Download Civil Rights Movement - Danville Public Schools

Characteristics of the post-Reconstruction
period:
• Racial segregation:
– By law, public facilities and government services such as education
were divided into separate "white" and "colored" domains.
Characteristically, those for colored were underfunded and of inferior
quality.
• Disenfranchisement (taking away the right to vote):
– When white Democrats regained power, they passed laws that made
voter registration more inaccessible to blacks. Black voters were forced
off the voting rolls. The number of African American voters dropped
dramatically, and they no longer were able to elect representatives.
From 1890 to 1908, Southern states of the former Confederacy created
constitutions with provisions that disfranchised most African Americans
and tens of thousands of poor white Americans.
• Exploitation (The act of using something in an unjust or cruel
manner):
– Increased economic oppression of blacks, Latinos, and Asians, denial of
economic opportunities, and widespread employment discrimination.
• Violence:
– Individual, police, organizational, and mass racial violence against
blacks (and Latinos in the Southwest and Asians in California).
Civil Rights Movement
• Refers to the reform movements in the United
States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination
against African Americans and restoring
Suffrage in Southern states
• The Civil Rights Movement resulted in legislation
that ensured constitutional rights to all citizens
regardless of race.
• Women activists were inspired by the
achievements of the Civil Rights Movement and
took action to gain equality for themselves,
particularly in the workplace.
Some Effects of Segregation
• Separate educational
facilities and
resources for white
and African American
students
• Separate public
facilities (e.g.,
restrooms, drinking
fountains,
restaurants)
• Social isolation of
races
Civil Rights Movement In The Courts
• Opposition to Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)–
“Separate but equal”
• Brown v. Board of Education(1954),
– Desegregation of public schools
Civil Rights Leaders
• Martin Luther King
Jr.– Passive Resistance
against segregated
facilities; “I have a
dream…” speech.
• Nonviolent protests
• Led the Montgomery
Bus Boycott
• King was
assassinated on April
4, 1968, in Memphis,
Tennessee.
• Her arrest and trial
led to the 381 day
Montgomery bus
boycott.
• Tired after a long day
of work, Rosa Parks
refused to give her
seat on the bus up to
a white man.
Organized Protests
• The Freedom Riders were a group of men and
women from many different backgrounds and
ethnicities who boarded buses, trains and
planes headed for the deep South to test the
1960 U.S. Supreme Court ruling outlawing racial
segregation in all interstate public facilities.
• A sit-in is a form of direct action that
involves one or more persons nonviolently
occupying an area for protest, often to
promote political, social, or economic
change.
• The March on
Washington for
Jobs and Freedom
was a large political
rally that took place in
Washington, D.C. on
August 28, 1963.
During this March,
King delivered his
famous "I Have a
Dream" speech at the
Lincoln Memorial.
About 250,000 people
were in attendance.
NAACP
• The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People is one
of the oldest and most influential civil
rights organizations in the U.S.
• Was founded on February 12, 1909.
• Expanded in the 1950’s and 1960’s with
members consisting of Rosa Parks and
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 - outlawed
discrimination based on race, color,
religion, gender, or national origin.
• Originally conceived to protect the rights of
African Americans, the bill was amended
prior to its passage to protect the civil
rights of everyone, and explicitly included
women for the first time.
• Voting Rights Act of 1965 –
–Outlawed the requirement that
voters in the U.S. take literacy tests
to register to vote.
–It provided for federal registration of
voters in areas that had less than
50% of eligible minority voters
registered.
Women’s Rights
• In 1979 the United Nations General
Assembly adopted the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against women
• The United States is the only civilized
nation that hasn’t ratified it.
Workplace Disadvantages
• Discrimination in
hiring practices
against women
• Lower wages for
women than for
men doing the
same job
• Feminism – belief
that men and
women are
intellectually and
socially equal
Improved Conditions
• National
Organization for
Women (NOW)
• Title IX – Federal
legislation to force
colleges to give
women equal
athletic
opportunities
Equal Rights Amendment
(ERA)
• The Equal Rights
Amendment, despite
its failure, and a focus
on equal opportunity
employment created
a wider range of
options and
advantages for
women in business
and public service.