The Civil Rights Movement part 2
Sit Ins
- On February 1, 1960, four African American college students from north Carolina A&T University began protesting racial segregation in restaurants by sitting at “White Only” lunch counters and waiting to be served.
Desegregating Southern University
- In 1962, James Meredith—an African American—applied for admission to the University of Mississippi.
- The university attempted to block Meredith’s admission, and he flied suit.
- After working through the state courts, Meredith was successful when a federal court ordered the university to desegregate and accept Meredith as a student.
- The Governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, defied the court order and tried to prevent Meredith from enrolling.
- In response, President Kennedy intervened to uphold the court order. Kennedy sent federal troops to protect Meredith when he went to enroll.
- During his first night on campus, a riot broke out when whites began to harass the federal marshals.
- In 1963, the governor of Alabama, George C. Wallace, threatened a similar stand, trying to block the desegregation of the University of Alabama. The Kennedy administration responded with the full power of the federal government, including the U.S. Army.
- The confrontations with Barnett and Wallace pushed President Kennedy into a full commitment to end segregation
- In June 1963, Kennedy proposed civil rights legislation
The March on Washington
- Martin Luther King, JR. delivered a moving address to an audience of more than 200,000 people.
- His “I Have a Dream” speech — delivered in front of the giant statue of Abraham Lincoln — became famous for the way in which it expressed the ideals of the civil rights movement.
- After President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, the new president, Lyndon Johnson, strongly urged the passage of the civil rights legislation as a tribute to Kennedy’s memory.
Voter registration
- In June 1963, medgar Evers, the NAACP Mississippi field secretary, was shot and killed in front of his home.
- In 1964, SNCC workers organized the Mississippi Summer Project to register African Americans to vote in the state, wanting to focus national attention on the state’s racism.
- King and SCLC members led hundreds of people on a five-day, five-mile, march to Montgomery
- The Selma March drummed up broad national support for a law to protect Southern African Americans’ right to vote.
- The 24th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1964. It prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax.
- President Johnson persuaded Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which suspended the use of literacy and other voter qualification tests in voter registration.
Voter Registration
- Over the next three years, almost one million more African Americans in the South registered to vote.
- By 1968, African American voters had having a significant impact on Southern politics.
- During the 1970s, African Americans were seeking and winning public offices in majority African American electoral districts.
The End of the Movement
- For many people the civil rights movement ended with the deaht of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968.
- Others believe it was over after the Selma March, because there have not been any significant changes since then.
- Still others argue the movement continues today because the goal of full equality has not yet been achieved.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Because of the Civil Rights movement, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law ended all racial discrimination in public facilities such as restrooms, restaurants, buses, movie theaters, and swimming pools .
Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Prohibited discrimination at voting polls
- Established bilingual ballots in areas with large amounts of non-English speaking minorities
- Outlawed literacy tests for voters
- Gave the Federal Government power to oversee all elections
Civil Rights Act of 1968
- Written as a follow-up to the CRA of 1964
- Created to enfoce equal housing opportunities for all races
- Basically you cannot refuse to rent or sell a house to anyone, anywhere, based on their race.