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11.01 Notes Outline
“The Struggle Begins”
Complete11.01 Notes Outline as you review lesson 11.01.
Explore #1:
Analyze the cartoon.
Explain the significance of the three main objects in the cartoon.
Explain the meaning of the caption, “What do you mean, not so fast?”
I. Challenging Segregation
Although the Civil Rights Movement spread nationwide in the 60's, the struggle had been going on for decades. Nearly 100 years after the Civil War, African-Americans lived under strict segregation rules established under that lawfully segregated the races in all aspects of life. Train stations, schools, restaurants, movie theaters, buses, and even hospitals were all separated into "white" and "black-only" sections. These rules were accepted by society and were enforceable by law. Those who dared to cross the color barrier not only risked their livelihood, but also their lives.
Although , or segregation by law, was enacted, , or segregation by the fact, continued. In the 1950s, a new generation of activists devised a plan to use non-violent protests to fight for freedom and equality.
Brown v. Board of Education
In 1954, the Supreme Court issued one of the most important decisions in American history. In the landmark case, , the court ruled that segregation was no longer lawful in public schools.
In 1951, Oliver Brown sued to allow his daughter to attend a whites-only school. Brown v. Board of Education overturned and the doctrine of "separate but equal" by ruling "separate facilities are inherently unequal."
Although the ruling was a huge victory, change did not come swiftly. Segregation supporters fiercely fought the mandated integration. It wasn't until the 1970s that full integration occurred.
Murder of Emmett Till
As a result of the Brown decision, the South was in a state of outrage. Many Southerners were determined to defend their customs and traditions and some whites increased acts of intimidation and violence in an effort to deter African-Americans from further challenging the segregationist system.
One such act of violence was the gruesome murder of fourteen-year-old by two white men in the small town of Money, Mississippi in the summer of 1955. Young Till was only visiting Mississippi for the summer. He did not realize the possible dire consequences of flirting with a white woman in the south.
Photos of the young man’s body published after the funeral and the outcome of the trial incensed the nation and helped to incite support and participation in the Civil Rights Movement.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
In December 1955, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her actions inspired other blacks in Montgomery to support a mass boycott of city buses for 381 days known as the .
Following the stand made by Rosa Parks, (MLK), a 26-year-old Baptist minister, became the spokesperson of the non-violent bus boycott. After a year of refusing to ride the buses, blacks gained the right to sit anywhere on a public bus when a Supreme Court ruled segregation on city buses illegal.
The victory helped inspire further protests across the country and helped to catapult Dr. King into a position of national prominence and the leader of the Civil Rights Movement.
Desegregation at Little Rock
In 1957, was attempted by nine black students. The city's school board had voted for the integration following theBrown decision. Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas ordered National Guard troops to turn away the nine students and prevent integration of the school.
After two weeks of protest, President Eisenhower the National Guard and sent the 101st Airborne in to protect and escort the students into school.
One year later, the citizens of Little Rock voted to close all the city's schools rather than face the threat of integration again. However, the bravery of the was witnessed across the nation and helped to further inspire other young people to get involved in the Movement.
I. Organizations Lead the Fight
During the Civil Rights Movement, several different organizations fought segregation using a variety of methods. For instance, one group -the NAACP-utilized the legal system to combat segregation as it existed in laws, while other groups, such as CORE, tested laws that already existed in order to force compliance. Even though the tactics themselves varied, the outcome they hoped to achieve remained the same.
NAACP
The , National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the United States. In 1909, , along with several other people associated with the Niagara Movement, founded this interracial organization.
The NAACP worked to gain legal equality for all Americans mainly through the courts by bringing lawsuits to challenge laws that prevented African-Americans from exercising their rights as citizens.
led a team of NAACP lawyers who won 29 out of 32 cases argued before the Supreme Court including Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In 1967, Marshall became the first African American Supreme Court justice.
CORE
, Congress of Racial Equality, was founded in 1942 by pacifists. The purpose of CORE was to bring about change through peaceful confrontation.
CORE played a major role in organizing demonstrations against segregation during World War II and throughout the Civil Rights Movement.
, the director of CORE after WWII, worked without pay to keep the organization going until it gained support and became a national organization in the 1950s.
SCLC, Dr. King, and Non-Violent Resistance
In1957, after the successful Montgomery bus boycott, Dr. King and other clergymen organized the , Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The goal of SCLC was "to carry on nonviolent crusades against the evils of second-class citizenship" or nonviolent protests.
SCLC was a grassroots organization that used African-American churches as a base to gain support and plan demonstrations throughout the South. It relied on nonviolent resistance or "soul force."
As president of the SCLC, became the leader of the Civil Rights Movement and a symbol of nonviolent protest for the entire world. He was influenced by the beliefs of , won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
SNCC Breaks Away
(pronounced "snick"), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was started in 1960 at a meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina, to give younger African-Americans a way to get involved in the movement. SNCC was originally part of the SCLC.
Some of the younger members of the SCLC were unhappy with the slow pace of change and wanted to create a means for more immediate change. , the SCLC executive director, helped to found SNCC.
, a future leader of SNCC, would lead the group to become more militant and eventually cause a split in the Civil Rights Movement.
Civil Rights Foot Soldiers
There are many famous names associated with the Civil Rights Movement who organized, lead, and participated in numerous marches. Yet, the marches, protests, sit-ins, and boycotts would not have been successful without the countless "" who fought for equality.