Key topic 1: The development of the civil rights movement, 1954–60

Question 1

(overview)

The position of black Americans in the early 1950s 1.1

Answer 1

In the south ‘Jim Crow’ laws enforced segregation that covered all aspects of life.

The Plessey v Ferguson case of 1896 upheld Jim Crow Laws. It said that segregation was acceptable if the facilities provided were equal.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Set up 1909, created legal defence fund in 1940
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Set up 1942, protested against segregation

Technically, black Americans were allowed to vote. However, by 1956, only 20% of them had registered to do so in the face of intimidation by white Americans

Question 2

Brown v. Topeka case (1954).

Progress in education and the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1.2

Answer 2

Oliver Brown took the City of Topeka in Kansas to court for forcing his daughter to attend a black school a long way away. The NAACP supported the case and 4 others. In 1954 the Supreme Court declared that all segregated schools were illegal, because separate must mean unequal. Key turning point in Civil Rights although there was still much opposition in the south. However, they didn’t set a time limit for desegregation so it countinued in some southern states

Question 3

Little Rock 1955

Progress in education and the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1.2

Answer 3

9 black students tried to enrol at Little Rock High School in Arkansas. They were stopped by the State Governor, Orval Faubus, who surrounded the school with the state National Guard.
Eisenhower sent 1000 federal troops to escort and protect the students – showed that US government was willing to support desegregation of schools

Question 4

Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955

Progress in education and the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1.2

Answer 4

Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give her seat on a bus to a white man. Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Improvement Association organised a boycott of the buses which lasted for a year until the bus company gave in.
In 1956 the Supreme Court said that segregation on buses was also illegal.

Question 5

Civil Rights Act 1957

Progress in education and the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1.2

Answer 5

In 1957 Eisenhower introduced the first Civil Rights Act since 1875. It set up a commission to prosecute anybody who tried to deny American citizens their rights.

Question 6

Why was Rosa Park arrested in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 and it’s consequences

Montgomery Boycott 1.3

Answer 6

She refused to give her seat on a bus to a white man. MLK and the Montgomery improvement association organised a boycott of the buses which lasted for a year until the bus company gave in.

Question 7

What did the Supreme court said was illegal in 1956

Key Topic 1.3 The Montgomery Bus Boycott and its impact, 1955-60

Answer 7

Segregation on buses

Question 8

In 1957 Eisenhower introduced the first Civil Right Act since 1875. What does it do?

Answer 8

It set up a commission to prosecute anybody who tried to deny American citizens their rights.

Question 9

What was the Plessy vs Ferguson case all about?

Answer 9

In 1896 Homer Plessey challenged segregation on trains saying that it was against the 14th Amendment. The Supreme court ruled against him

The Plessey v Ferguson case of 1896 upheld Jim Crow Laws. It said that segregation was acceptable if the facilities provided were equal.

Question 10

How were black people discriminated in the North

Answer 10

Black people had the worst jobs

Lived in poorest parts of towns and cities called ‘ghettos’

Question 11

How were black people discriminated in the south

Answer 11

State Laws (Jim Crow laws) enforced segregation

Separate restaurants, cinemas, schools

Buses were segregated

Facilities in black schools were much worse as they had less money spent on them

Question 12

Everything about NAACP

Answer 12

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Key Dates:
Set up 1909, set up legal defence fund in 1940

aim:
Campaigned for integration, to overthrow Plessy

Main tactics:
Focused on fighting for civil rights in the courts
Provided evidence that facilities were not equal, and focused on school segregation

Question 13

everything about CORE, date and tactics

Answer 13

Congress of Racial Equality

Key Dates:
Set up 1942

Main aims:
Targeted segregation

Main tactics:
Many white members, used non-violent direct action protests such as sit-ins, boycotts etc.
Trained not to react even in the face of extreme intimidation/attack

Question 14

What was Brown v Board of Education, Topeka, all about?

Answer 14

NAACP:
1952 NAACP take 5 desegregation cases to the Supreme Court.

Argue:
Separate was NOT equal. Against the 14th Amendment.

Judge:
Supreme Court had not yet made a decision. Earl Warren replaces pro-segregation judge, as Chief Justice, December 1952

Change:
May 1954, Supreme Court ruling: ‘Separate but equal’ had no place in education

Timescale:
May 1955, Supreme Court called for desegregation ‘with all deliberate speed’

Question 15

Long terms effects of the Brown vs Topeka ruling

Answer 15

Black students faced hostility in integrated schools (many had been better off at the black school)

More awareness of Civil Rights BUT membership of NAACP fell

White flight – many white people moved away from areas with a large black population, creating a new kind of segregation

Led to more desegregation legislation

Desegregation of schools was slow in some places

Some black teachers lost their jobs, others faced difficulty in new integrated schools

Question 16

What was the significance of Little Rock?

Answer 16

Why was Little Rock important?
It forced President Eisenhower, who would have preferred to do nothing, to take action.
In 1957 Eisenhower introduced the first Civil Rights Act since 1875. It set up a commission to prosecute anybody who tried to deny American citizens their rights.
It attracted world-wide attention and was on television screens across the USA.
When Faubus closed all the schools in Arkansas in September 1958, he was forced to reopen them to black and white students by the Supreme Court.

Question 17

How did white people in the south oppose integrated schools?

Answer 17

White Citizen’s Councils grew rapidly
Petitioned and campaigned against desegregation
Threatened families
Violence/intimidation escalated (KKK, bombings)

Political Opposition
Senator Harry F Byrd demanded ‘massive resistance’
Prince Edward county in Virginia closed public schools
School boards very slow to integrate
Some admitted only a few black children at a time
Some school boards segregated within schools, set admission tests that were unfair against black people, only segregated a few schools

Question 18

NAACP and CORE supported students in many ways

Answer 18

NAACP and CORE supported students in many ways
CORE in particular advocated a non-violent approach to school integration (see fig 1.8
Still very difficult for many black families, students and supporters of desegregation

Question 19

Timeline of events of the montgomery boycott

Answer 19

1st December 1955 – Rosa Parks arrested
8 December – Bus company refused to change policies
12 December – car pools begin
30 January 1956 – MLK’s house bombed
1 February – NAACP begin Browder v Gayle case
22 February - 89 MIA members arrested
19 March – MIA member put on trial
11 May – Browder v Gayle comes to court
5 June – S Court orders that buses should be desegregated
13 November – bus company appeal rejected
17 December – 2nd appeal rejected
20 December – boycott lifted, integrated buses begin on 21st December

Question 20

Qualities of MLK, what makes im emerge as a strong leader?

The Success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott: The Importance of Leadership

Answer 20

Education
Being well-educated allowed him to think through a campaign strategy carefully, establish clear goals, and decide on the best means to achieve them.

Non-violent approach
Gains sympathy and support

Passionate speeches
Shows that he cares, motivates, people would support him

Widespread appeal
Support from black and white people

Christian virtues
Black Americans support him, good role model, people look up to him

Question 21

Who were some other leaders during the boycott?

Answer 21

Jo Ann Robinson – president of WPC (Women’s Political Council), teacher, organised boycott
E.D. Nixon – NAACP member, helped set up the boycott
Ralph David Abernathy – clergyman, NAACP member, took over the MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) after MLK left Montgomery

Question 22

What happened after the Boycott?

Answer 22

YES
Buses were desegregated
A very symbolic victory in legal terms
Showed power of non-violent, organised protest
Brought MLK into spotlight

NO
White backlash
MIAs leader were attacked
Black people riding buses were shot at
Bus services were suspended for several weeks
Even though buses were desegregated, no further desegregation happened in Montgomery
Even bus stops remained segregated