Final Flashcards
Autherine Lucy
Admitted to the University of Alabama. A mob rioted to keep her out. She was expelled. She sued, say the university had allowed the mob to run over the law. She won, but was expelled anyway
James Meredith
Sued for admission to the University of Mississippi. Enrolled after great delay from the governor and other students. Became a symbol of the power of African-Americans to move the nation
Orval Faubus
Governor of Arkansas. Sent the National Guard to admit only white students to the Central High School in Little Rock. Later replaced them with City Police. Eventually closed down all schools in Arkansas, which was ruled unconstitutional
Ross Barnett
Governor of Mississippi. Opposed desegregation. Tried to instill fear in African-Americans and frenzy in whites. Personally turned away Meredith twice. Used doctrine of interposition as justification. Became a symbol of opposition
The doctrine of interposition
This pre-Civil War doctrine argues that a state can place itself between the national government and interference with state laws. Made irrelevant by the Supremacy Clause
Brown II
Decided 1955. Addressed the question of the implementation of desegregation. Decided 9-0
Two questions in Brown II
1: Should desegregation be immediate or gradual?
2: Should a start and end date be set?
Two counterarguments in Brown II
1: The NAACP argued for immediate integration by September of 1956 since a gradual implementation would invite evasion and delay
2: The DoJ argued for gradual implementation and Eisenhower wrote to the Court, asking them to regard the feelings of white Southerners “with understanding and goodwill”
Consequences of Brown II
1: Brown I upheld
2: Chose a gradual course, with integration “with all deliberate speed”. African-Americans, not the DoJ, had to sue their local school board to ensure that Brown was implemented
Three possible reasons for the Court’s gradualism
1: Gradualism was the price to be paid for the votes of a few Justices in Brown
2: The Supreme Court was concerned about issuing rulings that the government would not enforce
3: Racism; “the Supreme Court seemed more concerned with the feelings of Southern whites who were being coerced out of segregation rather than with the feelings of African-Americans who had been coerced into segregation”
Two factors in the Supreme Court’s concern for issuing rulings that the government would not enforce
1: Congress was not going to legislate integration since most committees were chaired by Southern Democrats
2: The President and DoJ were already on record favoring a gradual approach
The key question concerning Brown II
Did the Supreme Court sacrifice the rights of African-Americans with the adoption of a gradualist approach? Normally, when a court determines that a right has been violated, it orders immediate relief.
How did the Supreme Court attempt to balance integration with fears of non-implementation?
They stated an objective was to balance the personal interests of the African-American plaintiffs in seeing their children admitted to public schools on a non-discriminatory basis with the public interest
The limited scope of Brown II
Struck down segregation in public schools K-12, but not in any other way
Two avenues to extend the precedent of Brown
1: African-Americans filing suit in federal court alleging discrimination in one of the above seven areas and asserting it violated the “spirit of Brown,” inviting the Court to extend the precedent
2: Through federal legislation, as happened wit the VRA and CRA
Advocacy of states’ rights central to discourse in the US in two periods of our history
1: The pre-Civil War era, where those in favor of slavery argued it was the right of the state to decide
2: In the 50s and 60s, when it was espoused by those who opposed the CRM
Two main principles to states’ rights arguments
1: A strict enforcement of the limits of federal power
2: It calls for the maximum allowable autonomy for the states in making decisions for their citizens
Counterargument to states’ rights
The Supremacy Clause, which holds the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties above state laws, and is found in Article VI
Two conclusions flow the Supremacy Clause
1: Every public official takes an oath to uphold the Constitution of the US
2: When there is a conflict in a state court between federal and state law, the state judge is required to follow federal law
First phase of reactions to Brown
“Massive resistance” advocated that the white community use all legal, political, economic, and social means to oppose the implementation of Brown I and II
Second phase of reactions to Brown
The “Southern Manifesto,” also known as the “Declaration of Constitutional Principles”. It was signed by 101 embers of Congress from the South. It called for opposition to integration in all public places, foreseeing how Brown would be expanded
Four main points to the “Southern Manifesto”
1: Brown was a “clear abuse of judicial power”
2: The signers would use “all legal means available to reverse Brown, which is contrary to the Constitution and to oppose the use of force in the implementation of Brown”
3: Brown violated the 10th amendment
4: It called on all Southerners to oppose Brown
Six measures taken by the legislatures of Southern states to oppose Brown
1: Cutting funding to integrated schools, forcing them to close
2: Transferring the authority to assign pupils to specific schools from local school boards to state commissions, whose appointees were strict segregationists
3: Giving tuition vouchers to students at the new, all-white private academies
4: Giving tax credits to the parents of those pupils
5: Using tax money to bus white students to the private academies
6: Repealing statewide compulsory school attendance laws
Cooper v. Aaron
Decided in 1958. William Cooper was the chair of the Little Rock School Board and John Aaron was an African-American parent. Decided 9-0 in one day
Two things that the Little Rock School Board wanted to do
1: Suspend their desegregation program for 2.5 years to “let passions cool”
2: Return black students to their segregated schools
Two reasons for the Little Rock School Board filing a suit
1: Public hostility to integration
2: Actions of Gov. Faubus and the legislature had created “a chaotic and dangerous situation”
Two actions taken by the Arkansas state legislature
1: Amended the state constitution, after Brown, to prohibit integrated schools
2: Repealed compulsory school attendance laws students in integrated schools
Three reasons for the Supreme Court’s decisions in Cooper v. Aaron
1: Impermissible under the EPC to maintain law and order by denying black students their right to a superior education in an integrated school
2: Supremacy Clause makes the US Constitution, which the Court can interpret, and federal law the supreme law of the land
3: No state may seek to nullify, federal law directly by the actions of legislatures, nor can it evade it by indirect means, like cutting funding
Six principles of Nonviolent Resistance
1: It is a product of courage and strength
2: Its goals are reconciliation and redemption, not bitterness and humiliation
3: It is aimed at evil structures in society, not at people
4: Its practitioners must be willing to suffer violence without retaliating
5: Its central principle was love of neighbor
6: Its scriptural foundation is the conviction that God is on the side of the poor, oppressed, and those who struggle for justice
Six titles of the Civil Rights Act
1: No discriminatory enforcement of voting requirements
2: No discrimination in public accommodation
3: No denial of equal access to public facilities
4: Greater authority for the DoJ to file suits for violations of Brown
5: Expanding the US Civil Rights Committee
6: Prohibited local and state governments who engaged in discriminatory actions from receiving federal funds
Three ways the Voting Rights Act protected minority voting rights
1: Removed all barriers to registration or voting but citizenship
2: Sec. 5 prevented covered areas from changing voting laws without authorization from the DoJ
3: Covered areas must prove that the change “neither has the purpose nor will have the effect” of having an adverse impact on any person’s right to vote based upon race or minority status
Shelby County v. Holder
A “covered” area of Alabama, Shelby County sued, saying that Sec. 5 and 4(b) violated the state’s right to determine their election laws under Article IV and the 10th amendment. Supreme Court struck down Sec. 4(b) in a 5-4 decision, saying that it does not meet present needs
The Voting Rights Act Should Be Passed
A speech by LBJ. The disenfranchisement of African-Americans is a national problem
Mississippi: 1961-1962
Workers trying to register voters were threatened, beaten, and killed
To Praise Our Bridges
African-Americans must take power for themselves
Interim Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights
Mississippi was openly violating the protections of the US Constitution. The President should use his authority to end this national disgrace
Freedom Summer
There was some disagreement as to the nonviolent nature of the SNCC
Mississippi at Atlantic City
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party attempted to be recognized as the official delegates of the Mississippi Democratic Party. They did not take a compromise, which would have given the country the right to remain complacent
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Brief Report on Guinea
No solution to a problem unless there is consciousness that it exists. Organization cannot be underestimated. Representatives should be carefully chosen because the equality of their actions will affect society in one way or another
The Trip
John Lewis and Donald Harris proposed that the SNCC create an international wing, closely linked to the communications department and staffed by at least two people, that maintains and increases contact to those sympathetic to the cause
To Mississippi Youth
A speech by Malcolm X. The only way to get freedom is to let the enemy know that a person will do anything to get it
Meeting Malcolm
He once championed black nationalism. He offered reciprocal bleeding instead of racial salvation. He was a minister for the Nation of Islam until he left, for which he was assassinated.
The Ballot or the Bullet
New, black nationalist, allies are needed in the CRM. Only be nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with you. When the ballot is denied, the bullet is the second option to obtain freedom
The Limits of Nonviolence
By Howard Zinn. The Deep South requires special tactics. He proposes a permanent federal presence there to arrest any officials that violate federal law. Nonviolence does not work in a closed society
Early Attempts at Betterment
The harder the Dallas County Voters’ League worked, the more the county, city, and state worked to put up barriers to registration
Selma, Alabama
Rural areas were used as leverage over urban areas, which looked down on them, in registration drives
A Letter from Selma, Alabama, Jail
MLK was purposefully arrested and jailed to draw attention to the Selma situation. The fight did not end with the Civil Rights Act
Midnight Plan to Alabama: Journey of Conscience
The chief function of the CRM was to awaken the nation’s conscience
SNCC-SCLC
The two groups disagreed on timing and party politics
Personal Letter from Muriel and Art Lewis to Her Mother
They were white moderates who could no longer be afraid to speak out
Our God is Marching On!
The goal of the CRM is to end segregated schools and housing, hunger, poverty, and race-baiting politicians. It wants to win over, not humiliate, the white man
Persuasion and Distrust: the Affirmative Action Debate
Until there is truly equal opportunity, affirmative action will be necessary. We should question the motives behind its opposition
The Continuing Significance of Race: Antiblack Discrimination in Public Places
Discrimination is both the incident and the culmination of other incidents. Two major responses are verbal confrontation and withdrawal
My Race Problem - and Ours
Neither racial pride nor racial kinship solves the problems African-Americans face.
A Time to Break Silence
A speech by MLK. It protests the US involvement in Vietnam. We must use NVR to understand the actions of the Vietcong
Conversation with Martin Luther King
Moderation is moving with wise restraint, calm reasonableness, and yet with militant action
I See the Promised Land
A speech by MLK. NVR thought collective action, especially economic action, will overcome all struggles
My Last Letter to Martin
A sermon by Ralph Abernathy. His work will be continued. We must remember and thank those who came before us
On the Case in Resurrection City
The Poor People’s Campaign did not go well with Abernathy at the helm
New Look at Old Memo Casts More Doubt on Rehnquist
Rehnquist wrote a memo in favor of upholding Plessy
The Photo that Exposed Segregation
The narrative of the the black martyr (Elizabeth Eckford) and the white villain (Hazel Brown) stuck
How the Civil Rights Movement Was Covered in Birmingham
Coverage of civil rights stories never made the front page and was always stenographic
At the University of Missouri, Black Students See a Campus Riven by Race
There have been many racially charged episodes, including threats. African-American students say it is exhausting to feel like they are speaking for their race
A Real Missouri ‘Concerned Student 1950’ Speaks at Age 90
Gus T. Ridge finds that the group has means that he did not, but that they have to use them is “unfortunate”
Racism on Campus: Stories from New York Times Readers
The common theme is that racism has been left unaddressed by college boards
How Black Lives Matter, born on the streets, is rising to power on campus
Campuses have taken on the movement. Obama’s election promised post-racialism, which has not been made true
Yale College Dean Torn by Racial Protests
Holloway is the first black dean of Yale. He has weighed the demands of the students with challenges from the facult
What We Know: Georgetown University and Slavery
Georgetown once used slavery to fund its operations
Woodrow Wilson’s Legacy Gets Complicated
Wilson was a progressive for whites only
What Woodrow Wilson Cost My Grandfather
His administration oversaw the segregation of the federal government. We should confront this legacy
Should Woodrow Wilson’s Name Be Erased At Princeton
To question his character, we should target his entire political beliefs. We should have historical perspective. We can neither whitewash nor ignore history. Removing his name would have a deeper symbolic meaning
Interracial Marriage on Trial
Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving married in DC and returned to Virginia. Loving v. Virginia applied McLaughlin v. Florida to strike down anti-miscegenation laws
Interracial Marriage Seen Gaining Wide Acceptance
One-third of the population says that someone close to them is married to someone of a different race
Charleston Mayor for Integration Prepares to Bow Out
Joseph P Riley, Jr., was the last of progressive, Southern, white mayors from the 60s and 70s. He balanced tradition and progress
Students’ Protests May Play Role in Supreme Court Case on Race in Admissions
They could change the way the Court frames the discussions. The Court could reaffirm earlier decisions, strike down affirmative action, or strike down UT Austin’s admission plan in Fisher v. University of Texas
Barack Obama’s Speech on Race
If we choose to ignore race and racism, no more progress will be made
Dignity is a Constitutional Principle
The Justices of the Civil Rights Era emphasized the link between institutionalized humiliation and the Constitutional requirements of equal protection. This should shape our understanding of future civil rights movements
