HIS 122 - U.S. Since 1865
Lecture # 11
Struggles for Equality
I. Civil Rights Movement
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Differing views of what causes racism develop following WWII
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one viewpoint argued that racism was economic and class based--could only
be cured through economic equality
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the other group viewed it as cultural and individual--could be handled
by education
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the differing views on causes of racism to a large degree shape the efforts
at trying to end it
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NAACP and educational/legal actions
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the predominant view of the NAACP was that racism could be solved through
education and integration
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solution was to open the way for African Americans to enter white society
and through contact and education, racism would end
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burden of desegregation under this idea placed on blacks--move into white
society would have to come from middle-class, professional African Americans
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this idea fits makeup of NAACP, composed primarily of middle-class, northern
blacks
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NAACP and the Federal Government
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NAACP focused its efforts in the 1940s and 1950s on the federal government
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following WWII, put pressure on Pres. Truman to urge desegregation
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Truman does desegregate military, but hesitates in other areas
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only when he needs the support of northern blacks during 1948 election
does he and Democrats adopt strong civil rights stance (this causes many
southern Dems to bolt party and form Dixiecrats--Strom Thurmond)
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NAACP and the U.S. Supreme Court
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1950, NAACP wins two cases in Supreme Court involving segregated universities
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McLaurin v. Oklahoma Bd. of Regents--ruled that African-American
man must be admitted to OU because no other universities in state offered
graduate degree he sought (discuss McLaurin's treatment)
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Sweatt v. Painter--struck down Texas' attempt to create a separate
law school for African Americans, ruling that such a school was unequal
because of intangibles
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Brown vs. Board of Education
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biggest effort came in 1952, when the Supreme Court agreed to hear five
cases regarding public school desegregation (combined under name of Brown
v. Bd. of Education, Topeka, Kansas)
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case originally heard by S.C. in 1952, but because of change in Chief Justices
(Earl Warren takes over from Frederick Vinson), case reheard in 1953
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arguments in Brown directly attacked "separate but equal" concept
from Plessy v. Ferguson
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NAACP lawyers, led by Thurgood Marshall used sociological and psychological
research to argue that separate schools created inherently unequal education
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after six months of deliberation, SC returned an unanimous verdict ruling
that segregated schools were inherently unequal--ordering schools to desegregate
(no time frame set)
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1955, as schools have not desegregated immediately, Supreme Court rules
in Brown v. Bd. II that the must do so "with all deliberate speed"
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Reactions to Brown decisions
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Pres. Eisenhower does not move to support the Supreme Court's decision
in Brown--in fact, publicly calls his appointment of Earl Warren
to Supreme Court worst mistake he ever made
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in fact, federal agencies hindered desegregation more than they helped--FBI
was obstructionist, departments of Agriculture and Housing allowed segregation
in their policies
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Southern congressmen blocked any legislative response--1955, 100 southern
members of Congress sign Southern Manifesto calling Brown a "clear
abuse of judicial power"
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Massive Resistance
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Encouraged by Eisenhower's lack of response, and Congressional hostility,
southern states launch "massive resistance"
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massive resistance based largely on theory of interposition and states'
rights
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state governments argued that federal government was invading the rights
of state citizens and therefore, it was duty of state to step in and interpose
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southern states believed that if rest of country saw how determined South
was they would give up idea of desegregation
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State legislators in South passed laws banning desegregated schools (these
laws quickly expanded to cover many social situations)
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For a time, federal government (including SC) did nothing
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Little Rock
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1957, school board of Little Rock, Ark. sought to follow the Brown
ruling (as ordered by local federal court)
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Gov. Orville Faubus decided to oppose desegregation, calling out the Ark.
National Guard when 9 African-American children attempt to enroll at Central
High School
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action created a crisis
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local federal court ordered Faubus to remove National Guard, he refused--mobs
attacked high school when black children returned to the school
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Eisenhower did not want to get involved, but could not stand the negative
publicity of mobs roaming streets of Little Rock
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President nationalized National Guard and sent U.S. airborne troops to
the city, enforcing the desegregation order
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Following year, to prevent desegregation, Gov. Faubus ordered all Little
Rock public schools closed--Virginia's governor did the same when courts
ordered that state's schools to desegregate
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School closings create a crisis in the South
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battle between "New South" advocates and traditionalists
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New South forces primarily urban middle-class (with large number of women),
against rural Old Guard traditionalists
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New South supporters organized number of Save Our Schools (S.O.S.) campaigns,
which politicians had to pay attention--argued simply to keep schools open,
not for desegregation (although desegregation would have to happen if schools
open)
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Desegregation in Georgia
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First major school system in Georgia to desegregate was Atlanta city schools
in 1961
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UGA
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1961, federal court orders UGA to allow two black students to enter--Hamilton
Holmes and Charlene Hunter (Gault)
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University initially closed, but finally opened
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Law students at UGA organized a riot, well-planned in advance
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demonstrated and threw rocks at Gault's dorm room window
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campus police only ones to respond
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state troopers came in later, and took one student into custody--Hunter
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Mississippi and Alabama
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Ole Miss much harder to integrate--gunfights broke out between U.S. marshalls
and rioters
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U. Alabama desegregated in 1963, signalling collapse of massive resistance
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Massive resistance collapsed earlier in big cities than in rural areas--towns
and counties of Deep South didn't desegregate until after 1964 Civil Rights
Act
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Mass black civil rights activism--1950s
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First major mass black incursion into Civil Rights came with the bus boycotts
in Alabama
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Boycotts began in Montgomery on Dec. 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to
move further back on a segregated bus
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Parks arrested by Montgomery poice and charged with violating city ordinances
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Although Parks quickly released on bail, African American community gathered
that night to discuss how to handle situation
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Women's Political Council (modelled after League of Women Voters) lead
way in trying to organize resistance to what the women see as unfair treatment
on busses (describe treatment)
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four days later, Parks found guilty and fined $14.00
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That night black community in city formed Montgomery Improvement Association--MLK
becomes president of Association (eloquent speaker and new -- not involved
in community infighting)
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plans made for 1 day boycott to emphasize the demands of black citizens
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news of proposed boycott leaks out
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planning for transportation key issue for organizers
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Montgomery Improvement Association made three initial demands
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first come, first served in separate sections
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courteous bus drivers
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hire black drivers on predominantly black routes
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will boycott busses until demands are met
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MIA did not originally work with the NAACP because the latter organization
was thought too radical by many blacks in the city--a conservative movement
when it started
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King and city officials meet and almost reach agreement, but bus company
officials (in Detroit) refused to hire black bus drivers
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Boycott continued--four black churches and number of private homes were
bombed
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MIA stiffens its demands, calling for desegregation on the busses
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A year after it began, a court ordered desegregation of the busses
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Boycotts follow in five other cities across the South
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
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comes out of Montgomery as a leader of Civil Rights movement
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King based his arguments on moral (Christian duties) which he saw as overriding
man-made law
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felt that people had a duty to obey moral law, even if it conflicted with
laws made by governments
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King also believed that violence should never be used to support moral
law
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King's strategy was to get people to face the irrationality of segregation
and racism by confronting them and making them think
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called this strategy "creative tension"
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he believed that he had to use mass movements to fully develop creative
tension and get media attention
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For the most part, King sought to get open doors for African Americans
to enter mainstream society
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For all the success of the boycotts, massive resistance took center stage
over the next 4 or 5 years, forcing other civil rights efforts into background
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Civil Rights Movement in early 1960s
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Sit-ins change the movement
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Greensboro
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in February 1960, 4 African-American students at N.C. A&T launch movement
in 1960s by sitting down in the "white's only" section of the lunch counter
of the Greensboro Woolworth's
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next day, large group of black students sat down at the lunch counter--store
manager closed the counter
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several days later, a few women from Greensboro Women's College joined
the blacks
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after a few weeks, Woolworth's agreed to integrate the lunch counters
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movement quickly spread throughout N.C. and into Virginia and S.C.--forcing
many businesses to integrate their services
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Reasons for sit-ins
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as African Americans became more educated during the 1950s, they became
more discontent with lower station they were assigned
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found themselves with education but no opportunity to enter the job market
in white world
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Sit-in movement comprised primarily of black college students
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involved young, well-educated, upwardly mobile blacks who were discontent
with no economic opportunities
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sit-ins got the civil rights movement into full swing
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Organizing sit-in participants
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although sit-in movement was spontaneous, people interested in civil rights
began to think more about organizing the protests
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the SCLC, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., attempted to organize black youth
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SCLC grew out of the black churches (Baptist predominantly) throughout
the South
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it served as an umbrella organization for a number of local groups
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SCLC goes to N.C. A&T to organize the students, but students unwilling
to join SCLC
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SNCC
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Instead, students form SNCC in spring of 1960s (Ella Parks--aid to King--helps
organize)
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SNCC tries to orchestrate the sit-ins, but that doesn't work
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so organization decides to open sit-in movement into rural areas and organize
rural voting efforts for blacks
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becomes a full-time organization by 1961
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SNCC's efforts
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SNCC's people worked at organizing groups in non-college, non-urban areas
(workers usually paid $10-20 per week
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number of full-time workers grew from 40 in 1960 to 1,000 in 1964
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Idea behind its efforts was to leave functioning civil rights organizations
at the local level after organizers left
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SNCC tried to avoid violence, but it often came their way--helped a little
by Kennedy administration who worked to keep U.S. image clean and domestic
violence to a minimum
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SNCC sets up Voter Education Project as way to provide money for organizing
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SNCC separates from other efforts
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people in SNCC become increasingly disdainful of MLK's tactics of coming
in, grabbing headlines, and then leaving
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they also grow more distrustful of the federal government and its lack
of effort to stop the violence
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begin to picket the Justice Department in 1961
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still, SNCC was dependent to a degree on the FBI's minimal protection and
federal economic support for their activities
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SNCC gradually becomes more radical and demands changes in the federal
system
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CORE becomes one of SNCC's biggest allies
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CORE led by James Farmer
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as freedom rides began in 1962, CORE increasingly focused on the South
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CORE'S membership also undergoes much change--originally a mainly white,
middle-class group, more blacks join CORE and begin to lead organization
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CORE adopts the tactics of SNCC of focusing on local people
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While SNCC concentrates on Alabama and Mississippi, CORE focuses on Louisiana
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Mississippi Freedom Summer
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As SNCC grows more disenchanted with the efforts of MLK, they decide to
carry out their own campaign
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Decide to work on breaking the deadlock in Mississippi--led to creation
of "Miss. Freedom Summer"
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White and black college students were to work together to integrate southern
communities
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SNCC believed the North would pay attention if it were northern white kids
who got beaten and killed
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most volunteers who participated in Freedom Summer were college students,
trained by SNCC at Ohio University
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3 workers (1 black, 2 white) killed at Philadelphia, Miss.
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Johnson sends FBI to Miss. to find out what happened
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six men accused of committing the murders (none tried for murder
in state court)
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men tried for Civil Rights violations in federal court--county sheriff
and 2 deputies found guilty and sentenced to jail
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Violence erupted against the participants of Freedom Summer and local blacks
on a massive scale (homes bombed and burned, beatings, etc.)
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this conflict between whites and blacks led SNCC toward concept of "black
power"
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other conflicts within SNCC (north-south and male-female) created great
tensions within SNCC
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most of the northern students active in Mississippi Freedom Summer later
became leaders in student protests against Vietnam and in the feminist
movement
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March on Selma
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last great effort by SNCC was to organize the march on Selma in 1965
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as before, NAACP and the SCLC came in and took over the effort
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the violence against the marchers at Selma exceeded anything at Birmingham
in 1963
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Sheriff Jim Clark and the Alabama State Patrol led brutal attacks against
the marchers
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2 northern whites murdered while participating in the march--a minister
and a Detroit housewife
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events were captured on national news shows and spread throughout the U.S.
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Selma march helped convince Congress to pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act
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However, march on Selma split Civil Rights Movement apart
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Birmingham, Alabama (1963)
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In April, 1963, Martin Luthern King and the SCLC helped launch a series
of nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham in effort to desegregate public
facilities in the city
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Birmingham unsurpassed in its commitment to segregation
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Police Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor personally supervised effort to
break up the marches
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Connor's police used police dogs, tear gas, clubs, electric cattle prods,
and fire hoses to break up the demonstrations
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Television cameras caught the violence and broadcast it to a national audience
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These televised protest activities brought the Civil Rights movement outside
the South
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Demonstrations took place in a number of other cities throughout the nation
in support of the Birmingham marchers
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Despite support of much of the nation, the Birmingham protests had little
effect on the city
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Finally, King makes a desperate move, and allows school children to join
in the marches
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Connor orders police to treat them the same as every other marcher
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Morale in police department collapses when police forced to use violence
against children--it was not what they had been hired to do
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Birmingham's white leadership agreed to compromise with the civil rights
marchers
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compromise not secure
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threatened for a while by bombings of black motels and churches (four girls
killed in one attack), efforts of KKK and white supremacists, and black
response to these attacks
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March on Washington
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In August 1963, 250,000 demonstrators marched down the Mall in D.C. to
support civil rights
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highlight of demonstration was MLK's "I have a Dream" speech
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march was a high-water mark of the peaceful, interracial civil rights movement--and
one of the last moments of real harmony within it
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Impact of mass protests
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at first, civil rights protest had little impact on federal government
activities
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A Civil Rights Act passed the House of Reps. in 1963, but was stopped in
Senate by a filibuster
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Kennedy reluctant to push to hard, fearing that to do so would alienate
southern congressmen from supporting other programs he wanted to pass
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Following JFK's assassination in Nov. 1963, mood changed, and LBJ able
to get Congress to pass Civil Rights Act in 1964
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the next year, Voting Rights Act passed
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Origins of split among Civil Rights groups
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different groups--SNCC, CORE, NAACP, and NUL (National Urban League)
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NAACP led by Roy Wilkens
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NUL led by Whitney Young, later Ralph Abernathy
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NAACP sitll focused on needs of middle-class African Americans in the North
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saw only problem was to get rid of white prejudice
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for the NAACP, they felt a major victory had been won
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NAACP saw King and SNCC as radicals who grabbed headlines, caused trouble,
and left the NAACP to clean up the mess
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National Urban League worked with elite whites in encouraging black employment
in the cities (mostly northern cities)
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Federal government preferred to work with NAACP and the NUL
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Southern blacks prefereed the SCLC and SNCC
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Civil Rights movement never achieves an overall organization
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NAACP and NUL remained conservative and middle-class--aim is to change
white attitudes and move into mainstream American life
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SCLC stood in the middle of the road
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SNCC and CORE stood as the radical element of the civil rights movement
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Racial problems continue
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Although middle-class blacks saw themselves as having won major victories
in civil rights activities, serious problems still faced the majority of
blacks throughout the nation
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Watts (1965)
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Aug. 1965, in the Watts district of L.A., riots explode
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34 people killed and 1000 injured
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much damage from burning and looting
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many asked why blacks were burning down central LA when they had won the
war in Congress
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Answer was that Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965
had done little to help the condition of people living in the inner cities
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After Watts riot, King and the SCLC decide to try non-violent protest in
northern cities
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in 1966, King and his follwoers move to Chicago to get the blacks in city
to join in non-violent protest
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Chicago's blacks wanted better housing, but were limited to ethnic enclaves
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marches met with widespread resistance from whites and from blacks who
weren't always willing to be non-violent
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march to Chicago suburb of Cicero truned ugly as blacks and whites confronted
each other, violent action barely avoided
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King claims that white hatred in Chicago was worse than in Alabama
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Chicago campaign demonstrated that racism was not just a southern problem,
but a national one
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As the issues facing civil rights movement became harder to define (good
housing and jobs), the groups were less able to focus their efforts on
an effective way to solve them
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During a march across Mississippi in June 1966, the leadership of SNCC,
CORE, and the SCLC became completely divided
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King and his people shouted "freedom now," Stokely Carmichael and leaders
of CORE shouted "black power"
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debate over goals and tactics continued throughout the march
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Carmichael argued that it was time that blacks took control of their own
destinies and communities--driving out white landlords and police who abused
them
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Carmichael and others in SNCC and CORE turned increasingly to self-help
as the way to solve the problems facing the black community
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idea behind this was to build power in such a way as to be able to negotiate
with whites as equals, not as someone going begging
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Carmichael argued that all integration had done was to siphon the top black
leaders into the white system, therefore, blacks should act alone and take
responsibility for keeping their communities in line
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Black Panthers grew out of the Black Power movement
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formed by Bobby Seals, Eldridge Cleaver, and Huey Newton
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became a para-military unit that would act as a police force in the ghettoes
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quickly infiltrated by law enforcement agencies from all over
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confrontations between Panthers and law enforcement officers often led
to shoot-outs
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As violence grew, SNCC and CORE declined in power and authority
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End of Civil Rights era
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Civil Rights movement at an impasse by 1968
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many problems remained, but fixing these problems meant a major change
in all of American society
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most Americans unwilling to make these changes
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Riots continued in cites across the nation--43 in 1966, 8 in 1967 (including
the Detroit riots in which 43 people killed)
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In April 1968, King leads march to help get better pay and working conditions
for garbage collectors in Memphis, Tenn.
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April 4, King assassinated
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riots break out in more than 60 cities--43 people killed, 3,000 injured,
and 27,000 arrested
II. Feminist Movement
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during the 1950s, popular culture portrayed career women as unfulfilled;
homemakers and mothers were the ideal
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as women tried to meet this ideal, fewer women went to college or sought
higher-paying jobs--women constituted a smaller percentage of college students
in the 1950s than in 1920s and 1930s
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by 1960, 40% of women continue to work outside of the home, but they mostly
held poorly paid, dead-end jobs
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feminist movement at a low ebb during the decade
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Resurgence of feminist movement in the 1960s
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1963, Betty Friedan's The Feminist Mystique is published--it articulates
the growing unhappiness of middle-class white women with the 1950s emphasis
on motherhood and domesticity
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reactions to book mixed among women
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1966, National Organization for Women (NOW) founded--it lobbies for women's
full economic and social equality
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Activist women establish women's consciousness-raising sessions, health
collectives, and day-care centers for children of working women
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women also demonstrate for equal rights and legal abortions
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successes
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amendments to Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbidding discrimination on basis
of gender
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heightened political awareness and power
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legalization of birth control in all states (Griswold v. Conn.,
1963)
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legalization of abortion with Roe v. Wade (1973)
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problem areas
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economic parity not achieved--job advancement still difficult, most working
women paid less than men
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movement not widespread--still basically comprised of middle-class white
women
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ERA passes Congress in 1972, 28 states ratify quickly, but amendment fails
to get enough votes for ratification
III. Native Americans and Latinos
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1950s
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During the 1950s, Latinos and Indians are among the poorest, most discriminated-against
minorities in America
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Number of Lations in U.S. grows rapidly
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more than 1 million Puerto Ricans and people from the island of Hispianola
migrate to New York and other Northeastern cities
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Mexican-Americans also grow in number as farmers in Southwest seek cheap
labor to harvest crops
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1/3d of Mexican-Americans live below the poverty level
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millions of mojados (wetbacks) that crossed the border, combined
with the over 1/2 million braceros (temporary workers) brought in
legally each year, drove wages down as labor in plentiful supply
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Native Americans remained the forgotten minority group in America
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poorest of any group of American people
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between 1900 and 1930, over half the lands owned by tribal governments
had been lost to whites
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In 1953, cattle, timber, and mining interests that wanted Indian lands
convinced Congress to pass House Resolution 108
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ended Indians' status as wards of the United States
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granted them U.S. citizenship
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called for liquidation of the reservation system and termination of special
federal services to tribes
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over 500,000 acres of valuable Native American lands sold to non-Indians
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Between 1953 and 1960, 60,000 Indians (almost 10% of total) left the reservations,
most ended up living in urban slums
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2. Movements of the 1960s and 1970s
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During the 1960s, Native Americans and Latinos also begin to organize to
raise group pride and to fight for better living conditions through use
of both nonviolence and threats of force
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Native Americans
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1968, Indian activists start the American Indian Movement (AIM)
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demand payment for lands stolen by whites
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teaching of Native American studies at schools and colleges
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by late 1960s, early 1970s, AIM militance (Alcatraz and Wounded Knee) brings
changes in the destructive policy of termination (ending tribal life on
reservations)
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1974, Indian Self-Determination Act grants tribes right to administer government-aid
programs and schools on their reservations
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Native Americans also win important court cases--winning monetary awards
for land wrongfully take during the 19th century
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still, Native Americans struggle with high unemployment, alcoholism, and
disease (TB and cancer)
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Latinos also form a number of organizations during the 1960s
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best known is the United Farm Workers Union, organized in early 60s by
Cesar Chavez
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Chavez also uses nonviolent protest methods to improve living conditions
and ethnic pride of Latinos
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number of more militant young Latinos (mostly Chicanos) join Alianza and
La Raza groups, calling for "Chicano Power"