“Separate but Equal”

The Civil Rights Movement Begins1954 - 1957

Plessy v. Ferguson

Civil Rights Act of 1875 stated that “all persons… shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations…” but the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1883.

Plessy v. Ferguson ruled that “separate but equal” was not a violation of the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed all Americans equal treatment under the law.

Jim Crow LawsThese laws aimed to separate the races:•Forbade marriage between blacks and whites•Established restrictions on social and religious contact•Separated facilities

The facilities for blacks were far inferior to those provided for whites.

Separate facilities

•Separated -- schools, streetcars, waiting rooms, railroad coaches, elevators, witness stands, public restrooms, restaurants, hotels

Brown v. Board of EducationNine-year-old Linda Brown had to cross a railroad track,

then take a bus to an all-black elementary school 21 blocks away. Her father, Oliver Brown, charged the school board of Topeka, Kansas of violating Linda’s rights by denying

her admission to an all-white elementary school.

In 1954, The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously stated that segregation was unconstitutional and ruled in favor of Oliver Brown.

The Brown Family

Remarks in the Case

The team of lawyers supporting Brown’s case was led by Thurgood Marshall, who dedicated his life to fighting for civil rights. After the case Marshall stated, “ I was so happy, I was numb.” In 1967, Marshall became a U.S. Supreme Court justice member.

At the time of the court’s decision, Chief Justice Earl Warren stated, “To separate [African-American children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone….”

“with all deliberate speed” - second Brown Supreme Court ruling in 1955

Herman Talmadge, of Georgia vowed total resistance. He branded the Supreme Court decision, “a flagrant abuse of judicial power” and promised, “The people of Georgia… will map a program to insure… permanent segregation of the races.”

Twelve million schoolchildren in 21 states were immediately affected by the Brown v. Board decision. Within a year, 500 school districts had desegregated but not everyone complied.

“Little Rock Nine”

Although Arkansas had slowly made strides to end segregation – desegregating universities without court order and a gradual plan for desegregation of public schools – Orval Faubus used the issue to get reelected as governor of Arkansas.

Nine students volunteered to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School but Faubus ordered the National Guard to turn away the students. A federal judge denied Faubus this right.

Eight of the students received phone calls from ministers offering escorts to classes on September 23, 1957.

Elizabeth Eckford

Eckford, 15, who did not have a phone, faced an abusive crowd of students and adults outside the school. “I looked into the face of an old woman, and it seemed a kind

friendly face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me.” With the help of two friendly white people, Eckford made it to the bus station.

Eisenhower calls in the National Guard

The National Guard was brought in to escort students, and 1000 paratroopers were ordered by Eisenhower to watch Little Rock.

But, those soldiers could not protect students in the hallways, classrooms or cafeteria.

The nation watched the issue on national television. At the same time, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (sponsored by Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas), giving the attorney general greater power over school desegregation and giving the federal government more authority over violations of African American voting rights.

Murder of Emmitt TillNot even children were safe from racism in the South.

August 20, 1955 Till went to visit relatives in Money, Mississippi from his hometown of Chicago. Money, with only 55 residents was far different from his home.

On a dare, Till, said, “Bye Baby” to a white woman in a store. The woman’s husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J. W. Milam were put on trial for the murder of Till.

They will later describe brutally beating him (Till), taking him to the edge of the river, shooting him in the head, fastening a large metal fan used for ginning cotton to his neck with barbed wire, and pushing the body into the river. (pbs.org)

The trial lasted one week. In just under an hour on September 23, the all-white jury found both men innocent.

Rosa Parks On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a seamstress and an NAACP officer, took a seat in the front row of the “colored” section of a Montgomery bus. When the bus became crowded, it was expected that the “colored” section would stand so that whites could sit. Rosa Parks, exhausted, refused and was arrested.

Parks stated, “It was certainly time for someone to stand up, so I refused to move.”

A boycott of the buses, discussed since Brown v. Board, was put into effect by the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association.

Montgomery Bus BoycottDr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, was asked to lead the boycott.

On December 5, 5000 people came to hear King speak about the importance of the boycott. “… I want it to be known – that we’re going to work with grim and bold determination – to gain justice on buses in this city. And we are not wrong…. If we are wrong – justice is a lie.”

For 381 days, African Americans refused to ride the buses, joining car pools and walking long distances. All the while, the participants remained nonviolent.

In late 1956, the Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

In 1957, King joined with 100 ministers and civil rights leaders and founded the SCLC. It’s purpose was, as King stated, “to carry on nonviolent crusades against the evils of second-class citizenship.”

The SCLC planned to hold protests and demonstrations throughout the South until racial injustice ended. It was time for African Americans to unite and join the grassroots movement.