2.5 Civil Rights Movement and its impact on ethnic relations

The Civil Rights Movement was a pivotal era in U.S. history, challenging racial inequality and segregation. It sparked landmark legal changes like Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act, while grassroots activism like the Montgomery Bus Boycott pushed for social change.

Key figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X led the charge, inspiring ethnic empowerment movements. These efforts resulted in significant policy shifts, including affirmative action and voting rights legislation, reshaping American society and ethnic relations.

Desegregation Efforts

Landmark Supreme Court Case

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• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional
  • Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) which allowed state-sponsored segregation
  • Argued that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal"
  • Marked a major victory for the civil rights movement and paved the way for integration

Grassroots Activism

• Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) was a pivotal protest against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama
  • Sparked by Rosa Parks' refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger
  • Lasted 381 days and ended with a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama bus segregation laws unconstitutional
• Sit-ins, freedom rides, and other nonviolent direct action protests challenged segregation in public accommodations (restaurants, theaters, hotels, etc.)
  • Often met with violent resistance from white segregationists
  • Highlighted the injustice of segregation and gained national attention and support for the movement

Legislative Milestones

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
  • Prohibited unequal application of voter registration requirements
  • Banned racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations
• 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
  • Banned literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices
  • Authorized federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less than 50% of the non-white population had registered to vote

Key Figures

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

• Baptist minister and prominent leader in the American civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968
• Advocated for nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice and led numerous protests including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington
  • Delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington
• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance
• Assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee

Malcolm X

• Prominent figure during the civil rights era who articulated concepts of race pride and black nationalism
• Served as the public face of the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 1960s
  • Criticized Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolence and instead advocated for self-defense against white aggression
• After leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, made the pilgrimage to Mecca and embraced Sunni Islam
  • Adopted the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and renounced racial separatism
• Assassinated in 1965 in New York City

Ethnic Empowerment Movements

Black Power Movement

• Grew out of the civil rights movement and emphasized racial pride, economic empowerment, and the creation of political and cultural institutions
• Stokely Carmichael, a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), popularized the term "Black Power"
  • Called for independent black political power and self-determination
• The Black Panther Party, formed in 1966, was a revolutionary socialist political organization that challenged police brutality against the African American community
  • Instituted a variety of community social programs, including free breakfast for children and free health clinics

Chicano Movement

• Fought for Mexican American empowerment, self-determination, and social justice during the 1960s and 1970s
• Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers) to improve working conditions for migrant farm workers
  • Led successful grape and lettuce boycotts in the late 1960s
• The movement also advocated for Chicano studies programs, bilingual education, voting and political rights, and an end to negative stereotyping of Mexican Americans

American Indian Movement

• Founded in 1968 to address issues of poverty, housing, treaty issues, and police harassment in urban Indian communities
• Occupied Alcatraz Island in 1969 to draw attention to the plight of Native Americans and demand that the island's facilities be turned into a cultural center and school
• Organized the Trail of Broken Treaties march on Washington D.C. in 1972 to bring attention to Native American issues
  • Occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs and presented a 20-point list of demands

Asian American Movement

• Fought for political empowerment, racial justice, and ethnic pride during the 1960s and 1970s
• The Third World Liberation Front strikes of 1968 at San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley demanded Ethnic Studies programs and greater diversity in admissions and faculty hiring
  • Led to the establishment of Ethnic Studies departments and increased enrollment of students of color
• Japanese Americans organized the Redress Movement to demand reparations for their incarceration during World War II
  • The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 apologized for the incarceration on behalf of the U.S. government and provided reparations

Policy Changes

Civil Rights Legislation

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and federally funded programs
  • Title VII prohibited employment discrimination by race, color, religion, sex and national origin
  • Established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints and enforce compliance
• Voting Rights Act of 1965 suspended literacy tests, provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less than 50% of the non-white population had registered to vote, and authorized the U.S. Attorney General to investigate the use of poll taxes
  • Considered one of the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history
  • Substantially increased voter registration and political participation among African Americans

Affirmative Action

• Refers to policies aimed at increasing workplace, educational, and other opportunities for historically excluded groups (racial minorities, women, etc.)
• Executive Order 10925 (1961) by President Kennedy included a provision that government contractors "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin"
  • Later expanded by President Johnson and subsequent administrations
• The Supreme Court has ruled that affirmative action is constitutional in some circumstances (Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003) but has struck down the use of strict racial quotas (Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 1978)
  • Remains a controversial and much-debated policy