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The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Martin Luther King Jr.; Rosa Parks; Jo Ann Robinson (Women's Political Council); Montgomery Improvement Association In response to the Brown v. Board of Education case, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus. Her arrest enraged and inspired other African Americans to start the Civil Rights movement and demand to be treated as equal to whites. The Supreme Court then declared Alabama's segregation laws unconstitutional. FF:Taxi drivers helped by reducing fares for AA -
Little Rock 9
Governor Orval Faubus; Eisenhower; National Guard Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus was against court order to let 9 African American students attend Central High. He called in the National Guard to defy the federal government and discussions with Eisenhower were futile. Eisenhower then sent the Army to protect the students before Faubus closed the schools. FF: Ernest Green, one of the 9, became Assistant Secretary of Labor for Jimmy Carter -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Congress; Eisenhower; United States Commission on Civil Rights; SCLC; Lyndon Johnson Eisenhower believed that it was his responsibility to protect voting rights. Knowing that Southern Democrats would try to block the legislation, he sent the bill to Congress in order to split the party. The final form was much weaker than intended but encouraged at least 2 million Afircan Americans to vote. FF: Surprisingly Senate majority leader, Lynden Johnson put made a compromise to let the act pass -
The Sit-in Movement
NAACP; SCLC; Mcneil; McCain; Billy Smith; Clearance Henderson; Ella Baker Four young college students sat at a lunch counter demanding service. The decision encouraged many other AA to get involved in the Civil Rigts Movement across more than 100 cities. The movement was succesful and led to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. FF: The NAACP and SCLC were worried that things would get violent at first because the students were so young -
The Freedom Riders
James Farmer; Theophilus Connor; KKK James Farmer wanted to encourage a team of Freedom Riders to ride interstate buses to help jettison bus segregation. The different teams were met with violence, and Connor was suspected of asking the KKK to attack them. The effort ultimately showed that healing deep racial and social tensions was not an easy task. FF:Connor claimed there were no police to protect the Freedom Riders because it was Mother's Day and he had let everyone go home early -
James Meredith and the Desegregation of the University of Mississippi
James Meredith; JFK; Governor Barnett Meredith had tried to transfer to the University of Mississippi when Governor Barnett blocked his path (literally) and told him no. Kennedy responded by sending 500 federal marshals to help Meredith get to campus. Riots broke out and JFK was forced to send thousands of troops to escort Meredith. FF:During the riot 160 marshals were wounded and 100 people were arrested. -
Protests in Birmingham
MLK; Governor Connor; JFK Although King preferred to make change peacefully, he knew a new civil rights law wouldn't pass unless another violent outbreak happened. He organized demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama knowing they would provoke violent outbreaks, Though he was arrested, Connor's deciison to use violent retaliations caused Kennedy to prepare a new civil rights bill. FF:Connor eventually used police dogs and fire hoses because jails couldn't hold anymore protestors. -
The March on Washington
JFK; MLK; Congress Although JFK was ready to send a new bill to Congress, MLK knew it would be difficult to get in passed. With 200,000 people at DC, King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech to build public support for the bill. Although passing the bill in Congress was "messy", King was able to build momentum for the civil rights movement. FF: King delivered his famous speech once before in Detroit a few month prior to the march. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Johnson; Congress Although JFK was assassinated, Johnson was still commited on having the civil rights bill passed. Because of his experience and strong leadership skills, Johnson was able to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law was a major step in the Civil Rights Movement and gave the government broad power to end racial discrimination. FF:The bill was passed only four votes over the two thirds needed for cloture. -
The Selma March
MLK; Jim Clark; Johnson Selma, Alabama had a large AA population but only compromised 3% of registered voters. Sheriff Jim Clark arrested demonstrators and promoted violence to intimidate AA from voting, and MLK's response to the situation brought naiton wide attention. Furious Johnson proposed a new voting law that was passed by a large margin. FF:The attacks on 70 AA on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma became known as "Bloody Sunday" -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress; Johnson After Johnson's response to the Selma March, the House of Representatives passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It allowed federal examiners go and register AA for voting and abolished discriminatory services that previously prevented AA from registering. The Act's achievements are the turning point in the Civil Rights Movement since both segregation and voting issues had been recogized and resolved. FF:The Act allowed nearly 250,000 new AA to vote by the end of the year. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK; SCLC; Ralph Abernathy; James E. Ray In Memphis, Tennessee MLK supported a strike for AA sanitation workers and was representing the decision to spend billions of dollars to end unemployment and poverty. Shot at his hotel, King's death resulted in national mourning but led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Ralph Abernathy took his place for the Poor People's campaign himself, though the outcomes were underwhelming FF:Suspect Ray got support from MLK's kids while being tried
