Civil Rights Movement: Key Events & Leaders

Overview

• The civil rights movement was a significant struggle mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to achieve equal rights in the U.S.
• Despite the official abolition of slavery after the Civil War, racism and discrimination persisted, particularly in the South.
• The movement spanned two decades and mobilized Black Americans and allies to fight for equality.

Jim Crow Laws

• Implemented to marginalize Black people and erase progress made during Reconstruction.
• Excluded Black people from using the same facilities as whites and severely limited their rights.
• Not adopted in the North, but discrimination persisted in jobs and education.
• Upheld by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) as "separate but equal."

World War II and Civil Rights

• Black Americans mostly held low-wage jobs and faced discrimination in the military.
• Executive Order 8802 (1941) by President Roosevelt opened defense and government jobs to all races.
• The Tuskegee Airmen became the first Black military aviators.
• President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 (1948) to end military discrimination.

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

• On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, leading to her arrest.
• Her actions sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, lasting 381 days.
• Supreme Court ruled segregated seating unconstitutional.

Little Rock Nine

• Following Brown v. Board of Education (1954), nine Black students integrated Little Rock Central High in 1957.
• Met with violent resistance; President Eisenhower sent federal troops for protection.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

• Signed by President Eisenhower to allow federal prosecution of those preventing voting rights.
• Created a commission to investigate voter fraud.

Sit-In at Woolworth's Lunch Counter

• Started in 1960 by four college students in Greensboro, NC, to protest segregation.
• Sparked wider sit-ins and the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Freedom Riders

• Starting May 4, 1961, activists rode interstate buses into the segregated South to challenge non-enforcement of desegregation.
• Faced violence; drew international attention.
• Led to a ban on segregation in interstate transit terminals.

March on Washington

• Held on August 28, 1963, with over 200,000 attendees advocating for civil rights legislation.
• Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech became iconic.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Signed into law by President Johnson.
• Prohibited employment discrimination and ended segregation in public facilities.

Bloody Sunday and Voting Rights Act of 1965

• On March 7, 1965, peaceful marchers from Selma to Montgomery were violently attacked, known as "Bloody Sunday."
• Led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, eliminating voting barriers like literacy tests.

Assassinations of Civil Rights Leaders

• Malcolm X assassinated on February 21, 1965.
• Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated on April 4, 1968, leading to widespread unrest.

Fair Housing Act of 1968

• Passed shortly after MLK's assassination, prohibiting housing discrimination.

Conclusion

• The civil rights movement resulted in critical legislation that ended segregation and discriminatory practices, empowering Black Americans in their fight for justice and equality.