The Civil Rights Movement

I.  Introduction

II.  History of Civil Rights, 1866-1957

A.  Reconstruction Legislation

1.  Civil Rights Act of 1866
2.  Civil Rights Act of 1875

B.  Black Exclusion

1.  Lack of Enforcement
2.  Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

C.  Early Struggles for Civil Rights

1.  NAACP and National Urban League
2.  World War II

D.  Civil Rights and the Cold War

E.  Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

1.  Desegregation
2.  Little Rock, Arkansas (1957)
3.  Civil Rights Act of 1957

III.  The Civil Rights Movement

A.  The South Under Siege

B.  Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1.  Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)

C.  Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides

1.  Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
2.  Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
3.  Kennedy Administration

D.  Birmingham, Alabama (April 1963) and the Aftermath

1.  Kennedy's Response
2.  March on Washington

E.  Civil Rights Legislation

1.  Civil Rights Act of 1964
2.  Voting Rights Act of 1965

IV.  Alternative Paths to Racial Justice

A.  Black Nationalism

1.  Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam

B.  A Radical Turn in Civil Rights

1.  Black Power
        a.  Stokely Carmichael and SNCC
        b.  Black Panthers
2.  King's Turn to the Left

V.  Conclusion

Civil Rights Legislation

The 1964 Act:

• barred discrimination in public accommodations such as lunch counters, bus stations, and hotels;
• authorized the U.S. Attorney General to desegregate schools, museums, and other public facilities, through litigation if necessary;
• outlawed discrimination in employment by race,  color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965:

• suspended literacy tests;
• authorized federal officials to supervise elections in many southern districts.