Political and Legal Barriers
Instructions:
Step 1: Choose a leader for this round.
Step 2: Leader reads aloud the “Background”.
Background: After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the
struggle for civil rights took on a new direction. People in
the movement began to realize that real social change
could be brought upon when collectively and consistently they planned, organized, and stood
their ground. Taking Martin Luther King’s lead in establishing a non-violent approach to this
process of change, African Americans began to apply these tactics in other arenas. Continuing
their goal of full and equal access to civil rights, groups like the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and later, the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC), joined forces to challenge segregation in all public facilities.
They began what came to be known as the Sit-ins and the Freedom Rides.
Step 3: Take turns reading aloud; “Sit-ins”, “Freedom Riders”, and “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedoms.” Sit-Ins: The sit-ins started on Feb. 13, 1960, and the targets
were downtown department stores where African
Americans could shop, but refused service at lunch
counters. Young people would come into the department
stores and sit at the lunch counters, asking to be served.
They stayed there until they were served or escorted out of
the establishment. To make sure that everybody stayed
committed to their nonviolent philosophy, John Lewis and
Bernard Lafayette, who both attended American Baptist
College at the time, developed and printed copies of the
“ten rules of conduct, “ the standards of behavior for the sit-ins
Do Not
1.
2.
3.
4.
Strike back nor curse if abused.
Laugh out.
Hold conversations with floor walker.
Leave your seat until your leader has
given you permission to do so.
5. Block entrances to stores outside nor
the aisles inside.
Do
1. Show yourself friendly and
courteous at all times.
2. Sit straight; always face the
counter.
3. Report all serious incidents to your
leader.
4. Refer information seekers to your
leader in a polite manner.
5. Remember the teachings of Jesus
Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and
Martin Luther King. Love and
nonviolence is the way.
Students who participated in the sit-ins would often bring their books and studied while they
protested. But not every protest was peaceful. Sometimes, students were assaulted verbally
and physically by customers and the owners of the department store. Other times, food was
dumped on them as they sat at the counter. But this did
not deter the protesters. In fact, the protests spread to
train and bus terminals, public libraries, swimming pools,
and movie theaters that barred blacks. As news of these
demonstrations reached all of America via the media,
politicians in Washington were receiving criticism and
were pressured to act.
Freedom Riders: The newfound confidence of the student
activists led to the formation of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Along with the other civil
rights groups, SNCC decided to test a 1946 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation
unconstitutional on interstate transport. On May 4, 1961, thirteen people-seven young blacks
and six older-whites left Washington aboard two buses, headed for New Orleans. As their bus
rolled through the South, the “Freedom Riders,” integrated waiting rooms and lunch counters successfully and usually without incident. In South Carolina, however, two of the Riders were
beaten by a white mob, and the next day two others were arrested in a lunchroom in that state.
Later that same month, a mob armed with chains, sticks, and iron rods met one of the buses as
it pulled into the station at Anniston, Alabama. One of the Riders was beaten so badly that he
suffered a stroke and was left paralyzed. The mob attacked the bus, smashed it’s windows, slashed the front tires. While the bus was heading out of town, someone threw an incendiary
bomb into the bus. The passengers were able to get out but had to be treated for smoke
inhalation at a nearby hospital.
The next time the Freedom Riders made their way to the south, federal authorities assured the
bus company of protection. However, the violence against then went unrestrained. Many times
it seemed that it had the approval of the National Guard units and local police. Federal
marshals sent by Washington to protect the Riders were threatened with arrested by Alabama’s governor, John Patterson; “We do not recognize the federal marshals as law enforcement
officers in this matter.” he said. Yet, instead of discouraging the activists, by summer’s end, hundred from all over the country had joined on Freedom Riders. As they entered southern
cities they were immediately arrested and jailed for trying to integrated bus stations. The
media-newspaper, magazines, television-had sent reporters and photographers to cover the
growing mass protests in the South. When the nation saw what was happening, great numbers
of people pressured the federal government to do something. In November 1961, the
Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations that posters must be put up in all
interstate terminals establishing the right of travel without segregation.
The Freedom Riders had made a difference. Many WHITE and COLORED signs were taken down
and seats anywhere in a public bus made open to all.
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom August 28, 1963
Black nonviolence had won concessions. As more and more
people, black and white, joined together in the struggle for
civil rights, A. Philip Randolph proposed that all the forces on
that front be untied in one great dramatic action – a March
on Washington. The movement had shown it could organize
nationally. The goal was to call upon Congress to pass the
Kennedy civil rights bill, the integration of schools, an end to
job discrimination, and a job training program.
On August 28, more than 250,000 people, black and white,
people of all faiths, from all walks of life, and including 150 congressmen, came together before
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It was the largest demonstrations in American history up
to that time. Here, to a huge crowd and to the national TV, Martin Luther King gave his famous
“I Have a Dream” speech.
Step 4: Leader asks the discussion questions below to the group members. If
your group is not able to answer the questions, review the information again.
Discussion Questions
1. What tactic did the student activists use to integrate the department store lunch counters?
2. What part of the strategy do you think was most effective and way? Least effective?
3. Why do you think that at first, the federal government was not as supportive of Freedom
Riders as they could have been? What do you think was the main reason why they later
became supportive?
4. What do you think was the key to the success of both of these strategies? Explain.
5. How would you have responded?
Step 5: Using the information that you learned, complete the Civil Rights
Memorial worksheet (Data Sheet 2). BEFORE you begin start the activity for
Political and Legal Barriers.
**** Before you move to the next center please return all items to the folder.
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