How successful was the civil rights campaign between 1950 and 1965Context:
Apartheid segregation had been the way of life for Black African Americans living the
America.
Jim Crow laws kept white and black people separate and ensured that black Americans were prevented from voting.
Literacy rates were introduced and as the majority of blacks had no basic education they faced discrimination within the electoral system.Brown Versus Board of Education:
In 1952 Oliver L. Brown from
Kansas took the Topeka Board of Education over which school he could send his daughter to.
The 1954 Brown decision outlawing public school segregation was one of the most sweeping and controversial decisions rendered by a U.S. Supreme Court.
Authorities were insisting that she attend a school that was further away from her home and less well maintained than closer schools which were intended for white children only.
This concludes that in the field of public education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
However, despite the fact that Brown had won a very victory for the civil rights movement there were concerns on how to enforce desegregation.The
Montgomery Bus Boycott:
In December 1955, Rosa Parks, a black women refused to give up her seat in a segregated city bus to a white man as the law demanded and was subsequently arrested.
The custom for getting on the bus for black persons in
Montgomery in 1955 was to pay at the front door, get off the bus, and then re-enter through the back door to find a seat.
NAACP was eager to launch a high profile campaign with the ultimate aim of challenging
Alabama’s segregation laws and therefore combined power with Rosa Parks.
Some customs regarding the laws of the bussing system in
Montgomery were humiliating, and this one was intolerable since blacks were the majority of the ridership.
1956
Montgomery blacks won a year-long boycott of the segregated city bus line, achieving the first victory over segregation in a
Deep South city.Sit Ins
On February the 1st, 1960 four black students sat down and attempted to order some food at a ‘whites only’ lunch counter in a Woolworths store in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The boys were refused service, however, each day the boys would return with more support.
Similar demonstrations took place across the U.S.A until 54 cities in 9 states were taking part.
National television coverage highlighted the deeply ingrained racist attitudes of many southerners, whilst the courage and commitment of the demonstrators won the black community much admiration throughout the country.
By the summer of 1960 many lunch counters in the south had desegregated.
Freedom Rides:
In May 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sent a group of Freedom Riders to challenge the Jim Crow laws in the southern states.
Freedom rides were created to publicise the sit-ins which it effectively did, however these freedom riders were not so successful in
South Carolina as an angry mob attacked the peaceful protesters.
Resistance to the freedom riders spread throughout the U.S.A, as further complications were met in
Anniston, Alabama.
Little Rock
High School:
Southern states tried to ignore the Supreme Courts decision to end segregation in schools.
Due to this Federal Intervention took place, for example the Federal court ordered that nine black students be admitted to the
Little Rock
High School in
Arkansas.
State Governor of Arkansas ordered the National Guard to prevent the nine black students from entering the high school.
National Guard did soon withdraw as told so by President Eisenhower and the students were able to enter the school.
An angry white mob had gathered outside Little Rock High School which therefore gave President Eisenhower no choice but to send in 1000 Federal troops to protect the black students.
“I have today issued an Executive Order directing the use of troops under Federal authority to aid in the execution of Federal law at
Little Rock, Arkansas.”
Lednum 