6.3 The rise of student activism and SNCC

Student activism ignited the Civil Rights Movement. Young people challenged segregation through sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and voter registration drives. Their energy and bold tactics brought national attention to racial injustice and pushed for faster change.

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized major campaigns like Mississippi Freedom Summer. Student activists' strategies and dedication contributed to key victories, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Student Activism in the Civil Rights Movement

Student activism in Civil Rights

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• Growing dissatisfaction with pace of change and persistence of racial discrimination influenced emergence of student activism
• Montgomery Bus Boycott and leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. inspired student activists
• Student activists desired to challenge segregation and discrimination directly through nonviolent direct action
• Organized and participated in sit-ins, freedom rides, and other forms of nonviolent protest (Greensboro sit-ins, Freedom Rides)
• Mobilized other students and community members to support the movement
• Brought national attention to issue of racial discrimination and need for change

Formation and impact of SNCC

• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) formed in 1960 by student activists who participated in sit-in movement
• Aimed to coordinate and support student-led nonviolent direct action campaigns
• Organized and participated in major campaigns (Freedom Rides, Mississippi Freedom Summer)
• Worked to register African American voters and challenge disenfranchisement
• Developed new strategies and tactics like "jail, no bail" to fill jails and draw attention to movement
• Helped radicalize the movement and push for more fundamental social and political change

Strategies and Contributions of Student Activists

Strategies of student activists

• Employed various nonviolent strategies and tactics:
  1. Sit-ins: Students occupied segregated lunch counters, refusing to leave until served or arrested (Greensboro sit-ins)
  2. Freedom Rides: Activists rode interstate buses to challenge segregation in bus terminals and facilities, faced violent opposition from segregationists, led to federal intervention to enforce desegregation
  3. Voter registration drives: Students worked to register African American voters, particularly in Deep South
  4. Marches and demonstrations: Organized to protest segregation, discrimination, and other injustices

Contributions to Civil Rights success

• Brought new energy, ideas, and leadership to the movement
• Drew national attention to issue of racial discrimination and need for change
• Mobilized students and community members to build a mass movement
• Challenged established leadership and pushed for more radical and fundamental change
• Contributed to major victories like desegregation of public facilities and passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965