Civil Societies Protests
1950s to 1970s
The US Civil Rights Movement in the
United States
Reasons for the Civil Rights Movement [CRM]
- CRM must be investigated in the context of the introduction of slavery in the United
States & its abolition during the civil war [1861 to 1865]
- Northern States opposed the practice of slavery
- Southern states needed large numbers of slaves to keep cotton plantations profitable
- Post defeat of Southern states in the civil war:
• Lincoln ended practice of slavery
• Declared slaves free & equal under the law
- After the civil war there were amendements to the American Constitution
• 13th Amendment: declared all slaves to be free
• 14th Amendment: guaranteed African Americans equal protection under the law
• 15th Amendment: guaranteed African Americans the right to vote
THE KU KLUX KLAN
- Result of the freeing of slaves & constitutional amendements
- KKK emerged strongly in the southern states
- Resented the fact that black Americans were seen as equal
- Determined to use terror tactics to keep black Americans oppressed
- 1915: over 5 million members throughout southern states
- Anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic & anti-immigrant
- KKK actively opposed the CRM in the US
, JIM CROW LAWS & PLESSY VS FERGUSON
- 1896: Supreme Court ruled in landmark case of Plessy vs. Ferguson that separate but
equal facilities for black and white were legal & constitutional
- Homer Plessy:
• A black American was arrested for sitting in a “whites only” railway car in Louisiana
• Argument: 14th Amendement guaranteed equal rights to all American citizens
• Supreme court found that as long as carriages for blacks were of an equal quality
then his rights had not been violated
- In practice: separation led to to inferior conditions for African Americans,
perpetuating socio-economic inequality
- This case’s ruling allowed southern states to draft & pass The Jim Crow Laws
• Hundreds of racist segregationist laws
• The term Jim Crow is an insulting term for black people dating back to an old song
in 1820s
- Jim Crow Laws mandated segregated public facilities
• i.e. schools, libraries, restrooms, restaurants, transportation etc.
• They constituted as a manipulation of the constitution to exercise racism
- White policemen did little to protect black people
- White juries almost always acquitted white accused
- In the Southern States
- Post civil war & amendments
• In the North, segregation & racism remains despite no “hard laws”
- Police brutality, underfunded schools, segregated communities
- Segregation not controlled by law but maintained as a social norm
- Life in the North is better for black people BUT there was segregation
CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS
1. NAACP
- National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
- William du Bois & Henry Moscowitz [white jew]
- 1909
- Multiracial organisation
- Middle class, educated group of people
- Used passive forms of protests:
, • Deputations, petitions & letters
• Aimed to raise awareness of the issues against segregationist laws
• Still exists today to fight for the rights of black Americans & affiliated with Barak
Obama’s re-election
2. SNCC
- Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee
- Launched by SCLC in 1960 by helping with funding and guidance
3. CORE
- Congress of Racial Equality
- Formed in Chicago under leadership of James L Farmer
- Multiracial organisation
- Aimed to change racist attitudes & end segregation using passive resistance
- Mainly white university student membership
4. SCLC
- Southern Christian Leadership Council
- Formed under leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr
- Harnessed the power of the church & gave the CRM a Christian backing
- Spirit of sacrifice & spirituality emerged through SCLC
The Role, Impact & Influence of Martin Luther
King Jr on the US CRM
- Martin Luther King Jr:
• Born in Atlanta, Georgia
• Son of a Baptist minister
• Studied at many institutions & Boston University before becoming a paster at the
Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama
• Then moved to Atlanta, Georgia
• Educated & Religious
- Elected president of the SCLC & rose to prominence with Montgomery bus boycott
[1956]
- Became one of the most prominent leaders of the CRM
, - Had a profound influence on the CRM & was the reason that the SCLC brought a
religious, African American membership to the movement
- Led by example through his actions & was arrested over 80 times during his
involvement in the CRM
- His “I have a dream speech” in Washington DC [1963] helped to propel the Civil
Rights Bill through Congress after the speech
- Had an impact of ending segregation on beaches in St Augustine
- Led the Selma to Montgomery march
- Played a role in the “Freedom Summer”
• Campaign to register black voters in 1964
- Influenced passing of 1965 Voting Rights
• Removed obstacles preventing black Americans from voting
- Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” 1964
- Nobel Peace Prize at 35 in same year [youngest recipient yet]
- Opposed Vietnam war
- Assassinated at a “march of the poor” in April 1968
Forms of Protest through Civil Disobedience
MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT [1955]
- Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, worked long hours in a department store in
Montgomery [Alabama]
- Black travellers were required to enter busses from the back door and sit at the back
- They had to give up their seats should a white passenger need it when the front filled
up
• Even if black passenger was elderly or disabled they should stand if the white
passenger needed a seat
• Part of the Jim Crow Segregationist laws of the Southern States
- 1 December 1955:
• She & 3 other black Americans were sitting on a bus travelling home
• The bus filled up quickly and she was asked to move and she refused
- Rosa was arrested for contravening state law
1950s to 1970s
The US Civil Rights Movement in the
United States
Reasons for the Civil Rights Movement [CRM]
- CRM must be investigated in the context of the introduction of slavery in the United
States & its abolition during the civil war [1861 to 1865]
- Northern States opposed the practice of slavery
- Southern states needed large numbers of slaves to keep cotton plantations profitable
- Post defeat of Southern states in the civil war:
• Lincoln ended practice of slavery
• Declared slaves free & equal under the law
- After the civil war there were amendements to the American Constitution
• 13th Amendment: declared all slaves to be free
• 14th Amendment: guaranteed African Americans equal protection under the law
• 15th Amendment: guaranteed African Americans the right to vote
THE KU KLUX KLAN
- Result of the freeing of slaves & constitutional amendements
- KKK emerged strongly in the southern states
- Resented the fact that black Americans were seen as equal
- Determined to use terror tactics to keep black Americans oppressed
- 1915: over 5 million members throughout southern states
- Anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic & anti-immigrant
- KKK actively opposed the CRM in the US
, JIM CROW LAWS & PLESSY VS FERGUSON
- 1896: Supreme Court ruled in landmark case of Plessy vs. Ferguson that separate but
equal facilities for black and white were legal & constitutional
- Homer Plessy:
• A black American was arrested for sitting in a “whites only” railway car in Louisiana
• Argument: 14th Amendement guaranteed equal rights to all American citizens
• Supreme court found that as long as carriages for blacks were of an equal quality
then his rights had not been violated
- In practice: separation led to to inferior conditions for African Americans,
perpetuating socio-economic inequality
- This case’s ruling allowed southern states to draft & pass The Jim Crow Laws
• Hundreds of racist segregationist laws
• The term Jim Crow is an insulting term for black people dating back to an old song
in 1820s
- Jim Crow Laws mandated segregated public facilities
• i.e. schools, libraries, restrooms, restaurants, transportation etc.
• They constituted as a manipulation of the constitution to exercise racism
- White policemen did little to protect black people
- White juries almost always acquitted white accused
- In the Southern States
- Post civil war & amendments
• In the North, segregation & racism remains despite no “hard laws”
- Police brutality, underfunded schools, segregated communities
- Segregation not controlled by law but maintained as a social norm
- Life in the North is better for black people BUT there was segregation
CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS
1. NAACP
- National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
- William du Bois & Henry Moscowitz [white jew]
- 1909
- Multiracial organisation
- Middle class, educated group of people
- Used passive forms of protests:
, • Deputations, petitions & letters
• Aimed to raise awareness of the issues against segregationist laws
• Still exists today to fight for the rights of black Americans & affiliated with Barak
Obama’s re-election
2. SNCC
- Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee
- Launched by SCLC in 1960 by helping with funding and guidance
3. CORE
- Congress of Racial Equality
- Formed in Chicago under leadership of James L Farmer
- Multiracial organisation
- Aimed to change racist attitudes & end segregation using passive resistance
- Mainly white university student membership
4. SCLC
- Southern Christian Leadership Council
- Formed under leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr
- Harnessed the power of the church & gave the CRM a Christian backing
- Spirit of sacrifice & spirituality emerged through SCLC
The Role, Impact & Influence of Martin Luther
King Jr on the US CRM
- Martin Luther King Jr:
• Born in Atlanta, Georgia
• Son of a Baptist minister
• Studied at many institutions & Boston University before becoming a paster at the
Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama
• Then moved to Atlanta, Georgia
• Educated & Religious
- Elected president of the SCLC & rose to prominence with Montgomery bus boycott
[1956]
- Became one of the most prominent leaders of the CRM
, - Had a profound influence on the CRM & was the reason that the SCLC brought a
religious, African American membership to the movement
- Led by example through his actions & was arrested over 80 times during his
involvement in the CRM
- His “I have a dream speech” in Washington DC [1963] helped to propel the Civil
Rights Bill through Congress after the speech
- Had an impact of ending segregation on beaches in St Augustine
- Led the Selma to Montgomery march
- Played a role in the “Freedom Summer”
• Campaign to register black voters in 1964
- Influenced passing of 1965 Voting Rights
• Removed obstacles preventing black Americans from voting
- Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” 1964
- Nobel Peace Prize at 35 in same year [youngest recipient yet]
- Opposed Vietnam war
- Assassinated at a “march of the poor” in April 1968
Forms of Protest through Civil Disobedience
MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT [1955]
- Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, worked long hours in a department store in
Montgomery [Alabama]
- Black travellers were required to enter busses from the back door and sit at the back
- They had to give up their seats should a white passenger need it when the front filled
up
• Even if black passenger was elderly or disabled they should stand if the white
passenger needed a seat
• Part of the Jim Crow Segregationist laws of the Southern States
- 1 December 1955:
• She & 3 other black Americans were sitting on a bus travelling home
• The bus filled up quickly and she was asked to move and she refused
- Rosa was arrested for contravening state law
