The success of the of the American Civil Rights Movement and the fight for racial equality in the United States is a testament to the determination of millions of African Americans who fought against discrimination in the 1960s. On January 20, 2014, Americans use the national holiday to recognize the efforts of the civil rights leader, Rev. Martin Luther King. Show
A major factor in the success of the movement was the strategy of protesting for equal rights without using violence. Civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King championed this approach as an alternative to armed uprising. King's non-violent movement was inspired by the teachings of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. Led by King, millions of blacks took to the streets for peaceful protests as well as acts of civil disobedience and economic boycotts in what some leaders describe as America's second civil war. The non-violent movement was tested in places like Birmingham, Alabama. "During that period of time you had people who were being murdered, homes being bombed, churches being bombed and there was a sense that evil would prevail," said William Bell, Birmingham’s current mayor. A 1965 march for voting rights in Selma, Alabama is remembered as "Bloody Sunday." Congressman John Lewis led the march. "They came toward us, beating us with night sticks, trampling us with horses, releasing the tear gas,” said Lewis. “I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a night stick. I had a concussion on the bridge and I thought I was going to die." Andrew Young, one of King's closest aides, called for calm against a backdrop of outrage. "If we had started guerilla warfare in America’s cities, if we had given into terrorism in America, we could not have won but America could not have survived," said Young. In Birmingham images of police using attack dogs and fire hoses to disperse protesting school children were broadcast around the world. "The violence was being perpetrated by the oppressors, not the oppressed and that was an incredibly powerful message and an incredibly important tool during the movement," said Richard Cohen an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center. In August 1963 thousands of African Americans and whites gathered for the March on Washington. It was peaceful with no arrests. But just weeks after the March on Washington, tragedy struck in Birmingham when a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church during Sunday school classes. Four young girls were killed and 23 others injured. It was an awful blow for Dr. King and the civil rights movement. Shirley Gavin Floyd, a friend of one of the victims, was traumatized by the hate killings. "I was scared to look at a white person and I was scared to go anywhere I thought a white person was because I had really believed that could easily happen to me," said Gavin. Many blacks wanted to retaliate. Among them Congressman Bobby Rush, who in the 1960's was a member of the militant group known as the Black Panthers. "I thought that Dr. King was too milquetoast, too passive, and I didn't understand the power of non-violence,” said Rush. “So I didn't adhere to his philosophy and turned the other cheek." Ben Jealous, president of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, said the non-violent campaign won American hearts and minds. "The movement was moving towards a crescendo that we would see in 1964 and 1965 when landmark civil rights legislation was passed," said Jealous. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 hastened the end of legal Jim Crow. It secured African Americans equal access to restaurants, transportation, and other public facilities. It enabled blacks, women, and other minorities to break down barriers in the workplace. It also made access to equal education a reality for the many Southern and Northern African Americans who began attending integrated schools in the wake of the act’s enforcement. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 expanded these protections to voting and housing, and provided new protections against racially motivated violence. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and President Johnson’s War on Poverty complemented these civil rights milestones by attacking the economic inequalities that had so long accompanied racial discrimination and exclusion. The civil rights struggle and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also served as blueprints and inspiration for many other groups of Americans seeking equality and access. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which barred employment discrimination based on sex as well as race, color, religion, and national origins, energized the women’s movement and led to the founding of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966. Emboldened by the remarkable achievement of the 1964 act, activists have convinced Congress to protect such groups as older Americans, people with disabilities, and pregnant women so that they could participate fully in public and private life. Even so, the struggle for equality is far from over. As transformative as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its successors have been, the exclusion, exploitation, and discrimination that it targeted were deeply entrenched and have proved difficult to end. The act and its subsequent enforcement continue to prompt new debates about what equality means, what government can do to promote it, and how ordinary Americans can continue to achieve it. The future of civil rights, like its past, will be shaped by citizens’ participation in lobbying, litigation, politics, and public protests. The Civil Rights Act of 1964An act to enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States, to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 contains eleven segments or Titles. Some of the Titles, especially those that establish prohibitions on discrimination in public accommodations (Title II), federal funding (Title VI), and employment (Title VII), have generated a number of important cases in the courts. Other Titles, which were largely procedural in nature and have generated few judicial interpretations in the years since, have not. Listed below particular Titles are selected cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court or a lower court issued landmark decisions that established precedent for interpreting provisions of the act. TITLE I: Voting RightsBarred unequal application of state voter registration requirements for federal elections. TITLE II: Public AccommodationsProhibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin in certain places of public accommodation, such as hotels, restaurants, and places of entertainment. Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. U.S. (1964)Upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibition of race discrimination in hotels and motels as a valid exercise of Congress’s Interstate Commerce Clause power (Georgia)Katzenbach v. McClung (1964)Upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibition of race discrimination in restaurants as a valid exercise of Congress’s Interstate Commerce Clause power (Alabama)Hamm v. City of Rock Hill (1964)Dismissed state breach-of-the-peace charges against sit-in demonstrators at a lunch counter because the charges conflicted with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (South Carolina)TITLE III: Desegregation of Public FacilitiesPermitted the U.S. Justice Department to sue to secure desegregation of certain public facilities owned, operated, or managed by any state or subdivision of a state. U.S. v. Wyandotte County (1973)Found that a county jail’s policy of segregating prisoners by race violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964; a vague fear of violence could not justify such a policy (Kansas)TITLE IV: Desegregation of Public EducationAuthorized the U.S. Attorney General to receive complaints alleging denials of equal protection, to investigate those complaints, and to file suit in U.S. District Court to seek desegregation of the school. Also authorized the Secretary of Education to provide funds to school boards to assist their desegregation efforts. TITLE V: Civil Rights CommissionAddressed procedures for the Civil Rights Commission, broadened its duties, and extended its life through January 1968. Its duties included investigating allegations that citizens were deprived of their right to vote or to have their vote properly counted. It also studied legal developments related to a denial of equal protection of the law, particularly in the domains of voting, education, housing, employment, public accommodations, transportation, and the administration of justice. TITLE VI: Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted ProgramsProhibited discrimination by recipients of federal funds on the basis of race, color, and national origin. Lau v. Nichols (1974)Ruled a school that accepted federal funds and did not provide adequate English courses or other educational benefits to students of Chinese ancestry, who did not speak English, violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (California)Cannon v. University of Chicago (1979)Determined that Title VI created a private remedy as well as authorized the withholding of federal funds from education programs that discriminated on the basis of race (Illinois)Alexander v. Sandoval (2001)Determined that Title VI only authorized private remedies for lawsuits based on intentional discrimination and not on evidence of disparate impact (Alabama)Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)Held that discrimination, which violates Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment, committed by an institution that accepts federal funds also constitutes violation of Title VI (Michigan)TITLE VII: Equal Employment OpportunityOutlawed employment discrimination by businesses affecting commerce with at least twenty-five employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971)Ruled that the use of tests to determine employment that were not substantially related to job performance and that had a disparate impact on racial minorities violated Title VII (North Carolina)Phillips v. Martin Marietta (1971)Ruled that not hiring mothers of preschool-aged children while hiring fathers of preschool-aged children violated Title VII; the first sex discrimination case to go to the U.S. Supreme Court (Florida)McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green (1973)Found that an employee who presents initial evidence of racial discrimination requires an employer to show a legitimate lawful reason why the employee was not hired. The employee is then entitled to show that employer’s conduct was a pretext for racial discrimination (Missouri)Hazelwood School District v. United States (1977)Ruled that statistical evidence comparing the racial composition of an employer’s workforce with that of the relevant labor market could substantiate an initial case of discrimination (Missouri)Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. Manhart (1978)Determined that an employer may not use the fact that women, as a group, live longer than men to justify a policy of requiring female employees to make larger contributions to a pension plan in order to receive the same monthly pension benefits when they retire (California)United Steelworkers v. Weber (1979)Held that Title VII permitted private sector employers and unions to implement voluntary affirmative action plans to remedy past discrimination (Louisiana)Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986)Held that Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination also included a prohibition on sexual harassment (Washington, D.C.)Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County (1987)Ruled voluntary affirmative action programs for women in fields where they had previously been excluded were constitutional under certain circumstances (California)International Union, UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc. (1991)Ruled that barring women of childbearing age from certain jobs due to potential harm to a fetus constituted sex discrimination under Title VII (Wisconsin)Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. (1998)Ruled that sex discrimination consisting of same-sex sexual harassment is actionable under Title VII (Louisiana)Ricci v. DeStefano (2009)Held that New Haven officials violated Title VII by ignoring results of a test in which white firefighters performed better than black and Latino firefighters (Connecticut)EEOC Chairman Clifford Alexander, Jr., on Title VIIClifford Alexander, Jr., (b. 1933), chairman from 1967–1969 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), created by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discusses limitations of the commission’s power resulting from an amendment to the bill authored by Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL). The interview was broadcast May 26, 1969, on Black Journal over National Educational Television, shortly after Alexander had resigned as EEOC chairman, while remaining on the commission. EEOC Chair Eleanor Holmes Norton on Title VIIEleanor Holmes Norton (b. 1937), chair from 1977–1981 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), created by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, answers questions about Title VII from columnist George Will on Meet the Press, broadcast July 2, 1978, on NBC and discusses the responsibilities of employers for ending discrimination. TITLE VIII: Registration and Voting StatisticsDirected the Census Bureau to collect registration and voting statistics based on race, color, and national origin but provided that individuals could not be compelled to disclose such information. TITLE IX: Intervention in Court CasesPermitted the United States to intervene in pending suits alleging a denial of equal protection of law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on account of race, color, religion, or national origin. TITLE X: Community Relations ServiceCreated the Community Relations Service to aid communities in resolving disputes relating to discriminatory practices based on race, color, or national origin. Hernandez v. Erlenbusch (1973)Referred a case involving a tavern that had adopted a policy prohibiting the use of a foreign language at the bar to the Community Relations Service to see if they could provide assistance (Oregon)Goldsby v. Carnes (1977)Described how the Community Relations Service assisted the parties to a consent judgment regarding the conditions and administration of a county jail (Missouri)TITLE XI: Court Proceedings and LegalitiesIn any proceeding for criminal contempt arising under Title II, III, IV, V, VI, or VII of this act, the accused, upon demand therefore, shall be entitled to a trial by jury. United States v. Rapone (1997)Held that a Department of Corrections official charged with criminal contempt for violating court order prohibiting retaliation against witnesses was entitled to a jury trial under Title XI (Washington, D.C.)Civil Rights Activist Ruby Sales Interviewed by Joseph Mosnier in 2011Civil rights activist Ruby Sales (b. 1948) discusses the meaning of the "Freedom Movement" instead of the "Civil Rights Movement" in an interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier (b. 1962) for the Civil Rights History Project in 2011. Lawyer Derrick Bell Interviewed by Camille O. Cosby in 2005Lawyer Derrick Bell (1930–2011) discusses the limits of civil rights law and ending segregation in an interview conducted by Camille O. Cosby (b. 1945) for the National Visionary Leadership Project in 2005. Haywood Burns on Limitations of the Civil Rights LawHaywood Burns (1940–1996), director of the National Conference of Black Lawyers, discusses structural inequality and other limitations of the civil rights law in a panel discussion broadcast February 15, 1972, on Black Journal on National Educational Television. Back to top How did the civil rights movement change the lives of African Americans?The civil rights movement was an empowering yet precarious time for Black Americans. The efforts of civil rights activists and countless protesters of all races brought about legislation to end segregation, Black voter suppression and discriminatory employment and housing practices.
How did the civil rights movement change society?One of the greatest achievements of the civil rights movement, the Civil Rights Act led to greater social and economic mobility for African-Americans across the nation and banned racial discrimination, providing greater access to resources for women, religious minorities, African-Americans and low-income families.
What caused the African American civil rights movement?On December 1, 1955, the modern civil rights movement began when Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
Why was the African American civil rights movement in the United States more effective in the years 1954 to 1964 than in the late 1960s?The African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States was unequivocally more effective in the years 1954 to 1964 than in the late 1960s because the philosophy of non-violence led to more rights for blacks between 1954-64 than the philosophy of violence did in the late 1960s.
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How did the struggle for civil rights especially among the African American community change in the 1970s quizlet?
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