Civil Rights Movement, Chapter 3 Flashcards
(6 cards)
The Sit-in Movement (1960): Important details
> Did not just take place at lunch counters - the ‘sit-in’ tactic was applied to numerous other segregated areas of society such as beaches, libraries and churches.
Overall, over 70,000 people took part in the sit-ins.
Those who took part in the sit-ins often faced much abuse from white segregationists, and this was widely publicized.
Especially due to the large number of people who were arrested (thousands) during the events of the sit-ins, the CRM adopted a tactic of “jail not bail” intended to overcrowd jails.
Protestors were trained by the SCLC to become more resilient and unrelenting in their endurance of harassment from segregationists that they were sure to face.
Concurrently to the events of the sit-ins, a boycott of segregated businesses was organized by CRM groups, greatly damaging their sales.
The Sit-in Movement (1960): Impacts and effects
> The sit-ins and concurrent boycotts directly caused over 120 towns and cities in the South to desegregate their lunch counters.
Widespread media coverage of the sit-ins protests attracted further sympathy among the Northern America and wider international audience.
Set a precedent amongst the CRM for more confrontational approaches to protesting.
The participation of some white CRM activists in the sit-ins demonstrated support of the movement.
The Freedom Rides (1961): Important details
> The arrival of the first freedom rider bus in Anniston, Alabama was met with severe backlash by the local KKK, who greatly damaged the tires and windows and eventually threw a firebomb into the bus, attempting to prevent the occupants from escaping. They eventually managed to escape in time, however.
The occupants of the second freedom rider bus were beaten and injured by the KKK mob.
The policemen, under orders from then-police chief ‘Bull’ Connor, provided minimal assistance to the first bus and did not intervene at all while the occupants of the second bus were beat up.
Many volunteered to be freedom riders, undeterred by the potential hazards that violent segregationist backlash could pose to them, and this allowed for 60 freedom rides to take place by the end of 1961, at which point they ended due to the intervention of president Kennedy.
The Freedom Rides (1961): Impacts and effects
> CORE’s aim in organizing the freedom rides was to provoke a violent reaction from white segregationists that would attract widespread media attention and coverage. This did in fact happen.
Then-president Kennedy was deeply embarrassed by the spectacle that unfolded, and the poor, hypocritical impression of the USA that was conveyed to the wider international audience. Consequently, he threatened to mobilize US marshals to enforce desegregation of public bus transport facilities, which was enough to prompt eventual integration.
The Meredith Case (1962): Important details
> With the assistance of the NAACP, Meredith filed a lawsuit against Mississippi University on the grounds that it had unfairly discriminated against him and denied him a place in the university despite his academic record. The Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of Meredith.
However, the then pro-segregationist governor of Mississippi halted his admission by hurriedly endorsing the passing of a law preventing those who had previously been convicted of a ‘felony offense’ from admitting into university.
Intervention by president Kennedy that year (1962), to both protect Meredith throughout his time at university and try to quell the riots that ensued on the campus as a result of his admission.
The Meredith Case (1962): Impacts and effects
> Meredith would later go on to further push the CRM through his political activism: he had an organizing role in the 1966 March Against Fear and became an active member of the Republican Party.
The case helped demonstrate federal willingness to intervene in state affairs to support the aims of the CRM.
State intervention of black university admissions became almost unheard of afterwards.
Media coverage, especially due to the riots.
Moral/legal victory for the CRM, especially with regard to the fact that Mississippi was considered one of the most racist states in the South.
