- “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Civil Rights Movement
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi, on August 24, 1955, when he reportedly flirted with a white cashier at a grocery store. Four days later, two white men kidnapped Till, beat him and shot him in the head. The men were tried for murder, but an all-white, male jury acquitted them. Till's murder and open casket funeral galvanized the emerging Civil Rights Movement. (biography.com)
Burial. The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons (Georgia).
Buses. All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races (Alabama).
Education. The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately (Florida)
Libraries. The state librarian is directed to fit up and maintain a separate place for the use of the colored people who may come to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals (North Carolina).
Nurses. No person or corporation shall require any White female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which negro men are placed (Alabama).
Teaching. Any instructor who shall teach in any school, college or institution where members of the white and colored race are received and enrolled as pupils for instruction shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined... (Oklahoma).
The laws above are a sample of what are collectively referred to as Jim Crow Laws. These laws were put in place to enforce segregation primarily in southern states. Segregation in the South was more than just laws though, it included social norms of behavior. The Jim Crow laws violated the individual rights of African-Americans socially, economically, and politically. But fighting the entrenched culture of the region was not an easy task. Even the slightest deviations from the acceptable norms resulted in harsh and often deadly consequences. But as Southern African-Americans increased connections with other social environments, often through experiences in the Great Migration and military service, their frustrations increased and compliance became unacceptable for many.
The Civil Rights Movement does not fit into a specific time period. Well before the Civil War amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) constitutionally established rights for former slaves, there were abolitionist and other reformers advocating for broader protections of individual rights. But after WWII, where so many gave their lives to protect individual rights for the oppressed in Europe, many began to wonder why some found their rights denied at home. National news stories highlighted increasingly violent attacks connected to the unequal protection of the law such as beatings, lynchings, cross burnings, and even church bombings. Groups like the NAACP and CORE begin training for acts of civil disobedience, based on tactics used by Gandhi in India's fight for independence. Sit-ins, protests, marches, voter registration drives, and boycotts attempted to use peaceful means to affect change. But even with court rulings and federal legislation protecting the rights of minorities, change was slow going, tensions escalated, violence expanded on both sides of the issue, and eventually military personal are brought into various situations to uphold the law of the land.
The Civil Rights Movement brought about an end to Jim Crow laws, ensured individual rights for disenfranchised groups beyond African-Americans, and made names like Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, Hector P. Garcia and Betty Friedan national figures. Expanded participation of minorities in the political process added diversity in public offices, increased economic opportunities, and eventually contributed to the election of President Obama as the first African-American Head of State.
Burial. The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons (Georgia).
Buses. All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races (Alabama).
Education. The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately (Florida)
Libraries. The state librarian is directed to fit up and maintain a separate place for the use of the colored people who may come to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals (North Carolina).
Nurses. No person or corporation shall require any White female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which negro men are placed (Alabama).
Teaching. Any instructor who shall teach in any school, college or institution where members of the white and colored race are received and enrolled as pupils for instruction shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined... (Oklahoma).
The laws above are a sample of what are collectively referred to as Jim Crow Laws. These laws were put in place to enforce segregation primarily in southern states. Segregation in the South was more than just laws though, it included social norms of behavior. The Jim Crow laws violated the individual rights of African-Americans socially, economically, and politically. But fighting the entrenched culture of the region was not an easy task. Even the slightest deviations from the acceptable norms resulted in harsh and often deadly consequences. But as Southern African-Americans increased connections with other social environments, often through experiences in the Great Migration and military service, their frustrations increased and compliance became unacceptable for many.
The Civil Rights Movement does not fit into a specific time period. Well before the Civil War amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) constitutionally established rights for former slaves, there were abolitionist and other reformers advocating for broader protections of individual rights. But after WWII, where so many gave their lives to protect individual rights for the oppressed in Europe, many began to wonder why some found their rights denied at home. National news stories highlighted increasingly violent attacks connected to the unequal protection of the law such as beatings, lynchings, cross burnings, and even church bombings. Groups like the NAACP and CORE begin training for acts of civil disobedience, based on tactics used by Gandhi in India's fight for independence. Sit-ins, protests, marches, voter registration drives, and boycotts attempted to use peaceful means to affect change. But even with court rulings and federal legislation protecting the rights of minorities, change was slow going, tensions escalated, violence expanded on both sides of the issue, and eventually military personal are brought into various situations to uphold the law of the land.
The Civil Rights Movement brought about an end to Jim Crow laws, ensured individual rights for disenfranchised groups beyond African-Americans, and made names like Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, Hector P. Garcia and Betty Friedan national figures. Expanded participation of minorities in the political process added diversity in public offices, increased economic opportunities, and eventually contributed to the election of President Obama as the first African-American Head of State.
What to know for the EOC
- Explain the significance of the following years as turning points: 1968-1969 (Martin Luther King Jr. assassination and U.S. lands on the moon)
- Trace the historical development of the civil rights movement in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th amendments
- Describe the roles of political organizations that promoted civil rights, including ones from African American, Chicano, American Indian, women's, and other civil rights movements
- Identify the roles of significant leaders who supported various rights movements, including Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, Hector P. Garcia, and Betty Friedan
- Compare and contrast the approach taken by some civil rights groups such as the Black Panthers with the nonviolent approach of Martin Luther King Jr.
- Discuss the impact of the writings of Martin Luther King Jr. such as his "I Have a Dream" speech and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" on the civil rights movement
- Describe presidential actions and congressional votes to address minority rights in the United States, including desegregation of the armed forces, the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Describe the role of individuals such as governors George Wallace, Orval Faubus, and Lester Maddox and groups, including the Congressional bloc of southern Democrats, that sought to maintain the status quo
- Evaluate changes and events in the United States that have resulted from the civil rights movement, including increased participation of minorities in the political process
- Describe how litigation such as the landmark cases of Brown v. Board of Education, Mendez v. Westminster, Hernandez v. Texas, Delgado v. Bastrop I.S.D., Edgewood I.S.D. v Kirby, and Sweatt v. Painter played a role in protecting the rights of the minority during the civil rights movement
- Identify actions of government and the private sector such as the Great Society, affirmative action,and Title IX to create economic opportunities for citizens and analyze the unintended consequences of each
- Analyze the effects of landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Brown v. Board of Education, and other U.S. Supreme Court decisions such as Plessy v. Ferguson, Hernandez v. Texas, Wisconsin v. Yoder
- Discuss historical reasons why the constitution has been amended
- Identify and analyze methods of expanding the right to participate in the democratic process, include lobbying, non-violent protesting, litigation, and amendments to the U.S. Constitution
- Evaluate various means of achieving equality of political rights, including the 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments and congressional acts such as the American Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
- Explain actions taken by people to expand economic opportunities and political rights, including those for racial, ethnic, and religious minorities as well as women, in American society
- Explain how the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, gender, and religious groups shape American culture
- Identify the political, social, and economic contributions of women such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Dolores Huerta, Sonia Sotomayor to American society