Civil Rights Movement in the USA (1954-1972): History, Protest Movements and Key Achievements

Civil Rights Movement 1954-1972

Historical Background

• 1861-1865: Civil War to abolish slavery and equalize Black Americans
• 1865-1877: Turbulent Reconstruction era
• 1865: The 13th Amendment ended slavery
• 1868: The 14th Amendment granted African Americans citizenship
• 1870: The 15th Amendment gave African American males the right to vote

Many whites resisted these social changes, leading to insurgent movements among whites to maintain white supremacy, such as the Ku Klux Klan.

• 1890-1965: Jim Crow Laws
• 1930s, Great Depression:
  • Unemployment rates: Black 50%, White 30%
  • Extreme racism in employment, with Black workers rarely employed
• 1944: Desegregation acts in the US military paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement
  • Due to a shortage of replacement troops, African American soldiers were allowed to join white military units
  • During the post-war occupation, 3 million African American soldiers experienced more equal treatment than in their home country

“For Black GIs, Germany was a breath of freedom.” – Secretary of State

Aims of the Movement

• To end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans
• To secure legal recognition and federal protection of citizenship rights
• To build self-esteem, affirming the equality of Black and white dignity and intelligence

Forms of Protest

1) “Freedom Now!” – Mainly Non-Violent, Successful Campaigns

• Beginning in 1955: triggered by Rosa Parks, activist of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott organized by Martin Luther King Jr. (Alabama)
• 1960 (North Carolina): Greensboro sit-in to eat together with whites at the same counter
• 1961: Freedom Riders rode interstate buses into the segregated South (white and Black passengers together)
• 1963 (Washington, D.C.): The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, home of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech
• 1965 (Alabama): Three Selma to Montgomery marches for the right to vote (the first march ended in a bloody clash with police)

“I Have a Dream” – Martin Luther King Jr. (1963)

• Hopes and dreams for the future of America, with a main focus on equality
• The American Dream coming true: equality, brotherhood, freedom, justice, open-mindedness, equal opportunities, and working together, with people judged by their character instead of their skin color

MLK quote: “The weakness of Black Power is its failure to see that the Black man needs the white man and the white man needs the Black man.”

2) “Black Power” – Violent Campaigns and Movements as Counterparts

• Beginning in the mid-1960s, due to the failures of peaceful campaigns to establish Black autonomy; Black nationalism advocated separatism
• Leader Malcolm X (murdered in 1965) aimed to establish the Nation of Islam (NOI)
• Forerunner of the Black Panther Movement

3) Black Panther Party for Self-Defense

• Active 1966-1982
• Founders: Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale; not based on Black separatism but on armed class struggle (inspired by Marx, Lenin and Mao)
• Extremely violent; attracted various militarist groups

Political Achievements

• 1957: “Little Rock Nine”: nine Black students protected by the National Guard to attend a racially segregated school (Arkansas)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964: ended racial segregation and banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin
• Voting Rights Act of 1965: restored and protected voting rights
• Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965: opened entry to the US for immigrants of color
• Fair Housing Act of 1968: banned discrimination in the sale and rental of housing
• 2009: Barack Obama became the first Black president of the USA