The Civil Rights Movement

There were two phases to the Civil Rights movement: one phase between 1945-1965 and the other after 1965.

I. Why Did the Civil Rights Movement Take Off After 1945?
Black equality became a significant political issue for the Democratic Party WWII had been fought against racism abroad hard to keep harboring it at home Black veterans came home dedicated to change Increasing number of White Americans condemned segregation Discrimination in the United States hurt our propaganda battle against the Communists

II. The Truman Years

Trumans 1948 election year agenda No significant Civil Rights congressional legislation Truman moves on his own to do what he can for Civil Rights --Desegregation of the military (1948) Jackie Robinsons breakthrough (1947)

II. The Truman Years (cont.)

Split at the 1948 Democratic convention Energized Truman hits the campaign trail hard Republican Dewey runs a boring, conservative campaign Trumans stunning election Trumans Fair Deal (1949)

III. The Battle in the Courts

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) -- separate but equal facilities = legal Smith v. Allwright (1944) First attack = separate is not equal Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) -- Chief Justice Earl Warren

III. Battle in the Courts (cont.)

Eisenhower disapproves of Brown decision Desegregation with all deliberate speed Other Warren Court Civil Rights decisions Popular opposition to the Brown decision No real progress on desegregation at first

IV. The Eisenhower Years

Eisenhowers 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

V. 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 SCLC formed (1957)

VI. A Mass Movement Takes Shape

Lunch counter sitins begin: Greensboro, NC (February, 1960) SNCC created (April, 1960) CORE Freedom Ride (May, 1961)

VI. A Mass Movement Takes Shape (cont.)

Demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama (April, 1963) --Eugene Bull Connor Letter from Birmingham City Jail Governor George Wallace tries to block integration of the University of Alabama (Fall, 1963)

VI. 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

VI. A Mass Movement Takes Shape (cont.)

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

VII. The Kennedy and Johnson Years

JFKs 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

VII. The Johnson Years (cont.)

The role of Kennedys assassination in the Civil Rights movement Civil Rights Act of 1964 Anti-poll tax Amendment (24th1964) Voting Rights Act (1965) Impact of the Voting Rights Act

VII. 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

VIII. The Era of Disillusionment: 1965 On

Early to mid-1960s were a hopeful time for Civil Rights advocates Goal of Assimilation A Spoiled Utopia after 1965things would not be that simple

A. 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

B. Race Riots
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)

B. Race Riots (cont.)

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

C. Black Power (cont.)

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

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

D. Decline of the Civil Rights Movement

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