Civil Rights

Martin Luther King…new leaderInfluences on King:-Jesus – love one’s enemy- Thoreau – Civil Disobedience; refusal to obey an

unjust law- A. Philip Randolph – organize massive demonstrations- Gandhi – powerfully resist oppression without using

violence• King summed up his philosophy to white racists:

“We will not hate you but we cannot…obey your unjust laws. We will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process”

• Called it “Soul Force”

SCLC Southern Christian Leadership Conferenceo Used non-violence to protest unjust laws

-100 ministers and civil rights leaders gathered in 1957-Used churches as a base, planned to stage protests and demonstrations through the south-Grass-roots; support of ordinary African Americans of all ages-King – president

SNCC - 1960Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee-Students viewed pace of change as being to slow-Somewhat more confrontational • Staged sit-ins– Media captured the ugly face of racism; beatings,

jeering, pouring food over students who refused to strike back.

– North – students formed picket lines around national chains stores that had segregation.

Freedom RidersFREEDOM RIDERS: Washington, D.C. 1961, bus ride through

the south.• Two interracial teams of freedom riders to travel through

south to challenge segregation; (already declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court)-Bus one ended with violence; -Bus two ended with a fire bomb in Alabama

• SNCC pulled into Birmingham and met Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor’s men and were beaten and driven to TN

Freedom Riders• Occupied the white only waiting room for 18 hours; RFK

convinced bus driver to continue and SNCC volunteers set out for Montgomery– No police for protection of the riders when it got to

Montgomery…white mob with bats and lead pipes– Newspapers carried stories- even southern papers criticized the

lack of police– JFK more direct support by sending 400 marshals to protect

riders on the last part to Jackson, Miss – Attorney General and ICC issued an order banning segregation

on all interstate travel including waiting rooms, restrooms, and lunch counters

Birmingham• 1963 invited King to attend because city was one of total

segregation; racial violence-SCLC and King set out to desegregate the city

April 3- 1963 arrived in cityApril 12- King and followers marched the streets, were

arrested by Bull Connor-Dr. King wrote letter while in jail

April 20- King posted bail and began to plan more demonstrations

BirminghamMay 2, 1963- 1000 African American children

marched; Bull Connor arrested 959May 3, Another march met with fire hoses,

attack dogs, and clubbed; millions of TV viewers heard children screaming

• More protests, economic boycott, and negative media coverage finally desegregated the city

• President Kennedy saw that only a Civil Rights Act would end the racial injustice

March on Washington

August 28, 1963• 250,000 Americans

gathered in Washington, D.C. to support civil rights legislation

• King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech

Kennedy Assassinated• November 22, 1963 – JFK assassinated in

Dallas, TX• JFK and his wife were riding with the Texas

governor and his wife-One bullet went through JFK’s neck and struck the Governor -The second hit him in the back of the head-A third bullet missed and hit the curb

Conspiracy Theories• More than one gunman:

-36 witnesses claimed shots came from in front of the car-56 said shots were behind-5 said both

• Mafia: retaliation for pressure from RFK?• Cuba?• Israel?• Soviet KGB?

SELMASELMA CAMPAIGN:• 1965 – SCLC led major campaign in Selma, Alabama to

register voters-Blacks were 1/2 the population but only 3% of registered voters

• Hope was to lead drive to convince LBJ a federal voting act was needed

• By 1965, 2000 blacks had been arrested for demonstrations

• Selma Sheriff Jim Clark brutally attacked demonstrators

SELMA• February 1965: law officers shot and killed a

demonstrator, Jimmie Jackson• King led to 50 mile protest from Selma to

Montgomery (Alabama)-March 7, 1965, 600 protestors set out for Montgomery

• Protestors were met with tear gas, whips and clubs• Again, TV brought the scene into every American

home• Johnson responded by urging Congress to pass the

Voting Rights bill

-March 21, 1965- 3000 marchers set out with federal protection

-Under court order only 250 were to enter city limits

-25,000 were present to march into Montgomery

VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1965

• Eliminated the literacy test• Federal officials could enroll voters if denied

by local officials

Result: Selma went from 10% voting to 60%

Race Riots, Urban Violence• Racial violence intensifies especially between white

police and black teenagers• Watts Riot , African American neighborhood in Los

Angeles, police were arresting a young man for drunk driving argued with mother and race riots broke out for 6 days-34 killed, $30 million in property was destroyed

• Race riots took place in 1966, but in 1967 riots took place in over 100 cities

Race Riots, Urban Violence

African Americans had just won major victories in civil and voting rights. What were they so angry about??

• Anger stemmed from lack of economic equality of opportunity in jobs, housing, and education

• Johnson in 1964 announced his War on Poverty

Assassination of MLK• April 3, 1968 James Earl Ray shot MLK from across

the street of his hotel room in Memphis, TN• Rage over King’s death led to the worst riots in

Americans history• 125 cities exploded in flames• Hardest Hit: Baltimore, Washington D.C., Kansas

City, Chicago

Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

• Was a strong supporter of Civil Rights• Campaigning for presidential nomination• June 6, 1968 assassinated by Jordanian

immigrant Sirhan Sirhan who didn’t like RFK’s support of Israel

• 2 months after MLK• Sirhan is still imprisoned today

Lasting Results of the Movement • Legal:

-Ended de jure segregation-Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Civil Rights

Act of 1968 (banned discrimination in housing)-Integration

• Social:-African-American pride (African American Studies classes,

more on TV)

• Political: Voting-1970 2/3 African Americans were registered to vote which brought about black elected officials-300 in 1965 to 7000 by 1992

Topics Still Being Addressed Today

• De facto segregation (white flight) and American attitudes

• Resistance from white communities to policies of busing, spending more tax money in inner cities, etc.

• Affirmative Action – giving preference to groups that suffered discrimination in the past– 1980s reverse discrimination – quotas were eased and

declared unconstitutional– Preference still okay