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The Montgomery Bus Boycott
During Rosa Park's court appearance, the Montgomery Improvement Association was established with Martin Luther King, Jr. as the leader. King encouraged people to protest as a pastor by peaceful means causing African Americans to boycott taking a bus for over a year. The Supreme Court declared that Alabama's law on bus segregation is unconstitutional. Local car insurers stopped insuring cars that participated in the boycott's carpools. -
The Little Rock 9
The School board in Little Rock, AR won a court order that requird that 9 African Americans be admitted to Central High, a school dominated by Whites. Govenor Fabus ordered troops from the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the 9 students from entering the school, while an angry white mob protested. The District court ordered the governor to remove the troops. Eisenhower sent army troops to allow the nine to enter. Ernest Green worked for Presient Carter as the Assistant Secretary of Labor. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
This act protected African American voting rights that Eisenhower felt was his duty to protect.Conservative Southern Democrats would try to block the bill.He hoped it would split the Democratic Party and that African Americans would vote Republican.Johnson put together a compromise that brought the power of the federal government in the civil rights debate.The civil rights division in the Dept. of Justice & the US Commission was created.It was the first civil rights bill since Reconstruction. -
The Sit-In Movement
Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr.,David Richmiond, and Franklin McCain sat at the lunch counter and were denied service.They decied to sit at the counter everyday until they recieved service. Over 300 African Americans students did the same at Woolworth's. It spreaded to a total of 100 cities. The students managed to stay peaceful. Ella Baker (SCLC) encouraged students to create their own organization and the students established SNCC. By the 1970s, SNCC had lost much of its support and disbanded. -
The Freedom Riders
CORE leader Farmer asked teams of African Americans and white volunteers, freedom riders, to travel to the south to draw attention to its refusal to integrate bus terminals. The first freedom riders faced angry white mobs in Anniston, Birmingham, and Montgomery.Commissioner Connor said there was no police at the moment & he gave police officers day off. Connor contacted the KKK, telling them the beat the riders. This shocked Americans and JFK felt he had to take action.300 riders were arrested. -
James Meredith and the Desegregation of the University of Mississippi
Meredith tried to transfer with a court order to the University of MI, but Governor Barnett did not let him do so. Kennedy had 500 federal marshals escort him to campus,causing a mob. The Marshals responded to the violence with tear gas.160 marshals were injured. Kennedy ordered troops to be send to the campus. Meredith attended classes under federal guard. Meredith wrote Three Years of Mississippi which described his experience as the first black student to enter Mississippi University. -
Protests in Birmingham
King decided to launch a protest to get Kennedy to support civil rights. King was arrested 8 days in and wrote "The Letter from Birmingham Jail" there. King explained that the protestors were trying to get justice. Bull Connor ordered the police to use clubs, police dogs, and high-pressure fire hoses on protestors. Kennedy prepared a new civil rights bill. The protests broke down barriers of segregation within the city. Schools were integrated in the new school year. -
The March on Washington
King and Randolph agreed to march on Washington to lobby congress members and push for support. 200,000 people of all races marched and King delievered a speech. It built momentum for the bill, but congress members tried to drag it down. Many people passed out from heat exhaustion. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This bill was difficult to pass due southern senators.Johnson was able to built support to get the bill passed.It gave the federal government power to prevent racial discrimination.It made segregation illegal in public areas & gave all people equal access to public facilities. It gave power to attorneys to force school desegregation and required an end to job discrimination & established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to monitor it. Malcolm X and King met when the bill was debated. -
The Selma March
The SCLC and King marched in Selma to fight for voting rights. Only 3% of the population were registered voters. 2,000 Africans Americans were arrested, including children.Clark's men attacked and beat many demonstrators. King decided to March from Selma to the Montgomery. Clark and 200 other state troopers and citizens beat the protestors which was known as "Bloody Sunday" leaving 70 injured. Johnson was furious by this. The Selma movement helped give birth to the Black Panther Party. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This Act allowed US attorney generals to send federal examiners to register qualified voters, bypassing local officers who refuse to register African Americans and suspended discriminatory devices. Almost 250,000 African Americans registered as new voters and the number of African Americans elected officials increased. This act passed a turning point in the civil rights movement. Segregation was now outlawed and laws prevented it. Later, the movement helped those trapped in poverty and ghettos. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
King came to Memphis to lobby the federal government to commit billions of dollars to end poverty and unemployment. King was assassinated by a sniper on a balcony. His death caused national mourning and riots. The demonstration was not able to achieve the goals he hoped for. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which outlawed discrimination in housing. His death was an end to an era and the movement lacked the unity and vision King had given it.
