4/13/2012

The Civil Rights Movement

What were Jim Crow laws? From 1880s to 1960s Named after Minstrel Show character Legalized segregation

2 Phases: 1945-1965 : End Segregation and Get Voting Rights Post 1965: Economic demands

At the bus station, Durham, North Carolina, 1940.

A rest stop for bus passengers on the way from Louisville, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee, with separate entrance for Blacks. 1943.

Most Common: No inter-marriage Public facilities forced to segregate

Greyhound bus terminal, Memphis, Tennessee. 1943.

A sign at bus station, Rome, Georgia. 1943.

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A highway sign advertising tourist cabins for Blacks, South Carolina. 1939.

Drinking fountain on the courthouse lawn, Halifax, North Carolina. 1938.

The Rex theater for colored people, Leland, Mississippi. June 1937.

Cafe, Durham, North Carolina. 1939.

Movie theater’s "Colored" entrance, Belzoni, Mississippi. 1939.

Restaurant, Lancaster, Ohio. 1938.

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Water cooler in the street car terminal, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 1939.

Sign above movie theater, Waco, Texas. 1939.

Why Did the Civil Rights Movement Take Off After 1945? • Democratic Party – Realignment under FDR

• Double V in WWII – Victory over hate abroad/Victory over hate at home

• Black Vets returning home • White people begin to condemn it – Why? Beale Street, Memphis, Tennessee. 1939.

• Can we discriminate and still beat the Commies? – Propaganda

Jackie Robinson The Truman Years (1945-1952) • Jackie Robinson’s breakthrough (1947) • Truman advocated Civil Rights (1948 Platform) • Congress: ignores civil rights legistlation • Truman does it on his own: – Desegregation of the military (1948)

• Debuted April 17, 1947 • Selected to Hall of Fame in 1962 • Rookie of the Year 1947 • MVP 1949 • World Series Champ: 1955 • Career .311 BA

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Civil Rights in the Courts • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – “separate but equal” facilities = legal

• Sweatt vs. Painter (1946) – First attack = “separate is not equal” – There were certain times when separate but equal does not exist (Law School)

• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) -- Chief Justice Earl Warren

Battle in the Courts (cont.) • Eisenhower disapproves of Brown decision • Desegregation “with all deliberate speed” • Other Warren Court Civil Rights decisions (reapportionment) • Popular opposition to the Brown decision • No real progress on desegregation at first

The Eisenhower Years (1953-1961) • Eisenhower’s philosophy related to Civil Rights laws • First Civil Rights Acts passed since the Civil War (1957 and 1960) • Opposition to the integration of Little Rock Central High School (1957) --Governor Orville Faubus

Out of the Schools and Into the Buses • The arrest of Rosa Parks (December, 1955) • The Montgomery, Ala. Bus Boycott • The leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. • The “Montgomery” model for Civil Rights activism: boycott, publicity, courts • Southern Christian Leadership Conference formed (1957)

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A Mass Movement Takes Shape • Lunch counter “sitins” begin: Greensboro, NC (February, 1960) • Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee created (April, 1960) • CORE “Freedom Ride” (May, 1961)

A Mass Movement Takes Shape (cont.) • Demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama (April, 1963) --Eugene “Bull” Connor • “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” – “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

• Governor George Wallace tries to block integration of the University of Alabama (Fall, 1963)

A Mass Movement Takes Shape (cont.) • JFK finally begins to campaign for Civil Rights legislation • Continued violence even in the face of some progress • Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington (August, 1963) -- “I Have a Dream”

A Mass Movement Takes Shape (cont.)

The Kennedy and Johnson Years

• Mississippi Freedom Summer Project (1964) • Miss. Freedom Dem. Party Protests at the 1964 Democratic convention • Voter registration in Selma, Alabama (1965) --Sheriff Jim Clark • By the mid-1960’s, substantial success in the South had been achieved

• JFK’s initial reluctance to push for Civil Rights laws • The integration of Ole’ Miss (1962) --James Meredith • JFK finally decides to push past better enforcement to new congressional Civil Rights legislation

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The Johnson Years (cont.) • The role of Kennedy’s assassination in the Civil Rights movement • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Anti-poll tax Amendment (24th—1964) • Voting Rights Act (1965) • Impact of the Voting Rights Act

Landmark Civil Rights Act 1964 • Creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission • Prohibited discrimination on account of gender (so did we need the ERA?). • Banning segregation in most private facilities open to the public.

The Era of Disillusionment: Post1965 • Early to mid-1960’s were a hopeful time for Civil Rights advocates • Goal of Assimilation • A “Spoiled Utopia” after 1965—things would not be that simple

The Johnson Years (cont.) • The tone of public political discourse changed after 1965 • Johnson appoints first Black cabinet secretary: Robert Weaver of HUD (1966) • Much more needed to be done for Civil Rights outside of the South, so 2nd phase began

New Problems • Residential Discrimination -- “Red Lining” • The Challenges of School integration in the North • The historical, traditional segregation of northern cities • The resurrection of the KKK once again • More effective White opponents in the North

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Race Riots—Summer of Fear • Watts Riots in Los Angeles (Summer, 1965) • Riots each summer from 1965-1969 --Chicago and Cleveland (1966) --Newark and Detroit (1967) --Washington, D.C. (1968)

Race Riots (cont.)

How Does This Level of Violence…

• Riots as an expression of grievance against the White American consumer society • Riots shocked the White American public • Frustration and selfdestruction expressed in these riots • Unlike earlier race riots, these riots were not started by White mobs

C. “Black Power” (cont.) • The leadership of Malcolm X --Black Muslims --Assassinated in 1965 • Cultural expressions of “Black Power”: --Afro Hairstyles --Black-studies programs -- “Negro” no longer used --1968 Olympics

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Assassination “Black Power”

• X was assassinated in a Harlem ballroom. • Three Nation of Islam members were convicted of murder.

• Growing tension between SNCC and Martin Luther King, Jr. --Stokely Carmichael • “Black Power” • Carmichael succeeded by H. Rap Brown as head of SNCC (1967)

“Black Power” (cont.)

Black Panther Party

• The formation of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, CA (1966) --Huey Newton --Eldridge Cleaver • Resurrection of the philosophy of Marcus Garvey

Black Panther Party for SelfDefense • Founded Oct. 1966 • Oakland, CA • Founders – Huey Newton – Bobby Seale

Original six Black Panthers (November, 1966) Top left to right: Elbert "Big Man" Howard; Huey P. Newton (Defense Minister), Sherman Forte, Bobby Seale (Chairman). Bottom: Reggie Forte and Little Bobby Hutton (Treasurer).

Panthers • Purpose – Practice militant selfdefense against the US gov’t. – Establish revolutionary socialism – Established schools – Established free food centers – Focused on ECONOMIC power

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Panther’s Ten-Point Program •

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We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community. We want full employment for our people. We want an end to the robbery by the white man of our Black Community. We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings. We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.

•We want all black men to be exempt from military service. •We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people. •We want freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails. •We want all black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their black communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States. •We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.

Panthers • One of the very first activities undertaken by the Panthers was the citizens patrol in which they followed officers around, armed with a gun and a copy of the California Penal Code in order to protect the citizens of Oakland. • They began programs, including a sickle-cell anemia testing program, free clinics, and food distributions. The most famous and successful of their programs was their Free Breakfast for Children Program, which fed thousands of children.

D. Decline of the Civil Rights Movement

Government attacks • The Party was targeted by the FBI's, which attempted to disrupt their activities and dissolve the party.

• Economic contraction works against Civil Rights concessions • Northern phase not as successful • Resistance from White Unions • Vietnam replaces Civil Rights as the liberal crusade • Martin Luther King, Jr. loses influence with LBJ

– COINTELPRO illegally used FBI to forged documents • • • •

Informers Undercover agents Dirty tricks Raided homes and killed Panther leader

Decline • The Party fell apart due to rising legal costs and disputes resulting from the FBI. Several prominent members went on to join the armed group, the Black Liberation Party, while others (e.g. Eldridge Cleaver) embraced a more moderate, pro-peace philosophy. Many languished in prison for years as a result of FBI cases. Several left America and became citizens of various African nations

From • • • • • •

SCLC SNCC MLK Malcolm X Black Panthers Buppies vs Gang Bangers. $$$$ fixes everything

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