1. A Different Mirror African Americans and Their Fight for Equality in the United States Civil War Era and Beyond Caitlin Scully Tara Melby Alison Fishburn Melanie Slavin Dezaray Carafano
31. American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s One of the most defining movements of the 20 th century, it was aimed at racial segregation and discrimination. African Americans in the South were not able to vote without fear of violence, so suffrage rights were of upmost importance to Civil Rights leaders.
32. … the struggle was about far more than just civil rights under law; it was also about fundamental issues of freedom, respect, dignity, and economic and social equality. Major Events in the Civil Rights Movement On May 17 th , 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. This court case was Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This decision was in direct opposition to the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson from 1896. This was the case that coined the phrase ‘separate but equal’. Brown v. Board of Education made it so that black and white students could go to the same schools. Thurgood Marshall, attorney on the case, later was appointed to the Supreme Court.
33. On December 1 st , 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American woman in Alabama, refused to give up her bus seat to a white person. This was basically unwritten law in the South. She was arrested, and the Montgomery black community completely boycotted the bus system. Martin Luther King Jr. was instrumental in leading the boycott. Rosa Parks
34. The Little Rock Nine These nine black students were blocked from entering the all white Central High School on the orders of Governor Farbaus . President Eisenhower sent the National Guard and troops to help the students. They were called the ‘Little Rock Nine’.
35. In February of 1960, in Greensboro, NC, black students staged sit ins at restaurants that refused to serve black customers. This was an example of student non violent protest, and these events were helpful in integrating public places around the South.
36. In 1961 students took bus rides in the South, to call attention to the fact that even though the law said transportation couldn’t be segregated, it still was. They were called the “freedom riders” and were attacked by angry mobs frequently.
37. In 1962 James Meredith became the first black student enrolled at the University of Mississippi. Troops had to be sent AGAIN to deal with violence and riots.
38. 1963 was a tumultuous year. Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed during protests in Birmingham, Alabama. His famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”.
39. Bull Connor, the Commissioner of Public Safety used fire hoses and dogs to attack black protestors and non violent demonstrators. These riots were on TV and shocked the nation.
40. August 28 th , 1963. 200,000 people attended the March of Washington. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I have a Dream” speech in Washington after the march.
41. September 15 th , 1963 will always be remembered as a tragic day in the Civil Rights Movement. The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was a popular civil rights headquarters. During Sunday School a bomb went off killing four young girls. Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins died that day, in one of the saddest moments of the Movement.
42. January 1964. The 24 th Amendment abolished the poll tax, which had previously made it extremely hard for poor blacks to vote.
43. In July 1964 President Lyndon B Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The government can also enforce desegregation after this act.
44. Malcolm X was a black nationalist, and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. In Harlem, on Feb 21, 1965, Malcolm X was violently shot to death. Many speculate that members of the Black Muslim faith killed him because he had abandoned them for a more orthodox Islam sect.
45. Black demonstrators marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama . Around 50 protesters were sent to the hospital after acts of police brutality. It was called “Bloody Sunday”.
46. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, making it exponentially easier for southern blacks to vote. Literacy tests, and other things blocking voting were done away with.
47. In August of 1965, race riots erupted in Watts, California.
48. On April 4 th , 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was shot on his balcony of the hotel. James Earl Ray was convicted as the killer. Arguably the worst moment of the Civil Rights movement, it was not the end of the movement; the people carried on his cause.
49. Though the civil rights movement did not end with the death of MLK Jr, the most important events of the movement happened between 1963 and 1968. Equality of the races is not yet a reality, but our country everyday makes progress towards the goals of our past.
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52. In 2004, Illinois Senate hopeful Barack Obama gave a moving keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. This sparked interest into the young Senator and in early 2007 Obama announced his intention to run for President in 2008.
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54. Though we have not reached equality in America, every day teachers who impart a multicultural education to their students are paving the way to a more just and equal American society
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