Civil rights movement

• When was the Little Rock 9

  1957
• Bus segregation


  Seats on buses in Alabama were segregated by race due to the Jim Crow Laws in place
• Bus segregation


  • Black people were forced to sit at the back of the bus
  • Black people were forced to give up their seat to any white people that boarded
• Rosa Parks


  On 1st December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man and was arrested
• The WPC (Women's Political Council)


  Had been campaigning in Montgomery for years about bus segregation
• The boycott

  Ended when the NAACP went to the Supreme Court with Browder v. Gayle claiming that bus segregation broke the 14th amendment
• After two appeals, the Supreme Court upheld its decision to desegregate the buses in Montgomery
• why was the montgomery bus boycott significant

  • The boycott was significant because it showed what non-violent direct action could achieve.
  • The boycott brought Martin Luther King to the forefront of the Civil Rights movement. 
  • It inspired boycotts in other cities, for example in Tallahassee in Florida.
  • The violent and racist white reaction had shown whites in a bad light.
  • Activists were able to use this to further their cause in later struggles like those in Little Rock.
• The SNCC

  • The SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was set up by the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) and CORE as a nonviolent student group that trained students to do sit-ins.
• Results of freedom riders

  Results

  • The bus reached Anniston in Alabama with very little trouble, and only two arrests.
  • However, the KKK disagreed with desegregating buses due to their racist views. 
  • 100 KKK members attacked and firebombed the first bus in Anniston, nearly killing everyone inside.
  • The riders on the second bus were beaten but drove on to Birmingham, where they were beaten again by the KKK.
• Testing desegregation 

  • In December 1960, the Supreme Court ordered that all state transport and facilities should be desegregated. 
  • 13 CORE activists (seven black and six white) tested bus desegregation by riding two buses from Washington DC to the South. 
  • Segregation was still being enforced on buses, so the activists sought to encourage government action to enforce the desegregation.
• Results of brown v board 1954


  Supreme court ruled that segregated education was unconstitutional. school must desecrate
• why was the brown v board significant

  • The case increased awareness Brown revesred the plessy ruling and so sparked more legal cases for desegregation
• Limitations of brown v board 


  Southern schools refused to desegregate. White citizens councils to fight for segregation. KKK threaten many black families. 11 southern states signed the southern manifesto which rejected brown ruling and argued for segregation
• Why was the montgomery bus boycott successful

  Significant individual likes Martin Luther king Organisation. Publicity leaflets church services and local press made sure that people knew about the boycott MIA meetings kept everyone informed on what was happening. Commitment boycot kept going despite the threats violence and arrests
• Civil rights act 


  1957
• What was the civil rights act

  Allowed the government to prosecute states who interfered with peoples right to vote
• Opposition to the boycott

  Dixiecrats tried there best to stop the act going through using a tactic called filibuster. President einshower spoke against it felt the was act was forcing change on people
• Greensboro significance 


  Young people and white people were inspired to join protest. Sits ins were a simple but effective tactic Attracted a lot of media attention. Inspired similar protests across the country
• Freedom riders 


  1961
• James Meredith case 


  1962
• What happened in the james Meredith case

  the Supreme Court ordered the university of Mississippi to accept the black student James Meredith however the state governor and several university officials physically stopped Meredith from registrar when about 500 federal officials arrived to help if they were attacked by a mob over 3000 violence broke out and hundreds of people are injured
• Project C Birmingham 


  1963
• March on Washington, 1963

  • The March for Jobs and Freedom had 250,000 people march on Washington (about 40,000 were white).
  • It was the largest political protest in US history.
  • It was peaceful and broadcast on TV with famous people like Bob Dylan involved.
• 'I have a Dream' speech 

  • Martin Luther King made the closing speech ('I have a Dream') that confirmed his role as leader of the Civil Rights movement.
  • The speech signified how prominent the movement had become at that time.
• The Mississippi Murders

  • Two CORE activists (one white and one black) and a white volunteer were arrested on 21st June 1964 and murdered on their way home by the KKK.
  • Their bodies weren’t found until the 4th August, and the bodies of eight other black men were also found, three of which were CORE workers. 
  • It was a national scandal.
• Freedom Summer 1964 

  • Between 1962 and 1964, 700,000 black Americans had registered to vote in the South, but this was still not very many compared to the number of black people who lived there.
  • The SNCC and CORE sent 1000 volunteers to Mississippi to increase black voter registration.
• Voting rights act 


  1965
• The Civil Rights Act, 1964

  • The Civil Rights Act was introduced by President Kennedy and passed by President Johnson on 2nd July 1964.
  • It introduced bans on:
  • Discriminatory voter registration tests designed to prevent black people from registering to vote.
  • Discrimination in public spaces and multi-state businesses.
  • Discrimination in employment.
• The Voting Rights Act 1965

  • Passed on 6th August by President Johnson.
  • The Voting Rights Act set up:
  • A single voter registration requirement that would be enforced by federal government. States could only set extra qualification rules with federal approval.
  • Federal officials to increase voter registration in states where over 50% of those eligible to vote were not registered.
• • The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political movement in the USA founded in 1930.
  • The NOI began as a black separatist organisation that shares some beliefs with the major denominations of Islam, such as the belief in one God (Allah).
  • Black separatism is the belief that black people should live in a society completely separate from white people.
• Nation of Islam teachings

  • The NOI has many teachings that are not shared by the denominations of Islam.
  • NOI members believe that white people are devils, whereas Muslims believe all races are equal.
  • This ideology started the theory of black supremacism. 
  • The NOI wanted to create a new country in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, which would only contain black citizens.
• Contrast with civil rights

  • Malcolm X's views differed greatly to those of the nonviolent Civil Rights movement, he believed that black people's rights should be obtained "by any means necessary".
  • His views on violent resistance did not appeal to white people as Martin Luther King's peaceful stance did.
  • Black people had been characterised as aggressive in American society, so many felt like violence did not further the cause for civil rights.
  • Malcolm X said: "Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks".
• Consequences of Malcolm X's death

  • Malcolm X's assassination triggered many of his followers to focus on his earlier acceptance of the possibility of using violence to gain equality, but only in self-defence.
  • This laid the foundation for the emergence of the Black Power movement.
• What the Black Panthers did

  1. Patrol black neighbourhoods to keep them safe (armed!)

  2. Created 'rainbow coalitions' to stop non-sometimes to start fighting common enemies in authority)

  3. Controlled the traffic around schools where kids had been hit by cars

  4. Pressed white officials for improvements such as street lighting

  5. Taught courses on Black History and citizens' rights

  6. Carried guns for self-defence and intimidation, and tape recorders to record police harassment

  7. Provided free medical clinics for the poor black people, and provided shoes

  8. Ran breakfast clubs for poor black children
• Reasons for the growth of Black Power:

  1.Slow progress. 2.Lack of focus. 3.Ghetto conditions were getting worse. 4.They appealed to young people. 5.They were successful on local issues
• The riots

  • There were 329 major riots in 257 cities between 1964 and 1968, starting just two weeks after the Civil Rights Act was passed. 
  • They resulted in 220 deaths and 52,629 arrests.
• Causes of riots 64-67

  • They were partially a reaction to ghetto conditions, and police discrimination against black people in the North.
  • The first was triggered when a policeman shot a young black man, and led to other cities in the North.
  • The Watts riots in LA occurred after a black man was wrongfully arrested.
• The Kerner report 


  1968
• • The Kerner Report said that:
  • The riots were caused by poor ghetto conditions, and that white officials had failed to fix the problems there.
  • White officials needed to involve black communities in decisions and listen to their issues.