GENERAL CURRICULUM TEST OBJECTIVE : 0006 Understand major developments in the history of the United States from precolonial times to the present.
The Civil Rights Movement generally refers to the nationwide effort made by those who supported the equal rights of Blacks and Whites and the elimimation of segregation. It primarily refers to events during the 1950's and 1960's, although Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, was an early civil rights pioneer in the 1800's. He wrote in his autobiography about the violence he experienced because of his beliefs and in his later years was active in protesting "Jim Crow" laws and advocating for them to be overturned.
Devisive laws and practices existed and can be traced back to the Reconstruction period. Many laws had been established called "Jim Crow" laws which divided practically all aspects of life by race. These laws and practices lie at the root of the Civil Rights Movement.
In the 1950's, the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum through the Supreme Court ruling in 1954 in the Brown vs. Board of Education court case. Thurgood Marshall was an attorney representing the Brown family and others against the Board of Education of Topeaka, Kansas. The Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" schools for Blacks and Whites was unconstitutional. This reversed an earlier ruling, Plessy vs. Ferguson, which held the opposite view. There was resistance in many parts of the southern region of the U.S. and federal troops were sent to various places to enforce integration of schools. Thurgood Marshall was appointed in 1967 to the Supreme Court by President Johnson, becoming the first Black American to hold that office.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who is seen by many as the most prominent member of the Civil Right Movement, proposed non-violent methods to promote justice and get people to notice injustice. He outlined these ideas in his speeches and writings (most notably, his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"). He organized and motivated many people, despite being jailed and threatened. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in1964, but was assassinated in April of 1968.
Another notable person often mentioned in studies of the Civil Rights Movement is Rosa Parks, who protested non-violently regarding bus seating practices, sparking the bus boycott campaign. The Civil Rights Movement is marked by many marches, protests, and sit-ins (a non-violent tactic in which a group of people peacefully occupy and refuse to leave a space). One of the most notable marches is called the March on Washington (or March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom) and took place in August of 1963. Attended by some 250,000 people, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital, and one of the first to have extensive television coverage. It featured many speeches, including one by Dr. King that is well-known ("I have a Dream" speech).
Legislative results of the Civil Rights Movement include the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which bars discrimination in public accomodations, employment, and education, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that suspended poll taxes, literacy tests, and other voter tests as requirements for voter registration. These laws were supported by both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
Resources:
https://youtu.be/fM1czS_VYDI (Crash Course History - Women in the 19th Century)
http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1997/mlk/links.html
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/croninv/502/Virtual_Field_Trip/Virtual_Fieldtrip.html
Please wait...