What were some of the victories of the Civil Rights Movement in the 50s and 60s?

1. What were some of the victories of the Civil Rights Movement in the 50s and 60s? How were these achievements accomplished?

3. Changes and Challenges in the Civil Rights Movement

4. Violence Troubles Civil Rights Efforts • Although there was legislative progress, for many black Americans, things had not changed. • Anger and frustration resulted over continuing discrimination and poverty, and in several citiesriots resulted • Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles • Detroit, Michigan • To determine the causes of the riots, Johnson created the Kerner Commission: • Recommended expanding federal programs aimed at overcoming urban problems

5. Kerner Commission • “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white, separate and unequal… Segregation and poverty have created the racial ghetto and a destructive environment totally unknown to most Americans.” • -KernerCommissioin • President Johnson did not follow up on the commission’s recommendations: • Expensive • Vietnam War • Racial rioting coincided with the radicalization of many young, urban African Americans

6. New Civil Rights Groups • Malcolm X: • became a convert and a leader of the Nation of Islam, and preached a message of self-reliance and self-protection • Called for black nationalism • Inspired the Black Power Movement: • Moved away from the principle of nonviolence • Questioned the goal of integration • Black Panthers: • Political party that became a symbol of young militant African Americans • Organized patrols of urban neighborhoods to protect people from police brutality • Created anti-poverty programs

8. King Expands His Dream • MLK understood the anger of many urban African Americans whose lives had changed little despite the civil rights reforms of the 1960s. However, he disagreed with the call for “black power” and sought a nonviolent alterative to combat economic injustice. • Poor People’s Campaign: MLK’s plan to broaden civil rights goals to address economic inequality in America. • As a part of the effort, King traveled to Memphis Tennessee in early April 1968 to support a strike. • In a speech he referred to threats that had been made against his life. “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life,” King declared. “But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.”

9. MLK Assassination • The following day, as King stood on the balcony outside his motel room, he was shot, and he died at a hospital shortly afterward. • James Earl Ray, a white ex-convict, was later charged with King’s murder • King’s assassination marked an important turning point in the movement • People were devastated • Riots and questions of conspiracy • His messages of political equality and economic opportunity for all grew • He became a timeless symbol of the movement

10. Results of the Civil Rights Movement • The civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s succeeded in eliminating legal segregation, and allowed for more participation in political process. • Civil Rights Act, 24th amendment, Voting Rights Act • One symbol of the progress that had been made was the appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court in 1967 • Congress also passed the Fair Housing Act: which banned discrimination in housing • To desegregated schools, the federal courts ordered the use of forced busing • The Nixon administration formally established affirmative action as a means of closing the economic gap between blacks and whites.