The Fight for Civil Rights
The civil rights movements focussed on several human rights breaches. The photo set of posters illustrates these.
The areas of concern have been illustrated on these posters.
1. Civil Rights
2. Segregation
3. Desegregation
4. Discrimination
5. Voting Rights
The sixth poster illustrates the non-violent method of protest adopted by the civil rights.
6. Non-violent protest
Civil Rights
A civil right is any right or privilege that is enforceable by law.
Examples of civil rights include freedom of speech, the right to
vote and the right to equality in public places.
The most important civil rights legislation in the United States
was the Civil Rights Act, 1964. This Act passed by the Johnson
Administration under made it illegal for public establishments
to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, colour, religion or
national origin. No longer could blacks be denied access to the
same amenities as whites including hotels and motels, restaurants, bars, service stations and places of entertainment. The
Act also made it illegal for employers to discriminate on the
basis of race, gender, colour, religion or national origin when
employing people.
A bus station in North Carolina (1940)
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
Segregation
The emancipation of slaves after the American Civil War did not
result in equality for African-Americans. After Reconstruction of
the Southern states ended in 1877, they began passing laws
that segregated people on the basis of race. These laws, known
as the Jim Crow Laws were enacted at state and local levels.
They allowed for the segregation of blacks and whites in public
places and on public transport.
A challenge to these laws occurred in 1896 in a case that went
to the Supreme Court. The court ruling on the infamous Plessy
v. Fergusson case allowed segregation under the Constitution
provided that facilities offered to blacks and whites were equal.
This legal basis for segregation only ended following the passing
of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
2
A coloured water cooler in a street car terminal in
Oklahoma. (1939) Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
© Tirine Publishing (NZ) Ltd,
Web: www.tirine.com Email: [email protected]
Desegregation
In 1954 the Supreme Court made a significant ruling in the case
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas by setting aside
a statute that allowed cities of more than 15,000 people to have
separate schools for blacks and whites. The court ruled that all
segregation in public schools was inherently unequal because it
prevented black students from attending schools that had white
pupils.
A second ruling in 1955 required Southern States to desegregate
schools with all ‘deliberate speed’. This ruling was used by some
states to delay desegregation for years as the term ‘deliberate
speed’ was not clearly defined.
Black students arriving at a desegregated white
school in Clinton, Tennessee. (1956)
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
Discrimination
It is not surprising that whites in the Southern states were racist
towards blacks. The Jim Crow laws, introduced in the Southern
states after the Civil War had legally relegated Black Americans
to being second class citizens.
Southern Christian ministers preached sermons in which they
claimed that whites were the ‘Chosen’ people and blacks were
destined to be servants. Newspapers often referred to blacks
using derogatory terms like darkies. Even children’s toys like the
golliwog reinforced negative stereotypes of African-Americans.
Included in this racist social environment were a set of Jim Crow
etiquette norms which defined expected behaviour of blacks.
E.g. A black male could not first offer to shake hands when
greeting a white male because this implied that he was socially
equal. It was for these reasons that many whites in the Southern
states were bitterly opposed to any federal laws forcing them to
desegregate and to treat African-Americans as their equals.
White demonstrators protesting the admission of
nine black students to the Little Rock Central High
School. (1959)
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
Voting Rights
Southern states had a history of obstructing or discouraging
black voters since the end of the Reconstruction period in 1877.
Among these obstacles to voting were literacy tests which black
voters were required to sit. Questions were often extremely
difficult to answer and the test administrators had complete
discretion in deciding who passed and who failed. A poll tax was
introduced in some states requiring payment before a person
could vote which effectively disenfranchised poor whites as well
as blacks.
3
Demonstrators outside the White House protesting
for voting rights. (1965)
© Tirine Publishing (NZ) Ltd,
Web: www.tirine.com Email: [email protected]
Non-violent Protest
The black civil rights movement promoted non-violent protest
actions. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white
passenger she was jailed. The response initiated by the National
Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP)
was to call for a boycott of all city buses in Montgomery until
the segregation rule was removed. The boycott was led by a
young Baptist Minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. He was
inspired by the form of non-violent protest used by Mahatma
Gandhi in his struggle to gain India’s independence from Britain.
After 382 days the city was forced to end segregation by the
Supreme Court. King and his non-violent form of protest gained
national attention and helped him become a leader of the civil
rights movement.
The arrest of a peaceful protester during a demonstration in New York. (1963)
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
Other protest strategies included peaceful demonstrations like
the March on Washington in 1963 and sit-ins. Although black
protesters were often subjected to violence by police and jailed,
the non-violent protest of the black civil rights movement was a
success. The Civil Rights Act, 1964 and the Voting Rights Act,
1965 were the outcome after years of protest and sacrifice.
Supporting Resource
Timeline: The American Civil Rights Movement, 1955-1968
This timeline shows the key events In the fight for civil rights in the United States. It is available from the History section of our
website, www.tirine.com
Online resources to support this study
Click the titles to access these websites.
Civil Rights Movement This History.com site includes a large number of short videos and accompanying articles on
the civil rights movement. A good reference site for students.
Separate Is Not Equal A site giving examples of the Jim Crow laws as they applied to black and white Americans.
The Civil Rights Movement in America, 1945-1968 A history learning site that features an extensive list of topics
dealing with the civil rights movement.
The Civil Rights Movement, 1919-1960s A National Humanities website examining the civil rights movement over
five decades. A site best suited to more advanced students.
Africana Age An exhibition mounted by the New York Public Library including photographs and other multimedia.
made it illegal for states to impose any voting law that
4
© Tirine Publishing (NZ) Ltd,
Web: www.tirine.com Email: [email protected]