Civil Rights for African Americans: Many civil rights movements occured throughout the US, primarily in the southern states such as Alabama and Mississippi. These were led by many prominent leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They achieved desegregation and gave African Americans the right to vote.
Civil Rights for Women: The National Organization for Women was established to pursue women's goals. Along with this came the Equal Rights Amendment and the Roe v. Wade decision that gives women the choice to have an abortion. Women fought just as hard as African Americans and accomplished many good things.
Civil Rights for Latin-Americans and Native Americans: Latin Americans demanded equal opportunities and respect for their culture and heritage. In the Farm Worker Movement, Latinos were given higher wages and benefits that they had been denied for so long. Native Americans also spoke out in their American Indian Movement and strived to get treaty rights to maintain their land.
NAACP: Stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and is an organization for African American civil rights in the US that was established in 1909.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and important leader in the African American civil rights movement. In 1955 he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott and gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 when he led the March on Washington. King worked to end racial discrimination and segregation until he was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39.
Malcolm X was an African American Muslim minister, a human rights activist, and a public speaker. He was a huge advocate for African American rights and has been accused of preaching black supremacy among other things. He was also once a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. Like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X was also assassinated at the age of 39 and is considered to be one of the most influential African Americans in our nation's history.
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball. Robinson first appeared on the Brooklyn Dodgers team in 1947. Robinson was very important in bringing racial segregation to an end as he broke down the color barrier in professional baseball. Robinson had a very successful career and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka declared that separating public schools for black and white students is unconstitutional. This decision got rid of the previous one that was made in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 which allowed segregation in schools. It was also ruled that racial segregation was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This case helped to bring forth the civil rights movement.
De-segregating the US Military: The military was racially segregated in WWII but slowly African Americans soldiers were integrated in.
Little Rock 9 was a group of nine African Americans students who were enrolled at the Little Rock Central High School in 1957. This was an all-white school and the nine students were being prevented from attending by Arkansas's governor. After President Eisenhower interveened, the students began attending. Upon arriving for their very first day of school however, they were not premitted to enter by the Arkansas National Guard because they were being harassed by mobs who threatened to lynch them. After the U.S. Supreme Court declared the de-segregation of schools in the Brown v. Board of Education case, the Little Rock Nine as they were known, were allowed to attend and one of the members, Ernest Green, became the first African American to graduate from that high school.
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott: Rosa Parks was an African American an a secretary for Montomery's NAACP. In 1955, Parks was riding in a row for black people when a white man boarded the bus. The bus driver, James F. Blake made the people in her row move back to make another row for the white man. Rosa Parks, realizing she was on the Blake's bus, refused to move. Blake had drove off without her on another occasion when she was getting ready to board the bus and she vowed never to ride his bus again. Parks was arrested for disregarding the driver's seat assignments. Her arrest triggered the boycott and the incident helped to pave the way for the civil rights movement.
Greensboro Sit-Ins: This was a series of incidents that occured when four African American college students sat down at a "whites only" lunch counter inside the Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina. Upon ordering coffee, the men were refused by the store's staff and were asked to leave by the manager. The men stayed until the store closed and brought in more black students the next day while the lunch staff continued to refuse service. The sit-ins provoked other towns to start their own protests and a movement spread throughout Southern cities. Eventually, Woolsworth desegregated their lunch counters as it was ruled unconstitutional.
Freedom Rides: Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who wanted to test the decision made in the case of Boynton v. Virginia in 1960. This case outlawed the racial segregation of restaurants and waiting rooms in terminals for buses that crossed state lines. The activists rode interstate buses from Nothern states to Southern states to challenge local laws that enforced segregation. Needless to say, the white population was not very happy and the riders were arrested for trespassing and violating Jim Crow laws among other things. The Freedom Rides called national attention to disregard of the law of segregation and how it was enforced in the south.
Birmingham, Alabama in 1963: In the 50's and 60's, Birmingham became the center of the civil rights movement and the struggle for African Americans. A strong activist, Fred Shuttlesworth, asked Martin Luther King Jr. to come to Birmingham and help put an end to segregation. The two led a huge attack on the Jim Crow system with their "Project Confrontation". Over the course of a two month period, daily sit-ins, marches, and mass protests were organized. Police resisted using tear gas, attack dogs, and arrested more than 3,000 people, most of which were high-school students. Ultimately, the riots and protests led to the desegregation of public facilities in Birmingham as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During this time, Martin Luther King wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail and four black girls were killed by a bomb.
Mississippi Summer Project: Also known as the Freedom Project, this was a campaign in which they tried to register as many black voters as they possibly could in Mississippi. The project also set up schools, and houses in small towns throughout the state to help the African American population in the area. Although the project was opposed by NAACP, it still greatly contributed to the civil rights movement in Mississippi.
Selma, Alabama in 1965: More than half of Selma's residents were black but their public facilities were still strickly segregated. After being denied voting opportunities, about 3,200 people marched to Montgomery. The group treked 12 miles per day, reaching the capital four days later. By then the group had grown to over 25,000.
Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discrimination in the voting process.
Civil Right Act of 1964 outlwed racial segregation in schools, businesses, and public facilities.
Stokely Carmichael was an activist in the American Civil Rights Movement and was a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later became the Honorary Prime Minister of the Black Panther Party. He is kown for coining the term "Black Power".
The Black Panther Party was an African American organization and was heavily involved in the Black Power movement as well as in US politics in the 60's. They helped with many social programs within their community and worked to improve the health and public image of the black community. They are also known for setting up the Free Breakfast for Children program.
Affirmative Action benefits minorities that have been discriminated against and gives them an equal opportunity in the government, education, and employment.
Jesse Jackson was a Baptist minister and civil rights activist. He participated in the Selma marches to Mongomery and became nominated for the Democratic presidential candidacy in 1984.
Sources:
US History E-Book-"The Americans"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensboro,_North_Carolina
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham,_Alabama#Birmingham_civil_rights_movement
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