Civil Rights movements' actions during the 1960s Flashcards
Greensboro sit ins 1960
-1st February 1960, 4 black students went into a Greensboro department store, and went to a segregated lunch counter and waited to be served. They kept waiting until the store shut and came back each day with more and more people.
-The Students were persistent and old enough to understand what they were doing and the impact it can have
-Younger people creates sympathy in the media
-This tells us progress was being made in civil rights however very slowly (Signs of limited change as harassment continues but slow progress is happening)
Freedom Rides 1961
-Purpose was to test whether bu waiting rooms (restrooms) had been desegregated as stated in the 1961 Supreme Court ruling
-Planned with the intention of provoking a crisis
-Desperate measures were the only way to get the government to enforce legislation, not just pass it
-Buses were attacked, fire bombed and riders were beaten
-People are being beaten for standing up for what is right
-Progress wasn’t happening due to legislation not being properly enforced
-Draws attention to the problem
Albany Campaign 1961-62
-Desegregation coalition
-Albany was chosen due to many sexual assaults on black women by white men, led to an outcry, with state police largely ignoring the assaults.
-The Albany campaign aimed to end all forms of racial segregation in the city
-They utilised various methods of nonviolence, including mass demonstrations, jail-ins, sit ins, boycotts, and litigation.
-Albany police chief is a key reason as to why the campaign failed. Laurie Pritchett responded with mass arrests, refraining from public brutaility and therefore minimising negative publicity
-Failed due to being too broad (tried to solve ALL of Jim Crow)
-Lack of unity between SNCC vs SCLC
March on Washington 1963
-14 million Americans
-Included NAACP, SNCC, CORE, SCLC
-Led to Civil Rights sweeping law
-Mass movement for both blacks and whites
-Largest demonstration in US history
-Media coverage included that of Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream speech’
Birmingham, Alabama 1963
-Included Martin Luther King, Bull Connor, Patricia King
-Civil rights groups include: SCLC, NAACp, SNCC
-Led to a Civil Rights promise
-MLK’s letter provided hope
-Limited change by LBJ
-Included lots of Youth Participation
-Broadcasted nationally
Freedom Summer 1964
-College students, 24 white men and 1 African American killed
-SNCC try to recruit whites from the north
-Led to LBJ Voting Rights Acr
-Limited change as only a small portion can vote
-Mass action from Blacks and Whites
-Film was made based on what happened
-Media report on white terrorism
