theme 1 - the civil rights movement Flashcards
(23 cards)
why was WW2 a catalyst for the CRM?
WW2 accelerated social change
the armed forces blended soldiers and sailors from across the nation, although minorities were confined to racially segregated occupations
1941: African Americans threatened a ‘March on Washington’ in demand for a fair share of jobs and to end segregation in government departments and the armed forces.
- Roosevelt formed the Deferral Employment Practices Committee in response
what was the NAACP?
National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
established in 1909
aimed to make America’s 11 million black citizens economically, politically, intellectually, and socially free
what was Brown vs the Board (1952-54)
schools were segregated
Linda Brown had to attend an elementary school very far from her house because her local school, Summer elementary school, was all white
Her father and 13 other parents filed a class-action case against the school board for preventing them from admitting their children
what was the impact of Brown vs the Board (1952-54)?
1953: referred to the Supreme Court and the final ruling was that law to segregate schools was unconstitutional
1954: all white schools should begin integration will ‘all deliberate speed’
- integration was achieved
what tactics did the NAACP use?
early 1950s: created their own newspaper ‘The Crisis’ to publicise black grievances
local NAACP branches initiated protests against segregated public places
NAACP lawyers fought inequalities in education and the law courts
what was the impact of the NAACP?
the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown ruling
- However, the Court could be ignored, so many schools remained segregated, so the NAACP’s litigation strategy didn’t bring rapid change
organised a boycott for the day of Rosa Parks’ trial
what was the murder of Emmett Till (1955)?
he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman, and her husband and his friends beat him to death
it was later proven that Emmett was completely innocent and the attack was an act of racial violence
what was the impact of the murder of Emmett Till (1955)?
his parents displayed his mutilated body at his funeral to show the horrifying nature of his death.
- 1 in 5 people had to be assisted out after seeing it due to fainting/distress
the attack on Emmett Till symbolised an attack on the wider black community
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)?
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man
the movement was also catalysed by other instances of discrimination of black people on public buses
- 1955: a black mother placed her children in 2 white seats while she paid and the bus driver accelerated, sending the children into the aisle
the boycott started after Parks’ arrest, and soon launched into a year-long boycott that sought fully integrated buses
what was the impact of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)?
Help from the NAACP and Martin Luther Kind Jr allows the boycott to continue for a year
1956: segregation of public transport was deemed unconstitutional
led to the creation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which mobilised support against segregation in the old south
what was Little Rock (1957)?
1954: all white schools were orders to begin integration
1957: 9 black students were able to attend Little Rock high school
- 8 of them arranged to meet and travel to school under protection
- Elizabeth Eckford got off the bus alone and hundreds of angry white people began to shout at her
Eisenhower federalised the national guard and sent them to protect the 9 students for the rest of the school year
what was the impact of the Little Rock 9 (1957)?
began the integration process of southern schools
demonstrated the power of television as on-the-spot TV reporting was pioneered there, and images of black children being harassed gained nationwide sympathy
supreme court rulings alone were not enough, other pioneering had to take place
what were the Lunch Counter Sit-ins (1960-61)?
1st Feb 1960: 4 college students in Greensboro targeted a shop that allowed black people to shop but not sit at the Lunch Counter
- they sat at the Counter until closing and continued until they were served
the movement started to grow
- students in Nashville arranged their own sit in on Feb 13th
what was the impact of the Lunch Counter Sit-ins (1960-61)?
March: spread to 55. cities in 13 states
people participated in larger cities outside the south, enabling them to achieve a national collective goal
what was the Birmingham Campaign (1963)?
King and the SCLC staged a campaign for desegregation of public facilities and equal employment opportunities. They chose Birmingham because it was one of the most segregated cities in the US
Public Safety Commissioner Eugene Connor’s police mistreated protestors and King was jailed.
black school children were encouraged to join, and hundreds participated. When they were mistreated by Connor’s police, this gained attention
what was the impact of the Birmingham Campaign (1963)?
did little to improve the situation in Birmingham and race relations deteriorated
1963: a bomb killed 4 young black girls attending Sunday school
however, its publicity exposed the mistreatment of black people and inspired black protests throughout the South
- also helped persuade Kennedy to promote the bill that became the 1964 Civil Rights Act
what was the March on Washington (1963)?
led by trade union leader A. Philip Randolph
- sought to encourage federal government to increase black economic opportunities
organisations (NAACP, SNCC, SCLC) hoped to gain publicity and encourage Congress to pass the civil rights bill
28th August 1963: march consisted of 250,000 marchers and several speakers
what was the impact of the March on Washington (1963)?
had great emotional impact as they called upon Americans to live up to ideals of freedom, equality, and justice in the Declaration of Independence
- many believe this emotional impact led to the 1964 Civil Rights Act
use of satellite TV live broadcasted it to the nation which brought greater attention to the cause
use of peaceful protest allowed many to change their perspective on the CRM from violent and unrealistic to civilians just trying to co-exist equally
what resistance did the CRM face?
those opposed to the movement used violent tactics to scare and intimidate African Americans and subvert legal rulings
hostility and violence left the outcome of the movement in doubt as it demonstrated the distance that still needed to be travelled
what was the Ku Klux Klan?
an armed white racist group established in Tennessee in 1866 but was soon quashed by the federal government
1915: revised and gained millions of members across the USA
membership tripled during the 1970s and violence increased
what tactics did the Ku Kluz Klan use?
Bombed King’s house in 1956 and his motel room during the Birmingham campaign (1963)
attacks on Freedom Riders at Birmingham in 1963
bombed a Birmingham church in 1963 - killed 4 young girls
cross-burnings, church-bombings, beatings, shootings, and murders in Mississippi in the winter of 63/64
what was the White Citizens’ Councils?
another group that resisted the CRM
established in 1954, inspired by the Supreme Court’s Brown ruling
1956: membership peaked at around 250,000
what were the aims and tactics of the White Citizens’ Councils?
made the defence of segregation the main issue of Southern Politics
issued a large quantity of racist propaganda (e.g children’s books)
sponsored all-white schools
