Civil+Rights+Movement

= = =The Civil Rights Movement =

General Information about the Civil Rights Movement


**The March on Washington:**
 "March on Washington." World History: The Modern Era. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 19 Mar. 2009 <[|http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com]>.

In the 20th century, blacks put together a movement to show that they wanted fair civil rights. The most important leader at the start of the civil rights movement was W.E.B. Du Bois. In 1909, Du Bois joined with other black leaders and concerned whites to form a group called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP was a very important association during the civil rights movement. This group was made up of men and women who were all colors. Many of the members were well known acticists including Rosa Parks who was the secretary from 1943 to 1956. This group worked through legislative action. The NAACP played important parts in many court rulings including the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and many other advancements for black people. This association continued to work extending the rights of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the 1970's -80's. This group was very important in the advancement of African Americans and the Civil Rights Movement.

Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka resulted in an important Supreme Court Ruling that reversed the ruling of the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson case. In this case Oliver Brown was protesting that his daughter was forced to attend a school far away when there was a close one which she could not attend because of her race. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP) sent lawyers who fought that black students were equal and deserved the same facilities and schools as white people. These lawyers also argued that having separate schools made the black kids feel inferior to the white students. On May 17th, 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that making the kids attend separate schools was against the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

In Little Rock, Arkansas nine black students were supposed to begin attending Central High School, an all white school, on September 4th, 1957. However, many of the white mothers protested this desegregation of the school. Orval Faubus, the governor, also did not approve of the black students attending this school and called in the National Guard to keep the "Little Rock Nine" from entering the school. After two weeks the NAACP used legal action to stop the governor from stopping the students from attending and on September 23rd, 1957 they returned to the school. However the riots outside were so bad the "Little Rock Nine" had to vacate. On September 24th, President Eisenhower sent armed soldiers to guard the kids and take them to their classes.

In 1963, Birmingham Alabama was one of the most segregated city's in the United States. Martin Luther King believed that 'as Birmingham goes, so goes the South' and he was ready to break the barrier between the white and black residents. There was a struggle to integrate in Birmingham, Alabama in the spring of 1963 and “involved the King’s most strenuous and courageous action.” The demonstrators picketed and protested the city businesses. The city’s police used dogs, cattle, prods, and fire hoses against the demonstrators. The public saw horrifying scenes on television and in the newspapers. A list of demands that were intended to help stop the segregation was made by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Martin Luther King was arrested and wrote a “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” defending nonviolent protest in answer to a statement by clergymen objecting to his tactics. While King was in jail the protests began to decline and the leaders came up with a new approach. On May 2nd, 1963 a group of black children marched through Birmingham to protest racism. These kids were clapping, marching and singing, nearly 1000 were arrested. The next day a city leader sent firemen to direct powerful hoses at the children to stop their protest. The next day thousands of black men and women turned up, this time they were also met with attack dogs. Even though violence continued, the Birmingham was successful and black and white leaders agreed on a procedure of desegregation. The March on Washington was an important event in the Civil Rights Movement. This was the day when many people began to sympathize and support the Civil Rights Movement. Thousands of people, all different races, went to Washington D.C. and marched behind many civil rigths leaders and advocates, including Martin Luther King Jr., to protest segregation on August 28th 1963. The March was intended to protest the segregation in schools, push for a higher minimum wage, and push for a civil rights bill in Congress. Once they reached the reflecting pool in the Lincoln Memorial King gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. The people sang "We Shall Overcome", the anthem of the movement. In it he emphasized his faith that all people, some day, would live in peace and harmony. To listen to the speech follow this link: []

**Short Term: **
The Civil Rights Movement started with a lady named Rosa Parks. Sometimes called the "Mother of the US", she boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1st, 1955. At that time the buses were segregated, black people in the back and whites in the front. The bus was crowded and the bus driver asked her to get off to make room for a white man. She refused. Because she would not get off the bus she was arrested. A boycott was organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and the next day the buses only had a few people on them. The white leaders did not think that this boycott would last because many African Americans used the buses to travel to work, go to school, go shopping and do many other thing. However, the boycott lasted for a year and eventually succeeded, allowing black people to sit anywhere on the bus. Rosa Parks was a very important cause of the Civil Rights Movement.

**Long term: **
Before the civil rights movement, it was hard for black people to vote, a basic right, because they had to pay special taxes or take tests that were hard for them because they were usually uneducated; many states, particularly in the South, passed laws which were known as "Grandfather Clauses", these laws required people to pay or take a test before voting, however, if you had a relative who had voted before 1966 you were not required to take the tests or pay, before 1966 African Americans could not vote so the whites were free to vote and it was very difficult for African Americans to vote. African-Americans weren't allowed into the same schools, churches, restaurants, buses, and other facilities as white Americans. They got the worst, lowest-paying jobs and were not allowed to go to all public places and had specific places just for them.

**Short Term: **

 * Because of the Rosa Parks boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, the boycott’s success encouraged other mass protests demanding civil rights for blacks.
 * The consequence of the March on Washingon was that Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered by James Earl Ray, a southern white man who had no particular motive for the crime, and was then believed to have been part of a plot.
 * The consequence of this murder triggered a series of riots in cities because of the black peoples’ anger. A few months later Robert Kennedy, one of the presidential candidates, was assassinated. This created even more anger for the African-Americans because he was thought to be one of the most sympathetic to the African-Americans.

**Long term:**
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ordered restaurants, hotels, and other businesses that serve the general public to serve all people without regard to race, colour, religion, or national origin. It banned discrimination by employers, and had established the "Equal Employment Opportunity Commission" to enforce fair employment. The act cut off funds from any program or activity that allowed racial discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1960 provided the appointment of referees to help African Americans register to vote.

Boycott: To act together in refusing to use, buy or deal with, especially used as a form of protest (Many people boycotted the buses in Alabama, refusing to ride them, until the African Americans could sit anywhere on the bus.) Civil Rights: The rights belonging to an individual as a citizen (A civil right on an American is that they are allowed to vote.) Discrimination: Treatment of people based on their belonging to a class or category rather than on individual merit (African Americans were discriminated against because they were not allowed to eat at restraints because of their skin color.) Movement: A series of organized activities working toward a final objective (The African Americans organized many protests and boycotts so that they would be treated equally.) Segregation: To require, often with force, the separation of (a specific racial, religious, or other group) from the general body of society (The Africans Americans segregated and were not allowed to share public facilities with the white people.)

Primary Source Assessment
1. "March on Washington" Picture

This source is valid because it was taken during the time of the civil rights movement. It isn't biased because it is showing what literally happened during the March on Washington and can't be changed. However, photos can be edited, but during the time of the revolution not as many people would be able to edit because of less modern technology. Because of it being unbiased and being taken during the event, this primary source is valid and shows how some people felt about segregation because of what is presented in the photo.

2. "I Have a Dream" Speech

This source was recorded during the speech in the civil rights movement, which makes it a primary source. However, because Martin Luther King Jr. was on the side of the African-Americans to gain rights, this makes the primary source less valid because he would be biased so that the African-Americans would have more rights. Because it is a speech to do with politics, he would've used propaganda and emotive language to persuade people to agree with his opinions, which makes this primary source biased.

Bibliography
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"Civil Rights Movement." __Wikipedia__. 19 Mar. 2009 .

Feltzer, Scott. "Civil Rights Movement." World Book. Vol. 4. Chicago, Illinois: World Book, Inc.,2008. 608-612.

Feltzer, Scott. "Rosa Parks." World Book. Vol. 15. Chicago, Illinois: World Book, Inc.,2008. 171-172.

"grandfather clause." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 18 Mar. 2009 <[|http://school.ebonline.com/eb/article-][|9037707]>.

January, Brendan. __Civil Rights in the USA. - (Witness to History)__. Oxford: Heinemann Library, 2003.

Harris, Jacqueline L. History and Achievement of the NAACP. New York: F. Watts, 1992

King, Coretta Scott. My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Caedmon, 1969

Lewis, John. Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998

"March on Washington." World History: The Modern Era. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 19 Mar. 2009 <[|__http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com__]>.

"Martin Luther King Jr." World History: The Modern Era. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 9 Mar. 2009 <[|http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com]>.

"National Association for the Advancement of Colored People." World History: The Modern Era. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 26 Mar. 2009 <[|__http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com__]>.

Quinn, Edward. "Civil Rights movement." History in Literature. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. [] HIL045&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 12, 2009).

"segregate." //Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)//. Random House, Inc. 06 Apr. 2009. <Dictionary.com []>.

Stein, R Conrad. "The Civil Rights Revolution." The United States of America. 1994. Canada: Childrens Press, Inc., 1994. 58-64.

Taylor, Clarence. "A Movement of the People." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 26 Mar. 2009 <[|http://www.issues.abc-clio.com]>.

"U.S. civil rights movement." World History: The Modern Era. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 9 Mar. 2009 <[|__http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com__]>.

Weisbrot, Robert. Freedom Bound: A History of America's Civil Rights Movement. New York: Norton, 1990.