1. The Segregation System
 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling: separate but equal is
constitutional
 Many states pass Jim Crow laws separating the races
 Facilities for blacks always inferior to those for whites

2. 1950’s Virginia Black School

5. African Americans Seek Greater
Equality
 De facto segregation exists by practice,
custom; problem in North
 De jure segregation is segregation
required by law
 WW II black migration to Northern cities
results in “white flight”
 1960s, most urban blacks live in slums
 Black unemployment twice as high as
white
 Many blacks angry at treatment received
from white police officers

6. Challenging Segregation in Court
 The NAACP Legal Strategy: Focuses on most glaring
inequalities of segregated public education
 Places team of law students under Thurgood Marshall
 Marshall’s greatest victory is Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka
 In 1954 case, Court unanimously strikes down school
segregation

7. Thurgood Marshall
US Supreme Court Justice
1908 - 1993

8. Resistance to School Desegregation
 Some districts, state officials, pro-white groups actively
resist
 Court orders desegregation at “all deliberate speed”
 Eisenhower refuses to enforce compliance; considers it
impossible

9. Protesting Brown v Board of Education

10. Crisis in Little Rock
 Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was all
white
 Governor Orval Faubus has National Guard turn away
black students (Little Rock Nine)
 Eisenhower has National Guard, paratroopers
supervise school attendance
 For Eisenhower its not about civil rights – its about
confirming the supremacy of the fed. gov’t

11. The Little Rock
Nine Bottom row,
left to right: Thelma
Mothershed,
Minnijean Brown,
Elizabeth Eckford,
Gloria Ray; Top row,
left to right:
Jefferson Thomas,
Melba Pattillo,
Terrence Roberts,
Carlotta Walls,
Daisy Bates (NAACP
President), Ernest
Green

12. Governor Orval
Faubus of Arkansas

13. The Montgomery Bus Boycott
 Rosa Parks arrested for not giving up seat on bus
 Baptist pastor Martin Luther King, Jr. organizes bus
boycott
 African Americans file lawsuit, boycott buses, use
carpools, walk
 Supreme Court outlaws bus segregation
 This event is considered the beginning of the modern
Civil Rights Movement

14. Rosa Parks on Montgomery, AL
bus
Dr. Martin Luther King in
Montgomery

15. Martin Luther King and the SCLC
 King -- nonviolent resistance, civil disobedience,
massive demonstrations
 King, others found Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC)
 By 1960, African-American students think pace of
change too slow
 Join Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC)
 SNCC adopts nonviolence, but calls for more
confrontational strategy

16. Dr. Martin Luther
King
1929 - 1968

17. Sit-ins
 Refuse to leave segregated lunch counter until served
 First sit-in at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, NC
 In spite of abuse, arrests, movement grows, spreads to
North
 Late 1960, lunch counters desegregated in 48 cities in
11 states

18. Woolworths Sit In Greensboro, NC February 1, 1960
Ezell A. Blair, Jr., Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L.
Richmond

19. Freedom Rides
 Tests Court decision banning interstate bus
segregation
 Freedom riders—blacks, whites sit & use station
facilities together
 Riders brutally beaten by Alabama mobs; one bus
firebombed
 JFK sends U.S. Marshals to protect riders

21. Integrating Ole Miss
 Federal court rules James Meredith may enroll at
University of Mississippi
 Governor Ross Barnett refuses to let Meredith register
 JFK orders federal marshals to escort Meredith to
registrar’s office
 Barnett makes radio appeal; thousands of white
demonstrators riot
 Federal officials accompany Meredith to classes,
protect his parents

22. James Meredith
Integrates Ole Miss
Oct 1, 1962

23. Birmingham
 SCLC demonstrate to desegregate Birmingham
 King arrested
 TV news show police attacking child marchers—fire
hoses, dogs, clubs
 Continued protests, economic boycott, bad press end
segregation

25. Kennedy Takes a Stand
 JFK sends troops to force Governor Wallace to
desegregate University of Alabama
 NAACP’s Medgar Evers murdered; hung juries lead to
killer’s release
Medgar Evans
NAACP Field Secretary
1925 - 1963

26. Governor George Wallace
Blocking the Integration of the University of Alabama June 10, 1963

27. Marching to Washington
 Over 250,000 people converge on Washington
 Speakers demand immediate passage of civil rights bill
 King gives “I Have a Dream” speech

29. More Violence
 4 Birmingham girls killed when bomb thrown into
church
 LBJ signs Civil Rights Act of 1964
 prohibits discrimination because of race, religion,
gender

31. Freedom Summer
 CORE, SNCC project to register blacks to vote in
Mississippi
 Volunteers beaten, killed; businesses, homes, churches
burned

33. The Selma Campaign
 Voting rights demonstrator killed in Selma, Alabama
 King leads 600 protest marchers; TV shows police
violently stop them
 Second march, with federal protection, swells to
25,000 people
 Congress finally passes Voting Rights Act of
 1965
 Stops literacy tests, allows federal officials to enroll
voters
 Increases black voter enrollment

34. Selma to Montgomery March
March 7, 1965

35. Challenges and Changes in the
Movement
 Disagreements among civil rights groups and the rise
of black nationalism create a violent period in the fight
for civil rights.

36. Urban Violence Erupts
 Mid-1960s, numerous clashes between white authority,
black civilians
 Many clashes result in riots
 Many whites baffled by African-American rage
 Blacks want, need equal opportunity in jobs, housing,
education
 Money for War on Poverty & Great Society redirected
to Vietnam War

37. Urban Riots – Above Watts, CA 1965 Below Detroit, MI 1967

38. New Leaders Voice Discontent
 Nation of Islam, Black Muslims, advocate blacks
separate from whites
 believe whites source of black problems
 Malcolm X—controversial Muslim leader, speaker;
gets much publicity – black separatist
 Frightens whites, moderate blacks; resented by other
Black Muslims
 Pilgrimage to Mecca changes Malcolm X’s attitude
toward whites
 Splits with Black Muslims; is killed in 1965 while giving
speech

39. Malcolm X
(born Malcolm Little)
1925 - 1965

40. Black Power
 CORE, SNCC become more militant; SCLC pursues
traditional tactics
 Stokely Carmichael, head of SNCC, calls for Black
Power:
 African Americans control own lives, communities,
without whites
 Black Panthers fight police brutality, want black self-
sufficiency
 Preach ideas of Mao Zedong; have violent
confrontations with police
 Provide social services in ghettos, win popular support

41. Stokely Charmichael
SNCC Leader
1941 - 1998

42. 1968—A Turning Point in Civil
Rights
 King objects to Black Power movement & preaching of
violence
 Seems to sense own death in Memphis speech to
striking workers
 Is shot; dies the following day
 King’s death leads to worst urban rioting in U.S.
history
 Robert Kennedy assassinated two months later

43. Assassination of Martin Luther King April 4, 1968

44. Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult
days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to
the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live
a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that
now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the
mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I
may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we,
as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm
not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have
seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Memphis 1968

45. Civil Rights Gains
 Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in
housing
 More black students finish high school, college; get
better jobs
 Greater pride in racial identity leads to Black Studies
programs
 More African-American participation in movies,
television
 Increased voter registration results in more black
elected officials

46. Actor Sidney Poitier
Actress Diane Carroll

47. Unfinished Work
 Forced busing, higher taxes, militancy, riots reduce
white support
 White flight reverses much progress toward school
integration
 Unemployment, poverty higher than for whites
 Affirmative action—extra effort to hire, enroll
discriminated groups
 Colleges & companies doing government business
adopt policy
 Late 1970s, some criticize policy as reverse
discrimination