American Civil Rights Movement 1950s & 1960s

1. American Civil Rights Movement1950s & 1960s AP US History

2. 13th Amendment 14th Amendment 15th Amendment Abolished slavery and guaranteed rights—including voting—to African Americans Situation in the U. S. 1877 – 1950s Forward Progress

3. Jim Crow Laws Poll Tax Literacy Test Grandfather Clause Southern states restricted African-Americans despite Constitutional protections Situation in the U. S. 1877 – 1950s Push Back

4. Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court declared segregation was legal as long as facilities were “separate but equal” Situation in the U. S. 1877 – 1950sPush Back

5. Lynching Mob executions Used by whites in the South to terrorize African-Americans and enforce the Jim Crow system Situation in the U. S. 1877 – 1950sPush Back

11. Strange Fruit • Southern trees bear strange fruitBlood on the leavesBlood at the rootBlack bodies swinging in the southern breezeStrange fruit hanging from the poplar treesPastoral scene of the gallant southThe bulging eyes and the twisted mouthThe scent of magnolia sweet and freshThen the sudden smell of burning fleshHere is a fruit for the crows to pluckfor the rain to gatherfor the wind to suckfor the sun to rotfor the tree to dropHere is a strange and bitter crop

13. World War II 1. African-Americans left sharecropping jobs for industrial jobs in Northern cities 2. 700,000 African-Americans served in WW II – “We return from fighting. We return fighting.” 3. During WWII, African-Americans successfully protested against Jim Crow Origin of the Civil Rights Movement

14. Early Actions • 1948 – President Truman orders the desegregation of the Armed Forces • First large scale desegregation effort

15. Playing for the Dodgers • Branch Rickey, president and General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, noticed Robinson’s exceptional talent. • In 1946 Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson. • Jackie Robinson, at the age of 27, became the first Black Baseball player in Major League history. He played his first game on April 15th 1947. (almost 66 years ago)

16. Jackie and Civil Rights • Jackie Robinson’s Actions affected the world far beyond Major League Baseball. • His courage and discipline in standing up against racism were a preview of the actions taken by many members of the Civil Rights Movement. • The success of the Jackie Robinson experiment was a testament to fact that integration could exist.

17. Who was Linda Brown? • Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka, Kansas) 1954 • Facts • Linda Brown = 8 year old African American student • Nearest elementary school = 4 blocks from the Brown home (all white) • Linda Brown’s school (all black) = 21 blocks from the Brown home • NAACP sues Bd of Education challenging the separate but equal

18. Origin of the Civil Rights Movement • Thurgood Marshall • NAACP Lawyer who argues Linda Brown’s case • Later became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice

19. Brown v. Board of Education “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” School Districts across the nation began to desegregate Catalyst for desegregating other aspects of American society Most Significant Victory

20. The Story of Emmett Till

21. The Story of Emmett Till • August 21: Emmett Till arrives in Money, Mississippi, and goes to stay at the home of his great uncle. • August 24: Emmett joins a group of teenagers, seven boys and one girl, to go to Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market for refreshments to cool off after a long day of picking cotton in the hot sun. Bryant's Grocery, owned by a white couple, Roy and Carolyn Bryant, sells supplies and candy to a primarily black customers Some of the kids outside the store will later say they heard Emmett whistle at Carolyn Bryant.

22. The Story of Emmett Till • August 28: About 2:30 a.m., Roy Bryant, Carolyn's husband, and his half brother J. W. Milam, kidnap Emmett Till from Moses Wright's home. They will later describe brutally beating him, taking him to the edge of the Tallahatchie 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. • August 29: J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant are arrested on kidnapping charges in LeFlore County in connection with Till's disappearance. They are jailed in Greenwood, Mississippi and held without bond. • August 31: Three days later, Emmett Till's decomposed corpse is pulled from Mississippi's Tallahatchie River. Moses Wright identifies the body from a ring with the initials L.T.

23. The Story of Emmett Till

24. The Story of Emmett Till • September 19: The kidnapping and murder trial of J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant opens in Sumner, Mississippi, the county seat of Tallahatchie County. Jury selection begins and, with blacks and white women banned from serving, an all-white, 12-man jury made up of nine farmers, two carpenters and one insurance agent is selected. • September 23: Milam and Bryant are acquitted of murdering Emmett Till after the jury deliberates only 67 minutes. One juror tells a reporter that they wouldn't have taken so long if they hadn't stopped to drink pop. Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam stand before photographers, light up cigars and kiss their wives in celebration of the not guilty verdict.

25. Celebrating the acquittal

27. Rosa Parks Refused to give up her seat to a white man. Was arrested. Became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement Montgomery, Alabama

28. The Arrest • On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a White man on a bus. • Parks was arrested and charged with the violation of a segregation law in The Montgomery City Code. • 50 African American leaders in the community met to discuss what to do about Rosa’s arrest. “People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” -Rosa Parks Autobiography

29. Montgomery Bus Boycott • On December 5, 1955, African Americans in Montgomery began to boycott the busses. • 40,000 Black commuters walked to work, some as far as twenty miles. • The boycott lasted 382 days. • The boycott ended after the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional.

30. Martin Luther King Jr. • In 1953, at the age of 26, King became pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama. • His start as a Civil Rights leader came during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

32. Montgomery, Alabama • King organized a boycott of buses in Montgomery • Lasted 382 days • King’s home was bombed • Supreme Court finally outlawed segregation on buses

33. Martin Luther King Jr. Studied tactics of Thoreau, Gandhi, and others Preached about soul force—non-violent resistance “We will not hate you, but we cannot . . . obey your unjust laws” Montgomery, Alabama

34. Boycott Sit-in March Refusing to buy a good or service Sitting in segregated areas and refusing to move Marching with a large group to draw attention to a cause Non-Violent Tactics

35. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Civil Rights group organized by King Included over 100 African-American ministers King Becomes a National Figure

36. Little Rock, Arkansas—1957 • Nine African-American students were to integrate Central High School • Governor ordered Arkansas National Guard to turn the students away • Federal judge ordered the governor to allow the students entry • Governor refused—African-American students were turned away

37. Eisenhower responds Put 1,000 paratroopers in Little Rock Stationed in the High School—escorted students to class, maintained order Little Rock, Arkansas—1957

42. Oprah and the Little Rock Nine

43. U-46 Schools • Try to guess the % by race / group for the five U-46 high schools: • White • Hispanic • Black • Asian

50. Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Group of African-American college students in North Carolina The Movement Grows In the summers and over school-holidays volunteers came south to join the fight for freedom and justice. Most — but certainly not all — were college students or recent grads. Most — but certainly not all — were from the North. Most — but certainly not all — were white. Most returned to their campuses and jobs, but some stayed on as full time freedom fighters.