🙋🏽‍♀️Gender in Modern American History Unit 8 – Gender in the Civil Rights Era

Key Concepts and Terminology

• Intersectionality recognizes the interconnected nature of social categorizations (race, class, gender) as they apply to a given individual or group, creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage
• Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes
• The Civil Rights Movement was a decades-long struggle by African Americans to end legalized racial discrimination, disenfranchisement, and racial segregation in the United States
• Gender roles are socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women
• Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property

Historical Context: Pre-Civil Rights Era

• Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States, mandating the segregation of public schools, public places, and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains between white and black people
• The Great Migration saw the relocation of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest, and West between 1916 and 1970
• World War II served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement, as African Americans who fought against racism abroad came home to find racism still prevailing in the United States
• The Truman Administration's Committee on Civil Rights released a report in 1947 titled "To Secure These Rights," which documented the racial discrimination present throughout the country and made recommendations for change
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating

Major Figures and Movements

• Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent leader in the civil rights movement, known for his nonviolent resistance and his "I Have a Dream" speech
  • He helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, which brought together over 200,000 people to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans
• Rosa Parks was an activist in the civil rights movement whose refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, became an iconic symbol of the movement
• The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization formed in 1909 to advance justice for African Americans
  • The NAACP played a crucial role in the civil rights movement, including the Brown v. Board of Education case that led to the desegregation of public schools
• The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a civil rights organization that emerged from a student meeting organized by Ella Baker at Shaw University in April 1960
  • SNCC became one of the major organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, organizing the Freedom Rides and the 1963 March on Washington
• The Black Power movement emphasized racial pride, economic empowerment, and the creation of political and cultural institutions for African Americans

Legal and Political Developments

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) was a landmark Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, required equal access to public places and employment, and enforced desegregation of schools and the right to vote
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution
• Affirmative action in the United States is a set of laws, policies, guidelines, and administrative practices intended to end and correct the effects of a specific form of discrimination
  • These include government-mandated, government-sanctioned, and voluntary private programs that tend to focus on access to education and employment

Social and Cultural Shifts

• The civil rights movement led to a growing awareness of gender inequalities and the need for women's rights
  • This laid the groundwork for the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s
• The publication of Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963 is often credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States
• The counterculture of the 1960s challenged traditional gender roles and expectations, with many young people rejecting the domestic ideals of the 1950s
• The Stonewall riots in 1969, a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid in New York City, are often cited as the beginning of the modern LGBT rights movement
• The civil rights movement also influenced other social movements, such as the Chicano Movement, which fought for Mexican American empowerment and civil rights

Intersectionality and Diverse Experiences

• Women played a significant role in the civil rights movement, often working behind the scenes as organizers, strategists, and fundraisers
  • Septima Clark, often called the "Queen Mother" of the civil rights movement, developed the literacy and citizenship workshops that played a crucial role in the movement
• The experiences of women in the civil rights movement were shaped by the intersection of race and gender
  • Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist, faced both racial discrimination and sexism within the movement
• The Combahee River Collective, a group of Black feminist lesbian women, coined the term "identity politics" in their 1977 statement, highlighting the interconnectedness of race, gender, and sexuality
• The experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in the civil rights era were often marginalized, with many facing discrimination from both mainstream society and within the civil rights movement itself
  • Bayard Rustin, a key advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., was forced to play a behind-the-scenes role due to his sexuality

Media Representation and Public Discourse

• Media coverage of the civil rights movement played a crucial role in shaping public opinion and garnering support for the cause
  • The televised images of police brutality against peaceful protesters during the Birmingham Campaign in 1963 helped to turn public opinion in favor of the movement
• Women in the movement were often portrayed in gendered terms by the media, with an emphasis on their roles as mothers and wives rather than as activists in their own right
• The media's portrayal of the Black Power movement was often negative, focusing on the militant rhetoric of some leaders rather than the movement's goals of self-determination and empowerment
• Public discourse during the civil rights era was marked by debates over the pace and methods of change, with some advocating for gradual, legalistic approaches and others pushing for more radical, direct action

Legacy and Ongoing Challenges

• The civil rights movement led to significant legal and social changes, including the desegregation of public spaces, increased voting rights, and improved educational and employment opportunities for African Americans
• Despite these gains, racial inequalities persist in areas such as wealth, education, housing, and the criminal justice system
  • The wealth gap between white and Black households in the United States remains significant, with the median wealth of white families being nearly ten times that of Black families
• The intersection of race and gender continues to shape the experiences of women of color, who face unique challenges and discrimination
  • Black women in the United States are disproportionately affected by issues such as poverty, healthcare disparities, and violence
• The fight for LGBTQ+ rights, which gained momentum during the civil rights era, continues today, with ongoing battles over issues such as employment discrimination, adoption rights, and transgender rights
• The legacy of the civil rights movement can be seen in contemporary social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, which continues to fight against racial injustice and police brutality