America: Southern Campaigns Flashcards
Context to the Montgomery Bus boycott
Morgan vs Virginia, only applied to interstate buses, and most bus journeys were inside states and remained segregated
Bus drivers were often rude to black passengers
6 months before the boycott, 15 year old Claudette Colwin, a Montgomery student, was arrested and forcibly removed from the bus for refusing to give up her seat for a white man
She was a member of the NAACP youth council, one of the advisors for it was Rosa Parks
Cause of the Montgomery bus boycott
1st December 1955
Rosa parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat
She was arrested and found guilty on the 5th and fined 10 dollars
The Local NAACP branch took up her case- they had been waiting for the right person to get arrested
A young preacher from Georgia was chosen to lead the boycott - MLK
NAACP released flyers urging black people to take action.
Who was rosa parks?
She was a trained NAACP activists and in 1955 had completed a course in race relations where non-violent civil disobedience was discussed as a tactic
What was the aim of the boycott?
Enough ride loss in the city transport system could cause economic distress
Boy otters organised systems of carpools instead if using buses
Black churches nationally raised money for the boycotts and collected footwear for Montgomery citizens
Racist response to the Montgomery bus boycott
Pro segregation racists firebombed Kings house and boy otters were physically attacked
Successes/significance of the Montgomery bus boycott
It lasted a year and increased pressure nationally
Browder vs Gayle
It stimulated activism and participation- it was a mass protest involving all the black community
Produced MLK as a CR leader, he gained national attention
Federal government was being questioned more on the base of civil rights
Browder vs Gayle
1956
In November, the Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to desegregate the transport services
In response the city passed a law authorising black people to sit anywhere
Start of the greensboro Sit in
1st February 1960, 4 black students were in a department store in Greensboro North Carolina
They were ignored and refused service at the lunch counter
They came back the next day with 30 more students
They were calm and smartly dressed compared to the white youths shouting at them
The shop shut to prevent protests escalating
What group was involved in the greensboro sit in
The SNCC
Consequences of the Greensboro sit in
It spread over 100 southern cities and 50’000 people were involved
They succeeded in getting many public areas desegregated
August 1960- Greensboro integrated its lunch counters
By the end of 1961 810 towns and cities had desegregated public areas
But attitudes largely unaffected in the south
Cause of the 1960 freedom rides
The SNCC and CORE carried out a repeat of the journey of reconciliation (1947) to test if interstate bus travel and facilities were desegregated
This was in response to Bolton vs Virginia which said bus station facilities couldn’t be segregated for interstate travellers
The role of James Farmer (leader of CORE) in the freedom rides in 1960
He knew the freedom riders were likely to encounter hostility and he intended to show the oppopsiotn of the south to the rest of America
Extreme images were the way to get the government to enforce legislation and court decisions
Events of the freedom rides in 1960
The first 2 freedom buses were attacked- both white and black passengers were beaten up
At Anniston in Alabama, one bus was firebombed
The media showed the shocking levels of violence
3 freedom riders were killed but they still continued
Consequences of the freedom rides
They gained federal support
US attorney general Robert Kennedy sent federal policy t the south and organised complete desegregation of all interstate travel
What was the Albany movement ?
Formed on the 17th November 1961
A broad campaign that challenged all forms of discrimination
Focused on stations,libraries,parks,hospitals,jury representation,employment and police brutality
