The Achievements of Peaceful Protest During the Civil Rights Movement
The Achievements of Peaceful Protests
By 1968, full racial equality had not been achieved. Nonetheless, significant progress had been made in terms of: • Education • Transport • Desegregation of public places • Voting rights • Employment • Public Opinion
Education
• The 1954 Brown case – established that a segregated education could never be an equal one. • Although there were other legal victories which attempted to speed up integration, progress towards desegregation was slow. • In 1957, 3 years after the Brown case which ruled that segregation was illegal in all schools, 97% of black students remained in segregated schools. • Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave the government power to force integration of education, by 1968 58% of black students remained in segregated schools. • President Johnsons Higher Education Act of 1965 increased the number of black students attending college/uni during the late 1960s and 1970s
Important points to remember:
The Brown Case (1954)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
Higher Education Act (1968)
Transport
Interstate Transport
• An NAACP court case in 1946 successfully established that segregation was illegal on interstate transport • CORE’s 1961 Freedom Rides – were necessary for a de facto change • September 1961 – signs enforcing segregation were removed from interstate buses/bus terminals
State Transport
• SCLC’s Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) led to desegregation of buses in Montgomery and the NAACP’s legal case les to the establishment that segregation on buses was illegal (de jure) • De facto change in the South was slow • Civil Rights Act (1964) was necessary to give the government power to enforce de facto change.
Public Places
• Sit-ins which began in Greensboro in 1960 = effective • But some authorities took measures to avoid desegregation e.g. closed public parks •
By 1968, full racial equality had not been achieved. Nonetheless, significant progress had been made in terms of: • Education • Transport • Desegregation of public places • Voting rights • Employment • Public Opinion
Education
• The 1954 Brown case – established that a segregated education could never be an equal one. • Although there were other legal victories which attempted to speed up integration, progress towards desegregation was slow. • In 1957, 3 years after the Brown case which ruled that segregation was illegal in all schools, 97% of black students remained in segregated schools. • Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave the government power to force integration of education, by 1968 58% of black students remained in segregated schools. • President Johnsons Higher Education Act of 1965 increased the number of black students attending college/uni during the late 1960s and 1970s
Important points to remember:
The Brown Case (1954)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
Higher Education Act (1968)
Transport
Interstate Transport
• An NAACP court case in 1946 successfully established that segregation was illegal on interstate transport • CORE’s 1961 Freedom Rides – were necessary for a de facto change • September 1961 – signs enforcing segregation were removed from interstate buses/bus terminals
State Transport
• SCLC’s Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) led to desegregation of buses in Montgomery and the NAACP’s legal case les to the establishment that segregation on buses was illegal (de jure) • De facto change in the South was slow • Civil Rights Act (1964) was necessary to give the government power to enforce de facto change.
Public Places
• Sit-ins which began in Greensboro in 1960 = effective • But some authorities took measures to avoid desegregation e.g. closed public parks •