Martin Luther King and peaceful protest 1955-68

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- civil rights Flashcards on Martin Luther King and peaceful protest 1955-68, created by Angelica Tsapparelli on 17/03/2017.
Angelica Tsapparelli
Flashcards by Angelica Tsapparelli, updated more than 1 year ago
Angelica Tsapparelli
Created by Angelica Tsapparelli about 7 years ago
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MLK summary 1955-68 generally recognised as the high point of the modern civil rights movement, inspired by MLK's commitment to peaceful protest He was inspired by Jesus & Gandhi Believed peaceful protests would demonstrate the dignity of the protesters & barbaric nature of racists opposed to CRs Put moral pressure on authorities to recognise the rights of black Americans
Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-56 summary December 1955 Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus Local activists immediately organised a boycott in protest at bus segregation Lasted just over a year, 85% AAs in Montgomery refused to use the bus Same time NAACP fought court case Browder v Gayle 1956 challenging legality of segregation on public transport
Significance of Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-56 highlighted economic power of AAs - during protest bus company lost $250,000 revenue Attracted lots of good media attention which put pressure on the bus company to change Demonstrated effectiveness of coupling peaceful protest with legal action Launched MLKs career & created foundation for Southern Christian leadership Conference (SCLC)
Browder v Gayle 1956 NAACP case Browder v Gayle successful Established segregation on public transport illegal - de jure Montgomery Bus Company desegregated their buses 21st December 1956
Little Rock 1957 summary Brown v Board 1954 ruled school segregation illegal - de jure not de facto 9 black students attempted to enrol in all white school Little Rock High School in Arkansas Students prevented from enrolling by white mob & National Guard who Faubus, governor of Arkansas called in Following media attention Eisenhower ordered National Guard to protect the students& let them enrol Faubus then closed all schools in Little Rock claiming desegregation would result in racial violence
Little Rock 1957 achievements/significance NAACP challenged school closure in Cooper v Aaron 1958 - SC ruled it was illegal to prevent desegregation for any reason Protest showed effectiveness of using peaceful protest to test SC rulings-Brown Forced Eisenhower to intervene in defence of CRs Showed lengths white racists were willing to go to prevent desegregation
Greensboro sit ins 1960 summary February 1st 1960 Inspired by MLK Attempt to force desegregation of a lunch counter in a Woolworths store in Greensboro, North Carolina Began with 4 black students, 4 days in 300 students, end of week Woolworths closed lunch counter rather than desegregate Inspired similar sit ins across South, many organised by SCLC
Greensboro sit ins 1960 achievements Greensboro Woolworth's store desegregated 25th July, 6 months later By beginning 1962 70,000 people, black & white, had taken part in some kind of protest against segregation Consequently by end of 1961, 810 towns in South had desegregated public places
Greensboro sit ins 1960 significance Success of sit ins led to foundation of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Demonstrated continuing media interest in the Civil Rights movement Highlighted economic power of AAs - Woolworth's lost 1/3 profit during protests Showed widespread willingness of young black people to stand up for their rights Eisenhower publicly expressed support for those campaigning for civil rights
Freedom Rides 1961 summary 1946 case Morgan v Virginia ruled interstate transport should be desegregated but said nothing about facilities eg waiting rooms NAACP returned to court to force this in Boynton v Virginia 1960 & won Both cases resulted in de jure victories, little immediate de facto change Inspired by Journey of Reconciliation CORE mounted the Freedom Rides 7 black & 6 white activists took bus journeys across the South, encountering enormous white violence eg beatings & firebombs MLK spoke out against the violence & in support of the Freedom Riders
Freedom Rides 1961 achievements Federal government promised to enforce desegregation of interstate buses & bus facilities By September 1961 all signs of enforcing segregation had been removed from interstate transport
Freedom Rides 1961 significance Demonstrated unity between civil rights organisations - CORE, SNCC & the SCLC all contributed The violent reaction to the protest forced JFK to act He was reluctant to support direct action & offered them grants to abandon the campaign & focus on a voter registration drive After the protest he asked for a period of "cooling off" by which he mean an end to direct action campaigns
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