Desegregation

1. Desegregation Start

2. What is Desegregation? The process of ending racial segregation was the central focus of the Civil Rights Movement both before and after the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education. With important victories in the desegregation of schools and the military, civil rights leaders and groups now focused on other areas. During the Civil Rights Era, people promoting desegregation were often met with violence. One of the Little Rock Nine, Elizabeth Eckford, is being accosted by a mob of whites, led by Hazel Bryan during the Little Rock integration crisis. End

3. BackgroundJim Crow Laws The Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws enacted in the Southern and border states and enforced between 1876 and 1965. These laws negated the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. “Separate but equal” became the standard in the American South. Every aspect of the South was segregated, and African Americans were treated as inferior to white Americans. Due to the voting restrictions passed by Jim Crow Laws, such as poll taxes and voting literacy tests, most African Americans could not exercise their right to vote; and others did not vote for fear of retribution. After 1877, the federal government did little or nothing to override these state and local laws and African Americans were prohibited from exercising their constitutional rights. End

4. Jackie RobinsonBreaking the MLB Color BarrierApril 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African-American player in major league baseball. After a very successful career in the Negro Leagues, Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and made his major-league debut on April 15, 1947. He was faced with constant racist actions from fans, opponents, and even his own teammates. Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and his uniform number 42 was retired. End

5. Executive Order 9981 Executive Order 9981 was issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry Truman. This order expanded Executive Order 8802 which established “equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races, religions, and national origins.” The order also established a committee to investigate and make recommendations to the civilian leadership of the military to enforce the policy. One of the order’s effects was the elimination of Montford Point as a segregated Marine Corps boot camp. The last of the totally African-American units in the United States military was abolished in September 1954. End

6. Brown v. Topeka Boardof EducationMay 16, 1954 Originally, the District Court ruled in favor of the Topeka Board of Education based on the precedent set by the Plessy v. Ferguson case. This meant the Topeka Board of Education won on the grounds of “separate but equal.” Three years later the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision regarding the case. The Supreme Court ruled that the education of African-American children in schools separate from white children was unconstitutional. End

7. Montgomery Bus BoycottDecember 1, 1955 – December 20, 1956 After the arrest of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Improvement Association organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott was an economic and political protest campaign started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott opposed the city’s policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. The ensuing struggle lasted from December 1, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and almost put the bus company out of business. The boycott ended when the United States Supreme Court issued a decision declaring the Alabama and Montgomery, Alabama, laws regarding bus seating by race to be unconstitutional. This event also witnessed the rise of a young, charismatic minister named Martin Luther King Jr. This is the bus Rosa Parks was removed from, starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott End

8. Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were a group of African-American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus initially prevented the students from entering the racially segregated school. Later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened to allow their admittance. The Little Rock Crisis is considered one of the most important events in the American Civil Rights Movement. The Little Rock Nine and the NAACP president, Daisy Bates End

9. Greensboro Sit-ins Four African-American students from North Carolina A&T State University Ezell A. Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain sat at a segregated lunch counter in a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina. The counter only seated whites, and African Americans were required to stand and eat. The students were refused service but were allowed to remain at the counter. Over the next few days, the number of students and protestors grew to almost a thousand. The protest sparked sit-ins and economic boycotts that became a trademark of the Civil Rights Movement. Section of the Lunch Counter, now on display at the Smithsonian Institution. End

10. James MeredithEnrolls at Ole MissSeptember 1962 More than 5,000 federal troops were sent by President John F. Kennedy to allow James Meredith to register for classes at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. Meredith attempted to enter campus on September 20, 1962, and again on September 25, 1962. His enrollment was blocked by Mississippi Governor Ross R. Barnett. Governor Barnett proclaimed, “no school will be integrated in Mississippi while I am your Governor.” The ensuing riots resulted in the deaths of two people. James Meredith was ultimately enrolled in the publicly funded University of Mississippi. James Meredith walking to class accompanied by U.S. Marshals End

11. Desegregation ofthe University of Alabama In June 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace tried to prevent two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from registering for classes at the University of Alabama. This famously became known as the “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” Wallace was forced to step aside by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and the federalized Alabama National Guard. Governor George Wallace (second from left) stands in the doorway of the University of Alabama, preventing Vivian Malone and James Hood from entering. End

12. Busing Busing is the practice of integrating schools by assigning students to schools based on the school’s dominant race, rather than the dominant race’s distance from the school. In 1954, the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision legally ended segregation; however, most schools in the United States remained segregated due to the housing patterns and racial inequalities in neighborhoods. After two Supreme Court rulings in 1971 and 1974, cities nationwide were allowed to enforce mandatory busing to integrate school districts. Since the Brown v. Board decision, cities across the United States instituted new busing programs. However, busing in cities such as Boston were met with much conflict and resistance. Due to largely segregated neighborhoods, Philadelphia and other cities with large minority populations remained segregated into the 1980s. A picture depicting the mandatory busing in Boston, Massachusetts. End

13. Correlating with New Jersey’s Content Standards • K. Postwar Years (1945-1970s) • Interpret political trends in post-war New Jersey, including the New Jersey State Constitution of 1947, the impact of legal cases such as Hedgepeth and Williams v. Trenton Board of Education on the banning of segregation in the schools under the new State Constitution, the development and impact of New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (P.L. 1945, c.169), and the shift of political power from rural and urban areas to the suburbs. End

14. Segregation in New Jersey Although history books often focus on the Southern civil rights movement, there was significant agitation for civil rights in other parts of the nation including New Jersey. As the map on the following slide illustrates, Northern and Western states also imposed the segregation of people of color. This lesser- known history is still very important. End

15. African-American History in New Jersey Colored map of distribution of segregation laws prior to Brown v. Board. Outline from PD source. Red: Segregation is required by law. Yellow: No legislation. Blue: Optional. Green: Forbidden. End

16. Segregation in New Jersey While states like New Jersey were not party to the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, this does not mean they were without segregation. A good example of this lesser-known history is the story of the Richardson Avenue School in Swedesboro. The story of segregated education in this farming community illustrates the many ways in which segregation impacted the lives of people of color in the United States. End

17. Segregation in New Jersey Originally constructed as a Masonic Hall, in 1931 the building became the site of Swedesboro’s segregated school. While many blacks welcomed its closing in 1942, there were negative consequences as well. Many of the school’s African-American teachers lost their jobs. Nevertheless, the building continued to serve as an important meeting place to address social, economic, and political concerns for the community. End