Civil Rights

Day 1

Discrimination in America
• During the late 1800s, former slaves were granted
constitutional rights through the Thirteenth,
Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, also
known as the Reconstruction amendments

• However, in the South, the rights guaranteed under

these amendments were quickly limited with the
passage of Jim Crow laws, which enforced
segregation and created obstacles that stopped
many African Americans from voting

• In 1896, the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson

ruled that segregation in public places, such as
schools, hospitals, and restaurants, was
constitutional as long as facilities were “separate
but equal”

• African Americans moved north in hopes of better

economic and social conditions only to discover
racial prejudice and segregation there too
Day 1

The Fight Against Segregation

• During the Civil Rights era, the legal battle to end
segregation was led by Thurgood Marshall, a NAACP
lawyer

• Marshall argued that under the Equal Protection Clause of

the Fourteenth Amendment, segregation in schools was
illegal, and African Americans deserved the same
educational opportunities as white Americans

• In Sweatt v. Painter (1950), the Supreme Court sided with

Marshall. The court ruled that the separate law school
created by the University of Texas for African American
students was not equal to the white students’ law school

• Building on this victory, Marshall brought the landmark

case Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme
Court. In a historic ruling, the court declared segregation in
public schools unconstitutional; this set the stage for
achieving racial equality in other areas
Day 2

Little Rock Crisis

• After the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, some
states began integrating their schools. Other states,
mainly in the Deep South, resisted these changes

• In 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus defied the

Supreme Court’s ruling to integrate schools when
he ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent
nine African American students from entering Little
Rock’s Central High School

• President Dwight D. Eisenhower used his

presidential authority to protect the students by
sending federal troops to Little Rock to ensure
desegregation was enforced

• Although the federal troops provided protection

throughout the school year, the Little Rock Nine
faced ongoing harassment and hostility
Day 2

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Rosa Parks, an African American and NAACP member,

was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to
follow a law that required her to give up her bus seat
to a white passenger

• Parks’ arrest inspired local African Americans to

challenge Montgomery’s segregated public
transportation system and led to the organization of a
boycott of the city’s buses

• The bus boycott lasted over a year and ended when the
Supreme Court declared bus segregation
unconstitutional. Rosa Parks’ actions inspired other
activists around the United States
Day 3

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

• The Montgomery Bus Boycott was led by Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., who advocated for the use
of civil disobedience—a nonviolent method of
protesting unfair laws or policies

• After the bus boycott’s success, Dr. King founded

the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to
continue coordinating nonviolent protests against
racial segregation and discrimination

• Inspired by Dr. King’s beliefs, Ella Baker, an SCLC

member, formed the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee, or SNCC. The SNCC was
best known for organizing sit-ins, where African
Americans sat at segregated lunch counters and
refused to leave until they were served
Day 3

Continued Protests
• Although segregation in interstate transportation was
prohibited under federal law, it was rarely enforced. In 1961,
the Congress of Racial Equality, a civil rights organization
committed to nonviolent activism, started a movement known
as the Freedom Rides

• Civil rights activists, including CORE members, challenged the

lack of enforcement of the laws by traveling on buses
throughout the South

• The activists, known as Freedom Riders, faced violence and

arrests, but their efforts brought national attention to the
issue and pressured the federal government to enforce
desegregation laws for interstate travel

• While protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested. During his time in jail, he
wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” a powerful document
that explained why African Americans had a responsibility to
follow just laws and a duty to challenge and break unjust ones
through nonviolent means
Day 4

March on Washington

• In 1963, civil rights leaders organized the March

on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to
advocate for racial equality and economic
justice

• Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech

to a crowd of over 250,000 people and spoke of
a society where people were judged by the
content of their character and not the color of
their skin

• Dr. King’s powerful words inspired many people

and helped the Civil Rights movement gain
support
Day 4

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• In response to the March on Washington and Dr.
King’s speech, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was
passed and made racial segregation in public places
illegal

• The Act built on the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first
civil rights legislation passed since Reconstruction,
by expanding protections and strengthening
enforcement that didn't exist previously

• The Act also established the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission, or EEOC. The EEOC
created laws to -
• increase diversity in the workplace
• enforce fair hiring decisions
• guarantee gender and racial equality on the job
• provide more economic possibilities for women and
minorities
Day 4

Progressing Toward Voter Equality

• Although the Fifteenth Amendment had granted
African American men the right to vote since the
late 1800s, voter discrimination in the form of poll
taxes and literacy taxes made it almost impossible
to do so

• In 1964, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment, which

banned poll taxes in federal elections, was ratified

• The following year, the Voting Rights Act of 1965,

which eliminated literacy tests and other
discriminatory practices, was passed

• These changes led to increased political

participation among minorities
Day 5

The Status Quo

• Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 had been passed,
racism and discrimination continued in many
parts of the United States

• Some Southerners worked to keep things the

way they already were, or maintain the status
quo, when it came to segregation
• The Congressional bloc of southern Democrats, a
group of lawmakers from Southern states, used their
power in Congress to obstruct civil rights legislation
• George Wallace, the governor of Alabama, opposed
school integration. He stood in the doorway of the
University of Alabama to prevent African American
from enrolling as students
Day 5

Changes in the Movement

• The Black Panther Party, founded in 1966 by Huey P.
Newton, was created to address racism and police
brutality faced by Black communities

• Unlike Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of

non-violence, the Black Panthers advocated for
armed self-defense and militant actions to achieve
its goals

• During the Civil Rights era, many African Americans

overcame racial barriers
• Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in
Major League Baseball

• Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman to

serve in the U.S. Congress
Day 5

MLK’s Assassination

• The Civil Rights movement lost one if its most

influential leaders on April 4, 1968 when Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, in
Memphis, Tennessee

• His death shocked the nation and triggered

riots in multiple U.S. cities

• Dr. King’s assassination caused a divide within

the movement. Some groups continued
organizing peaceful protests, while others chose
more forceful ways to fight for equality