Civil Rights Era Presentation

1865-1970
The Failure of Reconstruction:
1877-1900

Events:

1866 Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1866

1868 Fourteenth Amendment is ratified

1870 Fifteenth Amendment is ratified

1871 Congress passes u lu! lan Act

187" Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 187"

1877 Reconstruction ends

1881 #oo$er %& 'ashington founds %us$egee

(nstitute

18)6Plessy v. Ferguson ruling upholds*separate

+ut e,ual- doctrine
e! Peo"le

W. E. B. Du Bois . #lac$ historian and

sociologist/ pushed for e,ual economic and
social rights and 0or$ed to develop *+lac$
consciousness-+1 promoting +lac$ culture and
heritage

Booker T. Washington . 2resident of

%us$egee (nstitute/ campaigned for +lac$s to
achieve economic e,ualit1 0ith 0hites/ thought
+lac$s should pursue economic e,ualit1 first3
+efore social e,ualit1
#fter the Civil $ar en%e% in 1865

Radical Repu+licans in Congress attempted to

protect +lac$s4 rights +1 passing the Civil
Rights Act of 18663 0hich ena+led +lac$s to
file la0suits against 0hites and sit on 5uries& %o
safeguard these rights permanentl13 states
ratified the Fourteenth Amenment and
enfranchised +lac$ men 0ith the Fifteenth
Amenment&

Congress also passed the !u !lu" !lan Act of

18713 0hich outla0ed racial terrorism3 and the
Civil Rights Act of 18#$3 0hich prohi+ited
racial discrimination in most pu+lic places&
Radical Repu+licans also tried to use the

Freemen%s Bureau to redistri+ute

confiscated southern plantation lands to +lac$s
in order to put them on more e,ual footing 0ith
0hite farmers& (n addition to these measures3
Congress sent federal troops into the 6outh to
help +lac$s register to vote&
The Failure of Reconstruction

7pposition on 2resident Andre0 8ohnson

th0arted radical repu+licans attempts at
protecting +lac$s rights&

8ohnson dis+anded the Freedmen4s #ureau and

the 6upreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act
of 187" unconstitutional&

Compromise of 18773 Repu+licans traded the

presidenc1 9election of :a1es;3 for the
0ithdra0al of federal troops from the 6outh&
%his 0ithdra0 ended the reconstruction and set
+ac$ the hopes of e,ualit1&
&ast %eca%es of the 1800

:arsh times for southern +lac$s&

<ost +lac$s +ecame sharecroppers

6harecroppers 0ere tenant farmers 0ho

essentiall1 rented land from their former
masters&

%his still $ept them +ond to their masters&

#lac$ codes3 0hich 0ere local statutes3 $ept

+lac$s in their place& #lac$s 0ere fined and put
in 5ail if the1 +ro$e these codes&

#lac$ codes la0s made *offenses- such as

loitering3 unemplo1ment3 inde+tedness3 voting3
and even having se! 0ith 0hite 0omen illegal for
+lac$s for+idden&
'orthern (lac)s

En5o1ed more rights than southern +lac$s3

ho0ever/ still suffered racial pre5udice&

<ost +lac$s 0ere onl1 a+le to o+tain uns$illed

5o+s and lived in some of the poorest
neigh+orhoods&
Booker T. Washington First
black activist.

%he fe0 educated +lac$s in the 6outh tried to

changes their status&

#oo$er %& 'ashington founded a technical

college in Ala+ama for +lac$s called %us$egee
(nstitute&

'ashington 0as the first +lac$ activists&

'ashington 0anted +lac$s to achieve economic

e,ualit1&
$*E*(* +u(ois

Called for +lac$s to see$ complete and

immediate social and economic e,ualit1&

=u#ois also called on +lac$s to develop a *+lac$

consciousness- from that of 0hite people&

:e pu+lished a +oo$ called *%he 6ouls of #lac$

Fol$-

(n his +oo$ he argued that +lac$s needed to

+ecome more a0ard of their histor13 art3 music
and religious +ac$grounds in order to
understand themselves full1&
Pless! v* Ferguson

%he 6upreme Court4s Plessy v. Ferguson

decision in 18)6 0as a ma5or set+ac$ for earl1
civil rights activists& %he decision declared that
segregated pu+lic and private facilities for +lac$s
and 0hites 0ere &se'arate (ut e)ual3*
effectivel1 5ustif1ing +im Cro, segregation
la0s&
T,entieth-Centur! Roots: 1900-
1950

Events

1)0) >AAC2 is founded

1)?0 @reat <igration +egins

1)?7 <arcus @arve1 is deported

1)A1 Roosevelt signs E!ecutive 7rder 880?3

creates Fair Emplo1ment 2ractices Committee

1)A? C7RE is founded

1)A6 %ruman creates Committee on Civil Rights

1)A7 8ac$ie Ro+inson +ecomes first +lac$ pla1er

in <a5or Beague #ase+all

1)A8 E!ecutive 7rder ))81 signed

1)"0 Ralph #unche 0ins >o+el 2eace 2riCe

The NAACP

1)0) =u #ois and several other activists3

founded the >ational Association for the
Advancement of Colored 2eople 9>AAC2;&

%he >AAC23 consisted of +oth +lac$s and

0hites& 2u+lished a monthl1 5ournal called Crisis
and 0or$ed diligentl1 to gain more legal and
political rights for +lac$s&

#lac$ 0omen formed the >ational Association of

Colored 'omen4s Clu+& %he1 0or$ed to
improve the lives of ur+an +lac$ 0omen +1
+uilding settlement houses3 promoting pu+lic
health initiatives3 and providing child.care
services to 0or$ing 0omen&
.reat /igration

As man1 as half a million +lac$ farmers moved

from the 6outh to cities in the >orth during and
after 'orld 'ar (&

2rofound effect on +lac$s lives and on the cities

in 0hich the1 moved to&

(nvention of the mechanical cotton pic$er in the

1)A0s made southern agricultural 5o+s scarcer
and made more +lac$s move north&
The Harlem Renaissance

:arlem ,uic$l1 +ecame one of the largest +lac$

communities in the 0orld&

<ost +lac$s 0ho moved to :arlem 0ere in

povert13 ho0ever a siCa+le group of middle.class
+lac$s help lead the so called D:arlem
Renaissance of the 1)?0s&

#lac$ 0riters emerged during this period& #lac$

0riters such as -ora .eale /urston3 Claue
0c!a13 Countee Cullen3 and 2angston
/ughes e!pressed their immense pride in the
creation of the &.e, .egro&*
arcus !arve" an# the $N%A

>o single individual contri+uted more to the

development of +lac$ pride during this period
than 0arcus 3arve1&

@arve13 0ho founded the 4niversal .egro

5m'rovement Association 64.5A7. :e
settled in :arlem and esta+lished the E&6&
+ranch of the E>(A to help +lac$s achieve
economic independence in the Enited 6tates and
unite +lac$ communities around the 0orld&

:e organiCed parades and massive rallies to

+oost +lac$ pride and encouraged +lac$.o0ned
companies to do more +usiness 0ithin the
communit1&
$orl% $ar 00

%he ma5orit1 of the more than 1 million +lac$s

0ho 5oined the Allied forces during 'orld 'ar ((
served in segregated3 noncom+at service and
maintenance units3 5ust as the1 had in 'orld
'ar (&

#lac$ Americans made significant gains during

the 0ar3 Civil rights leaders pushed the =ou+le F
campaign&

=ou+le F 0as victor1 a+road and a victor1 at

home&

%he ne0l1 formed Congress of Racial

E)ualit1 6C8RE7 launched peaceful protests in
order to gain s1mpath1 for the movement from
0hite Americans& %he ne0l1 formed Congress
of Racial E)ualit1 6C8RE7 launched peaceful
protests in order to gain s1mpath1 for the
movement from 0hite Americans& >ational
>egro Congress 2resident A. 9hili' Ranol'h
even threatened 2resident Franklin D.
Roosevelt 0ith a
Roosevelt an# Civil Rights

:oping to avoid civil unrest3 Roosevelt

compromised 0ith Randolph +1 signing
E"ecutive 8rer 88:;3 0hich outla0ed racial
discrimination in the federal government and in
0ar factories& Roosevelt also esta+lished the
Fair Em'lo1ment 9ractices Committee to
e!ecute the order& As a result3 more than
?003000 >orthern +lac$s found 0or$ in
defense.related industries during the 0ar&
Truman an# Civil Rights

After the 0ar3 in 1)A63 2resident /arr1 <

Truman esta+lished the 9resient%s
Committee on Civil Rights& %he committee
pushed for antil1nching la0s in the 6outh and
tried to register more +lac$ voters&

<ore significant 0as %ruman4s desegregation of

the armed forces 0ith E"ecutive 8rer ==81
in 1)A8& %ruman4s support for civil rights
angered man1 southerners 0ithin the
=emocratic 2art13 though3 and man1 left the
nominating convention in 1)A8 to +ac$ their
o0n presidential candidate3 segregationist
<trom Thurmon of 6outh Carolina&
T,o 1a2or color 3arriers ,ere
3ro)en

%he first 0as in 1)A73 0hen +ackie Ro(inson

+ecame the first +lac$ professional +ase+all
pla1er in the ma5or leagues& Ro+inson4s contract
0ith the #roo$l1n =odgers opened professional
sports to +lac$ pla1ers and helped integrate
+lac$s into 0hite American culture&

%he second occurred in 1)"03 0hen Enited

>ations diplomat Ral'h Bunche +ecame the
first +lac$ man to 0in the prestigious >o+el
2eace 2riCe for his 0or$ in reducing Ara+.(sraeli
tensions&
Bro&n v. Boar# of '#ucation

(n 1)"A3 after decades of legal 0or$3 Thurgoo

0arshall3 the >AAC24s chief counsel3 finall1
managed to overturn the *separate +ut
e,ual-doctrine 9esta+lished in Plessy v.
Ferguson; in Brown v. Board of Education
of Topeka, Kansas&

61mpathetic 6upreme Court chief 5ustice Earl

Warren convinced his fello0 5ustices to declare
unanimousl1 that segregated pu+lic schools 0ere
inherentl1 une,ual& %he Brown decision
outraged conservative southern politicians in
Congress3 0ho protested it +1 drafting the
<outhern 0anifesto.
The &ittle Roc) Crisis

(n 1)"73 Ar$ansas governor 8rval Fau(us

chose to ignore a federal court order to
desegregate the state4s pu+lic schools and used
the .ational 3uar to prevent nine +lac$
students from entering Central /igh <chool
in Bittle Roc$&

2resident D,ight D. Eisenho,er3 he sent

federal troops to integrate the high school +1
force and uphold federal supremac1 over the
state&
artin (uther )ing *r.

(n 1)""3 the modern civil rights movement

0as effectivel1 launched 0ith the arrest of 1oung
seamstress Rosa 9arks in <ontgomer13
Ala+ama& 2olice arrested 2ar$s +ecause she
refused to give up her seat to a 0hite man on a
<ontgomer1 cit1 +us&

After the arrest3 +lac$s throughout the cit1

5oined together in a massive rall1 outside one of
the cit14s #aptist churches to hear the 1oung
preacher 0artin 2uther !ing +r. spea$ out
against segregation3 2ar$s4s arrest3 and the +im
Cro, la0 she had violated&

#lac$s also organiCed the 0ontgomer1 (us

(o1cott3 +o1cotting cit1 transportation for
nearl1 a 1ear +efore the 6upreme Court finall1
struc$ do0n the cit14s segregated +us seating as
unconstitutional&

(n 1)"73 ing formed the <outhern Christian

2eaershi' Conference 6<C2C7 to rall1
support from southern churches for the civil
rights movement& (nspired +1 (ndian political
activist 0ohanas 3anhi3 ing hoped the
6CBC 0ould lead a large.scale protest movement
+ased on*love and nonviolence&-
The +tu#ent ovement

%he 6>CC 0as launched in 1)60 after the highl1

successful student.led 3reens(oro sit>in in
>orth Carolina and 0ent on to coordinate
peaceful student protests against segregation
throughout the 6outh&

he students also helped the Congress of

Racial E)ualit1 6C8RE7 organiCe Freeom
Ries throughout the =eep 6outh&

(n 1)613 groups of +oth +lac$ and 0hite

Freeom Riers +oarded interstate +uses3
hoping to provo$e violence3 get the attention of
the federal government3 and 0in the s1mpath1
of more moderate 0hites& %he plan 0or$ed:
angr1 0hite mo+s attac$ed Freedom Riders in
Ala+ama so man1 times that several riders
nearl1 died&
The Birmingham Protest

%he over0helming pu+lic support from the

>orth for Freedom Riders prompted <artin
Buther ing 8r& to launch more peaceful
protests3 hoping to anger die.hard
segregationists&

(n 1)6G3 ing focused all of his energ1 on

organiCing a massive protest in the heavil1
segregated cit1 of Birmingham3 Ala+ama&
%housands of +lac$s participated in the rall13
including several hundred local high school
students 0ho marched in their o0n &chilren%s
crusae&*

#irmingham4s commissioner3 &Bull*Connor3

crac$ed do0n on the protesters using clu+s3
vicious police dogs3 and 0ater cannons& ing 0as
arrested along 0ith hundreds of others and used
his time in 5ail to 0rite his famous &2etter
from Birmingham +ail* to e!plain the civil
rights movement to critics&
)enne#" an# the arch on
Washington

%he violence during the #irmingham protest

shoc$ed northerners even more than the
violence of the Freedom Rides and convinced
2resident +ohn F. !enne1 to ris$ his o0n
political future and full1 endorse the civil rights
movement&

<ean0hile3 in 1)6G3 ing and the 6CBC 5oined

forces 0ith C7RE3 the >AAC23 and the 6>CC in
organiCing the 0arch on Washington in
August& <ore than ?003000 +lac$s and 0hites
participated in the march3 one of the largest
political rallies in American histor1& %he
highlight of the rall1 0as ing4s sermonic &5
have a ream* s'eech.
Fe%eral 4el"

enned1 0as assassinated in >ovem+er 1)6G3

+ut the ne0 president3 21non B. +ohnson3
honored his predecessor4s commitment to the
civil rights movement&

8ohnson actuall1 had opposed the movement

0hile serving as 6enate ma5orit1 leader +ut
changed his mind +ecause he 0anted to
esta+lish himself as the leader of a united
=emocratic 2art1& :e therefore pressured
Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1=6?3
an even tougher +ill than enned1 had hoped
0ould pass& %he act outla0ed discrimination and
segregation +ased on race3 nationalit13 or
gender&

%he same 1ear3 the T,ent1>Fourth

Amenment to the E&6& Constitution 0as
ratified3 outla0ing poll ta!es as a prere,uisite for
voting in federal elections& Furthermore3 6>CC
activists traveled to <ississippi that summer on
the Freeom <ummer campaign to register
more +lac$ voters3 again hoping their actions
0ould provo$e segregationist 0hit
The ,oting Rights Act

Fiolent opposition to the Freedom 6ummer

campaign convinced <artin Buther ing 8r& that
more attention needed to +e dra0n to the fact
that fe0 southern +lac$s 0ere actuall1 a+le to
e!ercise their right to vote& 6pringing into action3
ing traveled to the small to0n of <elma3
Ala+ama3 in 1)6"3 to support a local protest
against racial restrictions at the polls& %here3 he
5oined thousands of +lac$s peacefull1 tr1ing to
register to vote& 2olice3 ho0ever3 attac$ed the
protesters on &Bloo1 <una13* $illing several
activists in the most violent crac$do0n 1et& %he
same 1ear3 an outraged B1ndon #& 8ohnson and
Congress responded +1 passing the @oting
Rights Act to safeguard +lac$s4 right to vote&
%he act outla0ed literac1 tests and sent
thousands of federal voting officials into the
6outh to supervise +lac$ voter registration&
alcolm - an# the Nation of %slam

:o0ever3 a gro0ing num+er of +lac$ activists

had +egun to oppose integration altogether +1
the mid.1)60s& 0alcolm A of the .ation of
5slam 0as the most vocal critic of ing4s
nonviolent tactics& (nstead3 <alcolm H preached
+lac$ self.sufficienc13 5ust as <arcus @arve1 had
four decades earlier& :e also advocated armed
self.defense against 0hite oppression3 arguing
that +loodshed 0as necessar1 for revolution&
:o0ever3 <alcolm H left the >ation of (slam
after numerous scandals hit the organiCation3
and he traveled to <ecca3 6audi Ara+ia3 on a
religious pilgrimage in 1)6A& (n the course of his
5ourne13 he encountered <uslims of all
nationalities 0ho challenged his +elief s1stem
and forced him to rethin$ his opinions regarding
race relations& 'hen <alcolm H returned to the
Enited 6tates3 he 5oined forces 0ith the 6>CC in
the nonviolent fight against segregation and
racism& :o0ever3 he 0as assassinated in earl1
1)6"
Black Po&er

=espite <alcolm H4s untimel1 death3 his original

message of race separation 9instead of
integration; lived on and inspired man1 students
in the 6>CC3 0ho also e!pressed dissatisfaction
0ith the gains made through peaceful protests&
Although the Civil Rights Act and Foting Rights
Act 0ere landmar$ la0s for the civil rights
movement3 1oung activists such as <tokel1
Carmichael felt the1 had not done enough to
correct centuries of ine,ualit1& (n 1)673
Carmichael argued in his +oo$ Black Power
that +lac$s should ta$e pride in their heritage
and culture and should not have an1thing to do
0ith 0hites in the Enited 6tates or an10here
else& (n fact3 Carmichael even promoted one plan
to split the Enited 6tates into separate +lac$ and
0hite countries&
The Black Panthers

Frustrated activists in 7a$land3 California3

responded to 6to$el1 Carmichael4s *+lac$ po0er-
theories and formed the Black 9anther 9art1
for <elf>Defense& %he #lac$ 2anthers3 armed
and clad in +lac$3 operated +asic social services
in the ur+an ghettos3 patrolled the streets3 and
called for an armed revolution&
The Colla.se of the ovement

#lac$ revolutionaries such as <alcolm H3

6to$el1 Carmichael3 and the #lac$ 2anthers3
along 0ith the scores of race riots that roc$ed
America +et0een 1)6" and 1)703 frightened
man1 0hite Americans and alienated man1
moderates 0ho had supported peaceful protest&

2resident B1ndon #& 8ohnson had also +ecome

suspicious of civil rights activists and ordered
the F#( to +egin investigations of <alcolm H3 the
>ation of (slam3 and even <artin Buther ing
8r& himself for their alleged ties to Communist
organiCations&

%hen3 in 1)683 a 1oung 0hite man named

+ames Earl Ra1 shot and $illed ing as he
addressed a cro0d gathered in <emphis3
%ennessee& ing4s death3 com+ined 0ith the
increasing amount of violence3 effectivel1 ended
the civil rights movement of the 1)"0s and
1)60s&