Civil Rights to 1960
After the army became desegregated in 1948, the position of African-Americans in civilian society came under increasing scrutiny. There was widespread recognition that the integration of society had not progressed as it was supposed to and that it was time for the African-American citizens to take a stand. Landmark decisions in the Supreme Court as well as civil rights laws foreshadowed the changes and upheaval that would come in this and following decades.
Randolph, A. Philip: President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters who worked to build his March-on-Washington Committee into an all-black protest movement. The Committee also engaged in civil disobedience to protest racial discrimination in all aspects of American life.
Fair Employment Practices Committee: Roosevelt issued this committee in 1941 to enforce the policy of prohibiting employment-related discrimination practices by federal agencies, unions, and companies involved in war-related work for the purpose of enforcing an Executive Order and made possible the employment of 2 million blacks.
Detroit race riots, 1966: Erupted because of constant conflict between black citizens and white cops, resulting in the bloodiest riot in this half-century. Forty-three were found dead, thousands were wounded, and over $50 million in property was destroyed.
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): The Congress of Racial Equality was formed in 1942 to help combat discrimination through nonviolent, direct action. Led by James Farmer, it organized Freedom Rides that rode throughout the south to try to force desegregation of public facilities.
Drew, Dr. Charles: As an African-American physician, he developed techniques for the storing and processing of blood for transfusion in 1944. He also conducted research on the preservation of blood and during WWII, he developed blood-transfusion programs for the British and French.
Myrdal, Gunnar, An American Dilemma: A Swedish economist, Gunnar wrote about anticipated changes in race relations, as well as the problems between the races in 1944. He specifically noted that Black veterans returned with very high expectations from civilian life due to war.
rural and Southern to urban and Northern: Eisenhower sought to give low income farmers increased training and trade as well as to improve industry and the health of citizens of the rural South . In the urban North, a great emphasis was put upon renovation and the rehabilitation of the cities opposed to clearance and reconstruction.
To Secure These Rights: The 1946 Committee on Civil Rights dramatized the inequities of life in the South and under the Jim Crow laws. It called for an end to racial discrimination and segregation, and was called "an American charter of human freedom," by President Truman.
desegregation of the armed forces, 1948: Truman ended segregation in the army to provide support during World War II to ensure victory. He was the first president to deal with the legislative civil rights since the implementation of Reconstruction and fought for many other civil rights acts but was denied.
Korean War: Seen as a Soviet-directed aggression to test American containment policy. On June 27, 1950, Truman ordered American troops to invade South Korea. General Douglas MacArthur sought total victory, and in 1953 a cease fire was issued after a truce agreement was signed by the U.N. and Communists.
"separate but equal": Enacted because of the inferiority complex given to blacks, it set forth an attempt to liberalize without losing control. The Supreme Court said that it had no place in schools, so it ordered the desegregation of schools, navy yards and veteran hospitals.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka: The Supreme Court reversed Plessy v. Ferguson in 1954 by ruling in favor of the desegregation of schools. The court held that "separate but equal" violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and was unconstitutional. Refusing to force the white south to accept the ruling, defiance toward the law sprang up. Many southerners saw it as "an abuse of judiciary power."
Marshall, Thurgood: 1st African American justice of the Supreme Court, famous for his fight against discrimination, the death penalty, and his support of civil liberties and free speech. Previously a lawyer with such key victories as in Brown v. Board of Education, founder of the NAACP Legal Defense.
Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks: In December of 1955, Parks refused to get up from her seat on the bus to give it to a white man, and was therefore arrested. This led to massive bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama. Because of her actions she is known as the "mother" of civil rights. Resistance to desegregation of buses was finally overcome by the Supreme Court ruling that it was unconstitutional to segregate public transportation in November, 1956.
King Jr., Rev. Martin Luther: An African-American leader who was the voice of his people. His philosophy emphasized need for direct action by getting every African-American involved in the pursuit of equality and to build a community of brotherhood in his "I have a dream" speech. On April 4,1968 he was assassinated.
Little Rock, Arkansas Crisis: Governor Orval E. Faubus sent the National Guard to bar nine black students from entering Central High School in Arkansas in 1957. Eisenhower then enforced a new court order that forced the men to withdraw, and a mob of whites reacted by preventing the students from entering the school. Then The National Guard was sent to protect the students from the violence for the rest of the school year. The school was then shut down in 1958-59.
Civil Rights Act,1957: Eisenhower passed this bill to establish a permanent commission on civil rights with investigative powers but it did not guarantee a ballot for blacks. It was the first civil-rights bill to be enacted after Reconstruction which was supported by most non-southern whites.
Civil Rights Act, 1960: Eisenhower passed this bill to appease strong southern resistance and only slightly strengthened the first measures provisions. Neither act was able to empower federal officials to register the right to vote for African-Americans and was not effective.
literacy tests, poll tax: Literacy tests were given to blacks with the idea that they would be denied the right to vote since most could not read. The poll tax prevented African-Americans from voting by requiring all voters to pay a tax, which blacks could not afford. In 1966, the poll tax was outlawed in all elections.
grandfather clause, white primaries: The grandfather clause was a provision used to exclude people who served in the war and their descendants from taking suffrage tests. It was declared unconstitutional in 1915. White primaries were used to control everything even with disenfranchisement and was declared unconstitutional in 1944.
Jackie Robinson: He was the first African-American baseball player to play professionally in 1947. He was able to break the color barrier and seemed to successfully overcome the racism so prevalent in his sport. Robinson was also was able to contribute to the winning of the pennant and Rookie of the Year in his first year of playing.
