CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

A Hundred-Year Struggle
Black Americans quest for official racial equality began the moment Reconstruction ended in the late 1870s. Even though adical e!ublicans had attem!ted to aid blacks by !assing the Civil Rights Act of 1866" the Ku Klux Klan Act" the Civil Rights Act of 1875" as #ell as the ourteenth A!end!ent and ifteenth A!end!ent" racist #hites in the $outh ensured that blacks remained %in their !lace.& 'he "lac# codes" for e(am!le" as #ell as literacy tests" !oll ta(es" and #ides!read violence ke!t blacks a#ay from voting booths" #hile conservative $u!reme )ourt decisions ruined any chances for social equality. 'he Co!$ro!ise of 1 8 7 7 effectively doomed southern blacks to a life of sharecro$$ing and second*class citi+enshi!.

%he &arl' (ove!ent

,n 1 8 - . " in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson decision" the conservative $u!reme )ourt u!held the racist !olicy of segregation by legali+ing )se$arate "ut e*ual+ facilities for blacks and #hites. ,n doing so" the court condemned blacks to more than a half century more of social inequality. Black leaders nonetheless continued to !ress for equal rights. /or e(am!le" ,oo#er %- .ashington" !resident of the all*black %us#egee /nstitute in Alabama" encouraged African Americans first to become self*sufficient economically before challenging #hites on social issues. .- &- ,- 0u ,ois" a 0arvard*educated black historian and sociologist" ho#ever" ridiculed 1ashingtons beliefs and argued that blacks should fight for social and economic equality all at once. 2u Bois also ho!ed that blacks #ould eventually develo! a )"lac# consciousness+ and cherish their distinctive history and cultural attributes. ,n 1-10" he also hel!ed found the 1ational Association for the Advance!ent of Colored 2eo$le 31AAC24 to challenge the Plessy decision in the courtroom.

%he 5reat (igration and Harle! Renaissance

Bet#een 1orld 1ar , and 1orld 1ar ,," more than a million blacks traveled from the $outh to the 3orth in search of 4obs" in #hat became kno#n as the 5reat (igration. 'he Harle! neighborhood of 3e# 5ork )ity quickly became the nations black cultural ca!ital and housed one of the countrys largest African*American communities" of a!!ro(imately 600"000 !eo!le. Even though most of 0arlems residents #ere !oor" during the 1-60s" a small middle class emerged" consisting of !oets" #riters" and musicians. Artists and #riters such as 6angston Hughes and 7ora 1eale Hurston cham!ioned the )1e8 1egro"+ the African American #ho took !ride in his or her cultural heritage. 'he flo#ering of black artistic and intellectual culture during this !eriod became kno#n as the Harle! Renaissance.

(arcus 5arve'
7ean#hile" (arcus 5arve'" a 8amaican immigrant and businessman" #orked hard to !romote black !ride and nationalism. 0e founded the 9niversal 1egro /!$rove!ent Association" #hich em!hasi+ed economic self*sufficiency as a means to overcome #hite dominance. 0e also encouraged blacks to leave the 9nited $tates and resettle in Africa. Although most of :arveys business ventures failed and he #as eventually de!orted back to 8amaica" his message influenced many future civil rights leaders.

.orld .ar //
7ore than a million black men served in the Allied forces during .orld .ar //" mostly in segregated noncombat units. At home" black leaders continued to !ush for racial equality and cam!aigned for the )0ou"le :+;victory both at home and abroad. ,n 1-<1" A- 2hili$ Randol$h" the !resident of the 1ational 1egro Congress" threatened to lead thousands of black !rotesters in a march on 1ashington to demand the !assage of more civil rights legislation. =resident ran#lin 0elano Roosevelt" afraid that the march might disru!t the #ar effort" com!romised by signing &xecutive ;rder 88<= to desegregate #ar factories and create the air &!$lo'!ent 2ractices Co!!ittee. As a result" more than 600"000

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blacks #ere able to find to! 4obs in defense*related industries. After the #ar" =resident Harr' S %ru!an created the 2resident>s Co!!ittee on Civil Rights and desegregated the military #ith &xecutive ;rder ? ? 8 1 .

,ro8n v- ,oard of &ducation

,n 1 - > < " after decades of legal #ork" %hurgood (arshall" the 3AA)=s chief counsel" finally managed to overturn the %se!arate but equal& doctrine ?established in Plessy v. Ferguson@ in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas . $ym!athetic $u!reme )ourt chief 4ustice &arl .arren convinced his fello# 4ustices to declare unanimously that segregated !ublic schools #ere inherently unequal. 'he Brown decision outraged conservative southern !oliticians in )ongress" #ho !rotested it by drafting the Southern (anifesto.

%he 6ittle Roc# Crisis

,n 1 - > 7 " Arkansas governor ;rval au"us chose to ignore a federal court order to desegregate the states !ublic schools and used the 1ational 5uard to !revent nine black students from entering Central High School in Aittle the high school by force and u!hold federal su!remacy over the state. ock. Although =resident 08ight 0- &isenho8er !ersonally o!!osed the Brown decision" he sent federal troo!s to integrate

(artin 6uther King @r,n 1 - > > " the modern civil rights !ove!ent #as effectively launched #ith the arrest of young seamstress Rosa 2ar#s in 7ontgomery" Alabama. =olice arrested =arks because she refused to give u! her seat to a #hite man on a 7ontgomery city bus. After the arrest" blacks throughout the city 4oined together in a massive rally outside one of the citys Ba!tist churches to hear the young !reacher (artin 6uther King @r- s!eak out against segregation" =arks arrest" and the @i! Cro8 la# she had violated. Blacks also organi+ed the (ontgo!er' "us "o'cott" boycotting city trans!ortation for nearly a year before the $u!reme )ourt finally struck do#n the citys segregated bus seating as unconstitutional. ,n 1 - > 7 " Bing formed the Southern Christian 6eadershi$ Conference 3SC6C4 to rally su!!ort from southern churches for the civil rights movement. ,ns!ired by ,ndian !olitical activist (ohandas 5andhi" Bing ho!ed the $)A) #ould lead a large*scale !rotest movement based on %love and nonviolence.&

%he Student (ove!ent

Although the $)A) failed to initiate mass !rotest" a ne# student grou! called the Student 1onviolent Coordinating Co!!ittee 3S1CC4 accom!lished much. 'he $3)) #as launched in 1 - . 0 after the highly successful student*led 5reens"oro sit-in in 3orth )arolina and #ent on to coordinate !eaceful student !rotests against segregation throughout the $outh. 'he students also hel!ed the Congress of Racial &*ualit' 3C;R&4 organi+e reedo! Rides throughout the 2ee! $outh. ,n 1 - . 1 " grou!s of both black and #hite reedo! Riders boarded interstate buses" ho!ing to !rovoke violence" get the attention of the federal government" and #in the sym!athy of more moderate #hites. 'he !lan #orkedC angry #hite mobs attacked /reedom iders in Alabama so many times that several riders nearly died. $till" many of the students believed that the media attention they had received had been #orth the !rice.

%he ,ir!ingha! 2rotest

'he over#helming !ublic su!!ort from the 3orth for /reedom iders !rom!ted 7artin Auther Bing 8r. to launch more

!eaceful !rotests" ho!ing to anger die*hard segregationists. ,n 1 - . D " Bing focused all of his energy on organi+ing a massive !rotest in the heavily segregated city of ,ir!ingha!" Alabama. 'housands of blacks !artici!ated in the rally" including several hundred local high school students #ho marched in their o#n )children>s crusade.+ Birminghams commissioner" ),ull+ Connor" cracked do#n on the !rotesters using clubs" vicious !olice dogs" and #ater cannons. Bing

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#as arrested along #ith hundreds of others and used his time in 4ail to #rite his famous )6etter fro! ,ir!ingha! @ail+ to e(!lain the civil rights movement to critics.

Kenned' and the (arch on .ashington

'he violence during the Birmingham !rotest shocked northerners even more than the violence of the /reedom ides and

convinced =resident @ohn - Kenned' to risk his o#n !olitical future and fully endorse the civil rights movement. 7ean#hile" in 1 - . D " Bing and the $)A) 4oined forces #ith )E E" the 3AA)=" and the $3)) in organi+ing the (arch on .ashington in August. 7ore than 6 0 0 "0 0 0 blacks and #hites !artici!ated in the march" one of the largest !olitical rallies in American history. 'he highlight of the rally #as Bings sermonic )/ have a drea!+ s$eech.

ederal Hel$
Bennedy #as assassinated in 3ovember 1 - . D " but the ne# !resident" 6'ndon ,- @ohnson" honored his !redecessors commitment to the civil rights movement. 8ohnson actually had o!!osed the movement #hile serving as $enate ma4ority leader but changed his mind because he #anted to establish himself as the leader of a united 2emocratic =arty. 0e therefore !ressured )ongress to !ass the Civil Rights Act of 1 ? 6 A " an even tougher bill than Bennedy had ho!ed #ould !ass. 'he act outla#ed discrimination and segregation based on race" nationality" or gender. 'he same year" the %8ent'- ourth A!end!ent to the 9.$. )onstitution #as ratified" outla#ing !oll ta(es as a !rerequisite for voting in federal elections. /urthermore" $3)) activists traveled to 7ississi!!i that summer on the reedo! Su!!er cam!aign to register more black voters" again ho!ing their actions #ould !rovoke segregationist #hites.

%he :oting Rights Act

Fiolent o!!osition to the /reedom $ummer cam!aign convinced 7artin Auther Bing 8r. that more attention needed to be dra#n to the fact that fe# southern blacks #ere actually able to e(ercise their right to vote. $!ringing into action" Bing traveled to the small to#n of Sel!a" Alabama" in 1 ? 6 5 " to su!!ort a local !rotest against racial restrictions at the !olls. 'here" he 4oined thousands of blacks !eacefully trying to register to vote. =olice" ho#ever" attacked the !rotesters on ),lood' Sunda'"+ killing several activists in the most violent crackdo#n yet. 'he same year" an outraged Ayndon B. 8ohnson and )ongress res!onded by !assing the :oting Rights Act to safeguard blacks right to vote. 'he act outla#ed literacy tests and sent thousands of federal voting officials into the $outh to su!ervise black voter registration.

(alcol! B and the 1ation of /sla!

0o#ever" a gro#ing number of black activists had begun to o!!ose integration altogether by the mid* 1 - . 0 s. (alcol! B of the 1ation of /sla! #as the most vocal critic of Bings nonviolent tactics. ,nstead" 7alcolm G !reached black self* sufficiency" 4ust as 7arcus :arvey had four decades earlier. 0e also advocated armed self*defense against #hite o!!ression" arguing that bloodshed #as necessary for revolution. 0o#ever" 7alcolm G left the 3ation of ,slam after numerous scandals hit the organi+ation" and he traveled to 7ecca" $audi Arabia" on a religious !ilgrimage in 1 - . < . ,n the course of his 4ourney" he encountered 7uslims of all nationalities #ho challenged his belief system and forced him to rethink his o!inions regarding race relations. 1hen 7alcolm G returned to the 9nited $tates" he 4oined forces #ith the $3)) in the nonviolent fight against segregation and racism. 0o#ever" he #as assassinated in early 1 - . > .

,lac# 2o8er
2es!ite 7alcolm Gs untimely death" his original message of race se!aration ?instead of integration@ lived on and ins!ired many students in the $3))" #ho also e(!ressed dissatisfaction #ith the gains made through !eaceful !rotests. Although the )ivil ights Act and Foting ights Act #ere landmark la#s for the civil rights movement" young activists such

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as Sto#el' Car!ichael felt they had not done enough to correct centuries of inequality. ,n 1 - . 7 " )armichael argued in his book Black Power that blacks should take !ride in their heritage and culture and should not have anything to do #ith #hites in the 9nited $tates or any#here else. ,n fact" )armichael even !romoted one !lan to s!lit the 9nited $tates into se!arate black and #hite countries.

%he ,lac# 2anthers

/rustrated activists in Eakland" )alifornia" res!onded to $tokely )armichaels %black !o#er& theories and formed the ,lac# 2anther 2art' for Self-0efense. 'he Black =anthers" armed and clad in black" o!erated basic social services in the urban ghettos" !atrolled the streets" and called for an armed revolution. Although the Black =anthers did !rovide valuable su!!ort to the community" their embrace of violence !rom!ted a massive government crackdo#n on the grou!" leading to its dissolution in the late 1 - . 0 s and early 1 - 7 0 s.

%he Colla$se of the (ove!ent

Black revolutionaries such as 7alcolm G" $tokely )armichael" and the Black =anthers" along #ith the scores of race riots that rocked America bet#een 1 - . > and 1 - 7 0 " frightened many #hite Americans and alienated many moderates #ho had su!!orted !eaceful !rotest. =resident Ayndon B. 8ohnson had also become sus!icious of civil rights activists and ordered the /B, to begin investigations of 7alcolm G" the 3ation of ,slam" and even 7artin Auther Bing 8r. himself for their alleged ties to Co!!unist organi+ations. 'hen" in 1 - . 8 " a young #hite man named @a!es &arl Ra' shot and killed Bing as he addressed a cro#d gathered in 7em!his" 'ennessee. Bings death" combined #ith the increasing amount of violence" effectively ended the civil rights movement of the 1 - > 0 s and 1 - . 0 s.

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