Changing patterns and approaches 1955 - 1968 Flashcards
When was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
1955
What occurred on the Montgomery Bus?
Rosa Parks was ordered to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus
What happened to Rosa Parks?
Arrested
What was formed after Rosa Park got arrested?
Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)
Who was the leader of the MIA?
Martin Luther King Jr
What did the MIA do to protest?
- Handed out leaflets and held meetings to publicise the arrest and the boycott
- Organised taxis and other transport to get people to work
How long did the Montgomery bus boycott last for?
380 days
Why did the Supreme Court have to act on the bus Boycott?
Due to the publicity the boycott gained
When was bus segregation ruled unconstitutional?
1956
What court case ruled bus segregation unconstitutional?
Browder v Gayle
What did Martin Luther King Jr set up?
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
What were the rules of protests? (3)
- Must be clear who the oppressor is and never give the media the image of a violent black oppressor
- Getting arrested as publicly as possible
- Accept as many white people as you can
Who was the racist governor of Arkansas?
Orval Faubus
What occurred at Little Rock?
in 1957, 9 black children were selected to attend the previously all-white Central High School, they were met with mobbing and Faubus sent the state National Guard to stop these children from entering.
How many reporters and photographers were present?
250
President Eisenhower’s reaction:
Sent in federal troops to restore order
What court ruling was obtained by Little Rock?
Cooper v Aaron (1958)
However, how long did it take for Central High and other Little Rock schools were integrated?
Central High - 1960
Other Little Rock schools - 1972
When was the Greensboro sit-in?
1960
What occurred at the Greensboro sit-ins?
4 black students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro
How many joined the next day and the following days?
Next day - 30 students joined them
Following days - all seats were occupied by black students
How were they presented in the media?
Calm, well-dressed black students waiting to be served while a crowd of white louts yelled at them
How many cities introduced some form of desegregation due to the Greensboro sit-ins?
150 cities
How many students emulated them across the South?
70,000 students
What organisation did the students form?
Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
What was one of the most important tasks of the SNCC?
Encourage voter registration
What did the Eisenhower administration draw up in 1956?
A civil rights bill
What was the Eisenhower civil rights bill attempting to remedy?
Only 20% of black Southerners were able to vote
When were the freedom rides held?
1961
Who organised the freedom rides?
James Farmer of CORE
What was the aim of the freedom rides?
Test whether bus restroom facilities had bee desegregated
What did the freedom rides intend to create?
James Farmer had said ‘the specific intention of creating a fire’
When was the Birmingham, Alabama campaign?
1963
What was King’s approach?
He know racist law enforcement officials would mistreat protesters and thereby publicise Southern white racism
What was a tactic used in the Birmingham, Alabama campaign?
To get arrested and fill the jails by the end of the month
Children during the Birmingham, Alabama Campaign:
Marched with the crowd and shocking pictures of hire-pressure fire hoses and dogs being used on them
President Kennedy’s response to Birmingham Alabama:
Sent in federal troops to restore calm on 12 May and following that Birmingham was desegregated
When was the Civil Rights Act?
1964
What did a poll after Birmingham show?
42% people thought race was the USA’s most pressing problem (only 4% of people said this in 1962)
What did the 1964 Civil Rights Act end?
De Jure segregation in the South
When was Freedom Summer?
1964
What did the SNCC decide to push on?
Voter registration
What did the SNCC do to push for Voter registration?
They had volunteers in the South to encourage black people to register and to train them to pass the voter registration tests
How many volunteers did they send and who did they send?
45 volunteers, mostly young, white and pay their own way out of bail
How many died during Freedom Summer?
6 murders
How many shooting incidents and countless beatings were there during Freedom Summer?
35
How many black people tried to register to vote that year and how many were accepted?
- 17,000 black people tried to register to vote
- Only 1,600 were accepted
When was the Voting Rights Act?
1965
