Civil rights history

• Red Scare and McCarthyism


  • Fear and loss of freedom
  • Damage to livelihoods
• Brown vs Board


  1954
• Effects of Brown vs Board


  • Revival of the KKK
  • Gained major publicity but not much progress was made
• Death of Emmitt Till

  1955
• Effects of Emmitt Till's death

  • His mum took the body to Chicago to show the media, revealing southern racism to the world
  • Many Americans were shocked, leading to publicity and remorse due to lack of justice
• Montgomery bus boycott


  1955-56
• Effects of Montgomery bus boycott


  • Led to violence against boycotters
  • Only led to segregation of transport in Montgomery, leading to further violence by the KKK
• Little Rock


  1957
• Effects of Little Rock


  • President Eisenhower directly intervened to enforce the Supreme Court's decision, encouraging the civil rights movement
  • Generated lots of publicity, reflecting badly on racists in southern states
• Civil Rights Act 1957

  1957
• Effects of Civil Rights Act 1957


  • Had little impact, but was an important step for allowing African Americans the right to vote
  • Led to the Civil Rights Act in 1960, when only 3% of African Americans could vote
• Sit-ins


  1960
• Effects of sit-ins


  • Led to further campaigns about segregated lunch counters by civil rights groups
  • Gained lots of publicity as thousands of protestors were arrested and the 'bail not jail' tactic was used
• Freedom Rides


  1961
• Effects of Freedom Rides


  • Violent attacks on the freedom rides attracted publicity and sympathy
  • The federal government under JFK was embarrassed and threatened to send federal marshals to enforce segregation
• Meredith case


  1961
• Effects of Meredith case


  • The president was forced to intervene, similar to Little Rock
  • After this case, African Americans were rarely prevented from joining universities due to their race
• Birmingham peace marches


  1963
• Effects of Birmingham peace marches


  • President Kennedy wanted to avoid similar scenes in the future and his administration began working on a civil rights bill to end segregation
  • Most businesses preferred to make concessions so the mayor agreed to some desegregation, but many facilities remained segregated and violence against African Americans continued
• March on Washington


  1963
• Effects of March on Washington


  • It put pressure on politicians to support the Civil Rights Bill being debated in Congress
  • Publicity was increased due to the presence of celebrities
• Mississippi Freedom Summer


  1964
• Effects of Mississippi Freedom Summer


  • Failed, with only 1600 African Americans registering to vote due to fear
  • The Freedom Schools did improve literacy and awareness of black history
• Selma March


  1965
• Effects of Selma March


  • Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, setting up a fair, national test for voting registration and appointing federal examiners to supervise voter registration
  • The Voting Rights Act meant that African Americans could gradually elect more of their own representatives
• Civil Rights Legislation


  • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legal segregation but did not end discrimination
  • The Voting Rights Act of 1965 led to a dramatic increase in the numbers of African American voters and meant they could elect more of their own representatives
• Black Nationalism


  • Split the black community and weakened the civil rights movement, particularly after the assassination of MLK in 1968
  • Gave black people pride in themselves and their culture, e.g. by teaching black history and encouraging black people to stand up to white violence