5-5.3 Explain the advancement of the modern Civil Rights Movement; including the desegregation of the armed forces, Brown v. Board of Education, the roles of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the Civil Rights Acts, and the Voting Rights Act.
How did the modern Civil Rights movement advance during this time period?
How did the modern Civil Rights movement advance during this time period?
The progression of the civil rights movement in the United States began with abolition and emancipation, continued throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and continues today. Constitutional amendments abolished slavery as well as the various struggles faced by African Americans in the years between the Civil War and World War II. Many Jim Crow policies came into being following the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case of 1896 which established the doctrine of “separate-but-equal.” Although the “separate” portion of the doctrine was followed, evidence of the “equal” side rarely materialized. From that time, many Americans pressed for continued improvement in the area of
civil rights with limited success, including Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Ida B. Wells
Barnett, and Marcus Garvey.
World War II changed the landscape for civil rights in America. The contribution of African Americans to the war effort helped to bring about the desegregation of the United States military. Although African Americans fought in segregated units during the war, many died for their country just as white soldiers did. However, African Americans returned from war to a country racially divided. Upon the war’s conclusion, African Americans faced many instances of prejudice and discrimination. President Harry S. Truman, in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the military, ordered the desegregation of the army [1948], however, he could not order the end to all discrimination.
In 1954, the United States Supreme Court declared the practice of school segregation unconstitutional in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. According to the Supreme Court, the schools were to be integrated “with all deliberate speed.” With “deliberate speed” open for interpretation, the process of integrating the public schools was in fact deliberate but far from speedy. Students should be able to explain how over the course of the next fourteen years from the Brown decision, until the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, the civil rights movement gained momentum.
The civil rights movement experienced several leaders, including King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X, who utilized a variety of strategies to bring attention to the struggle of African Americans to achieve equal rights. Students should already have an understanding of Dr. King. They should be able to describe the nonviolent philosophy of Dr. King and others who protested many injustices through marches and boycotts. Included in this discussion of civil rights activities should be the roles of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Women’s Association in the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama; the sit-ins at segregated lunch counters; and the Freedom Rides. These activities educated the general public and gained sympathy from many Americans, including President John F. Kennedy, because television brought the abuses of Jim Crow into living rooms across the country. Kennedy proposed a civil rights bill to Congress. Following the assassination of President Kennedy, several laws were passed by Congress banning segregation in public places and protecting the right of all Americans to vote during the mid-1960s. Malcolm X believed that change was not happening quickly enough. He did not believe that white Americans would ever support equal rights for African Americans and encouraged his followers to rely on themselves as opposed to newly passed civil rights laws. Later Malcolm X believed that true equality would not be fully achieved without white citizens working together with African Americans. Both Malcolm X and Dr. King were assassinated during the last half of the 1960s.
In 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act which prohibited discrimination in public places and provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities. The Civil Rights Act also made employment discrimination illegal. Passage of the Voting Act of 1965 was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. President Johnson signed the Voting Act of 1965 into law on August 6, 1965. This law placed a nationwide prohibition against the denial of the right to vote based on the literacy tests. The Act contained special enforcement policies that focused on those areas of the country where Congress believed the potential for discrimination to be the
greatest.
#2 Read closely two Compass Odyssey passages “Brown vs. Board of Education”. Students will write a personal response in their notebooks from the point of view of Linda Brown before and after the verdict. (DOK 3)
#6 Read an excerpt of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on Verso. Complete the activity.