Final topic 3 notes- CRM
What are civil rights and how did the CRM emerge?
• Rights that should be enjoyed by people in a country which revolve around basic freedoms
everyone should enjoy
• E.g. freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom from want (people aren’t in need of
basics)
• After WWII a large civil rights movement emerged because of discrimination and
persecution of African American soldiers faced when returning to the USA, no change had
taken place (still lots of race prejudice)
o Ironic- USA stood for freedom during WWII
o This led them to try and change their circumstances and aim to achieve equality- the
CRM was born
• Truman passed Executive Order 9981 on 26 July 1948
o Required equal treatment of armed forces
• Civil rights movement was a reaction against racist Jim Crow laws in the South
o Mostly a middle class movement aimed to end segregation of transport and
education
▪ Consisted of black and white middle class Christian church-goers who
shared liberal values
o Focussed on areas in the South, they used passive resistance and rejected violence
• American Declaration of Independence states that all Americans have a civil right to Life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness
Short and long term gains of the CRM
• Civil Rights Act of 1964- passed by Johnson and outlawed discrimination and permitted
federal government to intervene to enforce desegregation
o MLK actions credited
• September 1965- Johnson ordered government contractors to hire minority employees
• 1968 Civil Rights Act- illegal to discriminate in sale/ rental of property
• Topeka vs. Brown (1954)- school segregation declared unconstitutional
• Civil Rights Act of 1957/ 1960/ 1964 and the voting rights act- ensured that African
Americans could vote, gave them political power
• Desegregation of transport and facilities
Role, impact and influences of Martin Luther King
• Inspired by Gandhi to only use passive resistance
o Believed a spiritual transformation was required and that unjust laws had to be
broken in a peaceful manner
▪ Christian belief: “love your enemies” and “turn the other cheek”
o Deliberate disobedience to shame oppressors into scrapping acts- moral pressure
• Had policy of non-violence so that protestors weren’t dragged down to the levels of the
racist thugs
• Executive member of NAACP
• Involved in bus boycott (1956) when the Supreme court declared segregation on buses
unconstitutional
, • President of SCLC to provide new leadership to CRM
o Christian ideals, Gandhi inspired tactics
• Directed peaceful march on Washington
• Conferred with JFK
• Campaigned for Lyndon B Johnson
• Received doctorate in 1955
o People took him more seriously
• Funded, guided and helped launch SNCC in 1960
• Mentored by Howard Thurman
Who was the KKK (Klu Klux Klan)
• Originated in Tennessee in 1865 after slaves were freed
• Wanted to supress African Americans through terror tactics
o Wore white sheets and pointed hats to hide ID
▪ Lynched black people to spread terror
• Died down in 1870s with heavy government suppression
• Re-emerged in Georgia in 1915 and became anti-catholic/-sematic/-immigrant and
attacked whites who were sympathetic towards them
o Died down in 1930s
• Revived in small groups in 1950s to oppose CRM
Jim Crow Laws
• Laws passed in Southern states to ensure the segregation of black and white people
• In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy vs Ferguson that separate but equal facilities
were legal and constitutional
o Homer Plessy (black man) arrested for sitting in white only carriage, argued that the
14th Amendment guaranteed equal rights to all US citizens
o Judges argued that black facilities were equal to white facilities and that his rights
weren’t violated
NAACP formed (1909)
• National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
• Multi-racial organisation- members from well educated middle class
• Used moderate forms of protest
• Challenged segregationist laws in court
o Responsible for Topeka vs. Brown (1954)
o Supported Montgomery bus boycott (1955)
o Helped Little Rock 9 (1957)
o Involved in March on Washington (1963)
CORE formed (1942)
• Formed by James Farmer
• Congress of Racial Equality
• Recruits were mostly white students
• Shifted from non-violence to self-defence and adopted black power in 1966
Brown vs. Topeka (1954)
• Declared the segregation in schools to be unconstitutional
What are civil rights and how did the CRM emerge?
• Rights that should be enjoyed by people in a country which revolve around basic freedoms
everyone should enjoy
• E.g. freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom from want (people aren’t in need of
basics)
• After WWII a large civil rights movement emerged because of discrimination and
persecution of African American soldiers faced when returning to the USA, no change had
taken place (still lots of race prejudice)
o Ironic- USA stood for freedom during WWII
o This led them to try and change their circumstances and aim to achieve equality- the
CRM was born
• Truman passed Executive Order 9981 on 26 July 1948
o Required equal treatment of armed forces
• Civil rights movement was a reaction against racist Jim Crow laws in the South
o Mostly a middle class movement aimed to end segregation of transport and
education
▪ Consisted of black and white middle class Christian church-goers who
shared liberal values
o Focussed on areas in the South, they used passive resistance and rejected violence
• American Declaration of Independence states that all Americans have a civil right to Life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness
Short and long term gains of the CRM
• Civil Rights Act of 1964- passed by Johnson and outlawed discrimination and permitted
federal government to intervene to enforce desegregation
o MLK actions credited
• September 1965- Johnson ordered government contractors to hire minority employees
• 1968 Civil Rights Act- illegal to discriminate in sale/ rental of property
• Topeka vs. Brown (1954)- school segregation declared unconstitutional
• Civil Rights Act of 1957/ 1960/ 1964 and the voting rights act- ensured that African
Americans could vote, gave them political power
• Desegregation of transport and facilities
Role, impact and influences of Martin Luther King
• Inspired by Gandhi to only use passive resistance
o Believed a spiritual transformation was required and that unjust laws had to be
broken in a peaceful manner
▪ Christian belief: “love your enemies” and “turn the other cheek”
o Deliberate disobedience to shame oppressors into scrapping acts- moral pressure
• Had policy of non-violence so that protestors weren’t dragged down to the levels of the
racist thugs
• Executive member of NAACP
• Involved in bus boycott (1956) when the Supreme court declared segregation on buses
unconstitutional
, • President of SCLC to provide new leadership to CRM
o Christian ideals, Gandhi inspired tactics
• Directed peaceful march on Washington
• Conferred with JFK
• Campaigned for Lyndon B Johnson
• Received doctorate in 1955
o People took him more seriously
• Funded, guided and helped launch SNCC in 1960
• Mentored by Howard Thurman
Who was the KKK (Klu Klux Klan)
• Originated in Tennessee in 1865 after slaves were freed
• Wanted to supress African Americans through terror tactics
o Wore white sheets and pointed hats to hide ID
▪ Lynched black people to spread terror
• Died down in 1870s with heavy government suppression
• Re-emerged in Georgia in 1915 and became anti-catholic/-sematic/-immigrant and
attacked whites who were sympathetic towards them
o Died down in 1930s
• Revived in small groups in 1950s to oppose CRM
Jim Crow Laws
• Laws passed in Southern states to ensure the segregation of black and white people
• In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy vs Ferguson that separate but equal facilities
were legal and constitutional
o Homer Plessy (black man) arrested for sitting in white only carriage, argued that the
14th Amendment guaranteed equal rights to all US citizens
o Judges argued that black facilities were equal to white facilities and that his rights
weren’t violated
NAACP formed (1909)
• National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
• Multi-racial organisation- members from well educated middle class
• Used moderate forms of protest
• Challenged segregationist laws in court
o Responsible for Topeka vs. Brown (1954)
o Supported Montgomery bus boycott (1955)
o Helped Little Rock 9 (1957)
o Involved in March on Washington (1963)
CORE formed (1942)
• Formed by James Farmer
• Congress of Racial Equality
• Recruits were mostly white students
• Shifted from non-violence to self-defence and adopted black power in 1966
Brown vs. Topeka (1954)
• Declared the segregation in schools to be unconstitutional
