated in even more protests on segregation, especially large hotel chains who, fearing boycotts in the North, began to desegregate their businesses.

Little Rock Nine Crisis involving desegregation of a school by admission of 9 black students at Central High School in Little Rock, AR Students were met with extreme resistance and violence , mostly due to the fact that the Arkansas governor called the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering the school, violating the court ordered integration of schools

Little Rock Nine Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the National Guard to the school in response to the defiance. They stayed there for the duration of the school year.

This was just one of the incidents that occurred during the transition from segregation to integration