Civil Rights in America

1. Civil Rights in America The Movement 1950-1970

2. The Constitution 13th Amendment (1865): abolished slavery 14th Amendment (1866): Defines a citizen as anyone born or naturalized in the US. Equal protection of law clause. 15th Amendment (1869): voting will not be withheld on “account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

3. Early Civil Rights • Voting, while protected by the constitution, was withheld from African Americans by: • Literacy tests • Poll Taxes

4. Supreme Court Ruling: separate-but-equal facilities for black and whites did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.

5. Jim Crow & the South • Jim Crow Laws: laws aimed at segregating society. • Schools, parks, hospitals, public transport, and other places. • Was challenged in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

6. Jim Crow Laws & the South • Barbers. No colored barber shall serve as a barber (to) white girls or women (Georgia). • Burial. The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons (Georgia). • Nurses. No person or corporation shall require any white female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which Negro men are placed (Alabama). • White and black prisoners could not be chained together (6 states)

8. Brown v. Board of Education Topeka (1954) • 8 year old Linda Brown • Court struck down segregation in schools UNANIMOUSLY. • Violation of the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause. • Brown II (1955): ordered desegregation to be implemented with “all deliberate speed.”

10. Reactions to Brown • Southern states  some stated desegregation would “take years” • Mississippi and Georgia vowed total resistance. • Little Rock Crisis: Arkansas governor OrvalFaubus called out the national guard to turn away the “Little Rock Nine.”

13. Boycotting Segregation: Montgomery Bus Boycott • In 1955 Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a public bus and is arrested. • NAACP enlisted the help of Martin Luther King, Jr. to organize a boycott. • Boycott lasted 381 days and operated on principal of nonviolence. • 1956: Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation.

16. Sit-ins became a popular form of protest

18. March on Washington • August 28th, 1963: African Americans march on Washington D.C. to show their support for a new Civil Rights bill and to convince Congress to pass it. • “I Have a Dream” • Racial harmony • In the South: four Birmingham girls die when a bomb was hurdled through their church window. (MTG)

19. Voting Rights • Summer of ‘64: Freedom Summer • Civil Rights groups trained students in non-violence and sent them out to help African Americans register to vote. • Faced with violence and racism.

20. The Help • Set in 1962, two years before the freedom summer, after bus boycotts and sit-in, after Brown vs. Board of Education • Deals mostly with issues of race but also includes feminism as well

21. Women’s Liberation Movement • Tensions regarding traditional roles of women. • 1960s saw a lower rate of female college attendance than in the 1920s • Media  husband the breadwinner, wife the homemaker.

23. Unit RequirementsAnnotation As you read, annotate each chapter in the book If it’s a library copy see me for sticky notes or purchase some • Notes must push your thinking deeper • Notes must show your thinking • Notice and analyze plot, character, author’s purpose, author’s craft • Refer to your notes on annotations for ideas on what to mark (PowerPoint from the first week is on my website) • Annotations will be checked twice this unit for daily grades • First time random • Second at the end of the unit

24. Reading Calendar and Reading Quizzes • Keep up with your calendar and if you fall behind, spend your weekends catching up on your reading. • (Reading quizzes each Monday)

25. Journals • The following components will be recorded in your notebooks • They will be checked randomly once during the unit and will serve as an exam grade at the end of the unit • Grade will be based on completion and quality

26. Character Tracking Make a section in your notebook titled: Characters of The Help • Make a page (front and back) for: • Skeeter • Minnie • Aibileen • Divide your paper in half vertically • On the left record Major Discoveries/Insights about these characters • On the right record Important Quotes that reveal the depth of their character • For minor characters I recommend keeping a list with brief descriptions on the inside front flap of your book

27. History Tracking Make a section (at least 2 pages) in your notebook titled: History in The Help • Find at least 15 historical references as you read the book • Google each one and record a BRIEF description of it’s historical relevance • Note the source of your findings (do not use Wikipedia more than 5 times!) • Your notes should look as follows: • 1. Rosa Parks: Civil rights activist famous for the Montgomery Bus Boycotts – worked with MLK. Lived 1913-2005 (biography.com)

28. Dialectical Journals After the character and history tracking sections, make a section titled: Dialectical Journals Annotations can aid you greatly! Refer to your handout for more information and requirements, we will do one of these entries together