60-64 Flashcards
Events at greenboro 1960
Feb1 . 4 black students waited to be served at a segregated diner restaurant . They entered a white area to get served quicker and when asked to move they refused to leave their seats . Their aim was to generate enough publicity so that Woolworths would end their segregated areas.
The following day 25 students joined them and by the 4th over 300 students both black and white joined them working shifts to continue the protests.
In July the company desegregated their restaurants
Organizing the sit ins
CORE and SCLC sent experienced campaigners to train the students in non violent methods of protests
On the 15th of April the SNCC was set up (student non violent coordinating committee) to organise protests
Significance of Greensboro
White and black supporters - by the end of 1960s campaigners were more mixed racially and no longer students . This showed that support even in the south was growing for black Americans
Media coverage-the positive news coverage resulted in both black and white supporters from North and south America joining in with the sit uns gaining more support for the civil rights movement
They were extremely visible protests all around the country
Supreme court rulings
1956 state transport had to become desegregated
1960 the supreme court ordered desegregation of bus station facilities
1961 CORE members organised bus journeys to the deep south to see if these rulings had changed anything . They new segregation still occurred and wanted to create negative media coverage targeting it
Freedom riders 1961 timeline
4th May A group of white and black Americans started out from Washington on 2 buses . Their aim was to show desegregation of buses was not happening .
15th May The first bus reaches Alabama and is met by 100 KKK members who throw firebombs at the bus . The members on the second bus were also attacked but nobody lost their lives
17th May SNCC organised ten riders to bus from Tennessee to Alabama however no drivers agreed to get them their and the riders were temporarily delayed
20th May police escorts the Riders to Alabama the immediately let them defend themselves against a white mob who attacked and beat the riders
24th may A police escort accompanied a new group of riders traveling from Montgomery to Mississippi . They were arrested and the federal government refused to protect them
Over the summer there were 60 rides and over 300 riders were jailed assaulted by police while in custody
Federal Government threaten to use federal officers to enforce desegregation in an attempt to end the violence between the riders . This worked and freedom rides were no longer needed
James Meredith 1962
Applied to a university and was rejected . The NAACP took his case . The supreme court ordered the university to admit Meredith. University officials ignored the order so on the 30th September federal troops escorted him onto the premises however they were attacked by 3000 segregationists . Kennedy called for peace and federal troops were sent to stop the riots . On October1st he was finally registered but remained guarded whilst completing his studies
Events in Birmingham 1963
MLK and SCLC led the campaign to Birmingham. It was chosen because it was still completely segregated and the local police chief bull Conor could be easily provoked and also black Americans were frequently attacked.
They participated in sit ins and peace marches however many were arrested and with the jails full up the chief ordered water cannons to fire upon the protesters while police dogs were sent to attack them .
The events were widely criticised and gained huge support for the civil rights movement. They deliberately provoked an attack as they new that publicity would be on their side.
The march on Washington 1963
In August 1963 MLK organised a huge protesters march on Washington . It was for jobs and freedom . 250000 people took part . 40000 of these people were white .
MLK makes his I have a dream speech
Applies huge pressure onto the government to improve the situation in their country . America where being made to look bad and needed to have a good reputation if they were to criticise the USSR
The Freedom summer 1964
It was to boost voter registration
Most volunteers were white students from respectable families meaning any violence towards them would make a huge news story
They ran voter registration classes to teach voters on how to pass the voter registration test
However while 17000 black people tried to register only 1600 were actually allowed
In retaliation the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses and set fire to black peoples homes
Mississippi murders 1964
On the 21st june 3 activists were killed by a klan lynch mob . CORE and SNCC attempted to find their bodies . The search not only found their bodies but another 8 victims .
It perfectly displayed the levels of hatred snd violence the KKK would use to stop civil rights
