Transcript Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movement
McGuire HUSH
Assessment for this unit
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Timed Write
Notes can be used
Need to come to a clear answer (thesis)
Need at least 9 analytical statements
– star/underline/highlight them
• 50 minutes of writing
TWE did the CRM of the 1950s and 60s
expand democracy for all Americans?
What do you need to know to answer this
question?
1. Def of democracy
2. Actions taken during the CRM
3. Impact of those actions
Democracy
• All eligible people within a jurisdiction are
equal in decision making
• All eligible people within a jurisdiction are
equally valued under the law (think 14th
amendment)
• One person, one vote
Mentality of African Americans
Poem by Claude McKay (1920s)
If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot…
Like men we’ll face the murderous cowardly pack
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
“Lenox Avenue Mural” by Langston
Hughes (1930s)
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
World War II
• The nation on one hand was denouncing
racism (think Jews/Hitler/the Holocaust) but
on the other hand had segregated armed
forces and kept Af. Ams. in low-paying
positions
• President Harry Truman had to figure out how
to deal with increasing pressure on him and
the U.S. gov’t from Civil Rights groups and
other nations
Truman’s reaction
• Late 1946—appointed a Committee on Civil
Rights
• Recommended that Congress pass laws
– against lynching
– against voting discrimination
– to end racial discrimination in jobs
Brown v. Board of Education
• Brown went to court on behalf of his child to advocate
for her rights to go to Sumner Elementary instead of
Monroe Elementary which was much further away
• Slowly ended racial segregation in schools
• 1954: the court decided to put to an end the doctrine
of “separate but equal” that had been around since
the 1890s
Brown v Board
• The Supreme Court said that the segregation of
schoolchildren “generates a feeling of
inferiority…that may affect their hearts and minds in
a way unlikely to ever be undone.”
• But it was sloooooww…by 1965, more than 75% of
the schools in the South were still segregated
Rosa Parks
1955, Montgomery, Alabama
Rosa Parks
• “Well, I was quite tired after spending a full
day working. I handle and work on clothing
that white people wear…That didn’t come in
my mind but this is what I wanted to know:
when and how would we ever determine our
rights as human beings?”
• Arrested for sitting in the “white” section of
the bus and not getting up for a white
passenger
Impact of Rosa Parks’ Decision
• Montgomery blacks called a bus boycott for
all city buses (significant because this was a
main way of transportation for them)
• Most walked, some car pools were organized
• City of Montgomery retaliated by sending
many Black organizers to jail
• White citizens turned to violence
– Four Black churches bombed
– Dr MLK Jr’s home shot at, then bombed
• Black Montgomery citizens persisted and in
November of 1956, the Supreme Court
outlawed segregation on bus lines in
Montgomery (Browder v. Gayle)
• Over the next 10 years, the protest
movement was formatted much like the
Montgomery bus boycotts
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Church meetings
Hymns adapted to current civil rights battles
Commitment to non-violence (for the most part)
Willingness to struggle and sacrifice
1960
•Black Americans
weren’t the only ones
boycotting things
•White citizens in
Louisiana started a
campaign to not buy
Ford products
Martin Luther King Jr
“We have known humiliation, we
have known abusive language, we
have been plunged into the abyss
of oppression. And we decided to
raise up only with the weapon of
protest…We must use the weapon
of love. We must have compassion
and understanding for those who
hate us.”
What is valuable about having a
commitment to non-violence?
Robert Williams
• Ex-marine, president of his local NAACP (Monroe,
NC)
Robert Williams
• Became known for his view that Blacks should
defend themselves against violence, with guns when
necessary
• Community was characterized by violence against
Blacks
• Witnessed woman being beaten and dragged by
police officers
• Thought King’s message was naïve
– Yes, there might be people who could be won over by love
– But there were others who would have to be bitterly
fought
What valid points does Robert Williams make?
1st example of Non-violent Protesting
• Sit-ins
– Af. Ams. (often students) would sit in areas of restaurants
marked as “White Only”
– Led to over 3,600 people being put in jail
– Brought attention to the CRM
– What’s their goal?
2nd example of non-violent protesting
• March on Washington
– Summer of 1963. Goal was to protest the failure of the
nation to address the race problem
– Friendly protest, embraced by Pres JFK
– “I have a dream” inspired many but didn’t include the
anger that many Blacks felt
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• JFK asked for legislation (laws) "giving all
Americans the right to be served in facilities
which are open to the public—hotels,
restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar
establishments," as well as "greater
protection for the right to vote."
• The result was the CRA of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
1.Made illegal the unequal application of voter
requirements
2.Couldn’t discriminate on public grounds;
exempted “private” clubs and didn’t define
private
3.Couldn’t deny anyone access to public
facilities
4.Encouraged the desegregation of schools
1963-1965
• Unemployment
– White unemployment was 4.8%
– Non-whites 12.1%
• Living below the poverty line
– 1/5 of Whites
– ½ of Blacks
• Public Office
– 72 Blacks elected to public office
1977
• Public Office
– More than 2,000 Blacks held office in 11 Southern
states
– 3% of elected offices held by Blacks
– 20% of the South’s population was Af. Am.
• Unemployment
– 34.8% among Black youths
Housing Discrimination
To what extent did the CRM of the
1950s and 60s expand democracy for
all Americans?
• (20 points)
– Each sentence of analysis is worth 1.5 points (13.5
total)
• Make sure each is starred, underlined, or highlighted
– 2 points possible for a clear answer to the question
(thesis)
– 3 points possible for all the evidence being relevant to
your argument
– 1.5 points possible for it being well-organized