Historical Context:
The struggle for equal rights for African Americans has been long and difficult. Beginning in the 1950s, the fight for equality gained momentum. This struggle is known as the civil rights movement.
Task:
A. In the beginning stages of the civil rights movement, what were the methods that individuals, groups, and the government used to deal with the inequality faced by African Americans?
B. How successful were these methods?
The struggle for equal rights for African Americans has been long and difficult. Beginning in the 1950s, the fight for equality gained momentum. This struggle is known as the civil rights movement.
Task:
A. In the beginning stages of the civil rights movement, what were the methods that individuals, groups, and the government used to deal with the inequality faced by African Americans?
B. How successful were these methods?
Use details from the sources below to support your ideas.
Please remember:
Please remember:
- Write in full sentences with correct grammar and spelling.
- Incorporate quotes by introducing the author, shortening and integrating the quote into the sentence, and explaining the meaning of the quote.
- Make sure your answer is at least five sentences long. Longer is better.
A. |
On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The following is a short portion of the ruling.
“…We [the Supreme Court] come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other “tangible” [real] factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does… We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.”
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B. |
December 1, 1955 - Rosa Parks is arrested because she "refused to obey the orders of a bus driver" who asked her to give up her seat to a white man. Below are photographs from her arrest, and an excerpt from her 1992 autobiography.
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C. |
After weeks of violence in Little Rock, Arkansas, President Eisenhower issued this proclamation on September 24, 1957.
"Good Evening, My Fellow Citizens: For a few minutes this evening I want to speak to you about the serious situation that has arisen in Little Rock… In that city, under the leadership of demagogic extremists, disorderly mobs have deliberately prevented the carrying out of proper orders from a Federal Court… This morning the mob again gathered in front of the Central High School of Little Rock, obviously for the purpose of again preventing the carrying out of the Court’s order relating to the admission of Negro children to that school.
Whenever normal agencies prove inadequate to the task and it becomes necessary for the Executive Branch of the Federal Government to use its powers and authority to uphold Federal Courts, the President’s responsibility is inescapable. In accordance with that responsibility, 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… It is important that the reasons for my action be understood by all our citizens. As you know, the Supreme Court of the United States has decided that separate public educational facilities for the races are inherently unequal and therefore compulsory school segregation laws are unconstitutional. Our personal opinions about the decision have no bearing on the matter of enforcement; the responsibility and authority of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution are very clear. Local Federal Courts were instructed by the Supreme Court to issue such orders and decrees as might be necessary to achieve admission to public schools without regard to race—and with all deliberate speed… Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts…" |
D. |
Below are two sources from 1960. On the left is a short portion of a NBC News show called Meet the Press, featuring Martin Luther King, Jr. To the right is an excerpt from the SCLC's manifesto on non-violence.
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E. |
Below and to the left is a reflection of Franklin McCain on the sit-in movement of Greensboro, North Carolina, throughout 1960. It is from the book "My Soul is Rested: Movement Days in the Deep South Remembered."
Below and to the right is a news documentary about the sit-ins in Nashville, Tennessee, that started soon after those in Greensboro.
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F. |
A 1962 newsreel about the riots in reaction to James Meredith integrating the University of Mississippi.
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