Chapter 26

Section 3: The
Civil Rights
Movement
Continues
By: Sydney,
Angelique, Justin, CJ

A Change is Gonna
Come
Sam Cooke
1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4

A Change is Gonna Come

I was born by the river in a little tent

It's been a long, a long time coming

Oh, and just like the river I've been running ever

But I know a change gon' come, oh yes it will

since
Then I go to my brother
It's been a long, a long time coming

And I say, "Brother, help me please.But he winds up

But I know a change gon' come, oh yes it will

knockin' me
Back down on my knees

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die

'Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky

There been times that I thought I couldn't last for

long

It's been a long, a long time coming

But now I think I'm able to carry on

But I know a change gon' come, oh yes it will

It's been a long, a long time coming
I go to the movie and I go down town
Somebody keep telling me don't hang around

But I know a change gon' come, oh yes it will

Song Meaning
This song was written as a protest to support the civil rights movement
as black Americans fought for equality. It was also inspired by an
incident where Cooke and his friends were arrested for disturbing the
peace after they were denied rooms at a motel because of their color.
The line "I go to the movie and I go downtown somebody keep telling
me don't hang around" was boldly speaking about segregation.

Vocabulary
Civil Disobedience- the peaceful refusal to obey
unjust laws

Sit In- a form of protest in which people sit and

refuse to leave

1. The philosophy of civil disobedience was

developed by writer Henry David Thoreau

1. Sit in was a way to protest by African

Americans.

2. The Montgomery bus boycott provided the

first test of Kings belief in civil
disobedience.

2. The sit-in became a common tool to

protest segregation.

Vocabulary
Ghettos- poor run down neighborhoods
1. The Civil Rights did little to help those living
in the ghettos.
2. Many African Americans were living in
ghettos and that created violence and
destruction.

Affirmative Action- business and schools were

encouraged to give preference to members of groups
that had been discriminated against in the past
1. Many gains came as a result of Affirmative
Action programs.
2. By the 1970s, many African Americans were
attending colleges and entering professions.

Vocabulary
Stokely Carmichael- he developed along with
others a new approach called black power
1. Stokely Carmichael argued that African
Americans should fight back if attacked.
2. He urged African Americans to achieve
economic independence by starting and
supporting their own business and take pride
in their own heritage.

James Meredith- African American student

admitted to the University of Mississippi by federal
court in 1962
1. For Meredith to register at the university
President Kennedy had to send in troops to
restore order.
2. Because he was admitted to the University of
Mississippi he caused riots and problems.

Vocabulary
Malcolm X- a leader in the Civil Rights
Movement
1. Malcolm X called for African Americans to
break away from white society.
2. A leader and spokesman for the Nation of
Islam and epitomized the Black Power

Objectives
1. Explore Martin Luther king's use in nonviolent protest to gain equal rights.
King's belief in nonviolent protest was rooted in christian teaching. Like his
grandfather, he was a baptist minister.
2. Find out how new federal legislation helped protest civil rights
Americans pressured their representative on the congress to take actions

Objectives cont.
3. Understand why the civil rights movement broke up into several groups.
Some groups wanted to be nonviolent and some of the other groups wanted to start
a riot.
4. Analyze the achievement and failures of the civil rights movement
One of the biggest achievements was black people have rights all because of Martin
Luther King. Also Martin Luther Gog shot.

Timeline
1957
King joined with other african american church leader to found the southern
christian leadership conference.
1960
Under king's leadership the sclc would be in the forefront of many civil rights protest

Timeline cont.
1962
A federal court ordered the University Of Mississippi to admit James Meredith an
african american student.
1963
Early in 1963,the sclc launched massive demonstrations to discrimination in
birmingham Alabama
August 28,1963
The march on washington took place, 250,000 citizens americans to support civil
rights

Essential Question
How did the Civil Rights Movement change the nation?

It changed the nation by affecting buildings to stop being segregated and it

changed the minds of many people from treating people badly.

Kings Strategy of Nonviolence

The Montgomery bus boycott brought forward a chance to test Kings belief in civil
disobedience.
1. Sources of Kings Ideas
.Christian teaching led Martin to believe in nonviolent matter.
.King also believed that injustice should be resisted even if there are
consequences like how Mohandas Gandhi taught.
.The idea that King followed, being mass protest, came from A. Philip Randolph.

Kings Strategy of Nonviolence

Cont.
2. SCLC
In 1957, King joined together with African American church leaders to found
the Southern Christian leadership conference.
- The main goal they wanted to achieve is equality to all African Americans
- SCLC declared to commitment to nonviolent civil disobedience

Nonviolent Protest Spreads

Four African Americans performed a sit-it in 1960 rejecting the white only rules at
a lunch counter. Thirteen Freedom Riders of black and whites in 1961 went through
the Deep South successfully integrating several bus stations ; not long after, they got
violently attacked. James Meredith was ordered to go to the University of
Mississippi by the federal court in 1962. When Meredith arrived, riots broke out in
protest of having an African American in the school. During the riot ; two were killed
and hundreds were injured. President Kennedy sent federal troops to allow
Meredith to register.

Nonviolent Protest Spreads Cont.

1. Protests in Birmingham
.In 1963, SCLC protested against discrimination in Birmingham.
.African Americans & children marched through Birmingham ; police used dogs,
fire hoses and electric cattle prods against the marchers.
.Later on, because of pressure from business interests, Birmingham
desegregated public facilities & agreed to hire African Americans as clerks &
salespeople.

Civil Rights Legislation

The civil rights movement progressed to a new stage. Americans pressured their
representatives in Congress to take action because they were repelled by violence.
1. Civil Rights Act of 1964
.JFK had been assassinated before his civil rights bill could get through
Congress.
.Although he didnt pass the bill, Lyndon Johnson the new president, was
determined to get the legislation passed.

A Movement Splinters
Some African Americans began to get impatient with the pace of the new civil rights
movement & turned to militant leaders.
1. Black Power Movement
.Some also got angry with Kings nonviolent approach & Stokely Carmichael
argued that African Americans should fight back if attacked.
.Carmichael & others came with a new approach, called black power. This
urged African Americans to achieve economic independence.
.This called on African Americans to take pride in their heritage.

The Movement Splinters Cont.

2. Protests Turn Violent
The civil rights movement was solely focused on ending Southern segregation.
This had done little to ease hardships of millions of African Americans in the
ghettos.
In August 1965, discontentment with the urban side of the south had exploded
into violence. One of the worst incidents occurred in Watts, a more African
American populated area in Los Angeles. Because witnesses were highly
angered of what they had seen from acts of brutality by police, Watts residents
looted from stores and burned cars. More than 1,000 people were killed or
injured.
Over the next two years, more cities also exploded into violence.

The Movement Splinters Cont.

3.

King is Killed
1968, King had traveled the country in efforts to build support for a Poor
Peoples Campaign to attack economic inequality.
As he was a part of a gathering in Memphis, Tennessee, he told this statement
on April 3rd : Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white separate and unequal.
The next day, King was shot to death. A white segregationist was later tried and
convicted of crime. Riots broke out in cities despite the pleas of President
Johnson. With Kings death, the civil rights movement era came to an end.

Summing Up the Civil Rights Era

The civil rights movement had achieved lots of important and lasting results of the
1960s. Although this did not end all inequality, it ended legal segregation and
opened education and voting rights to everyone.
1. A Larger Role in Government
.Because more African Americans participated in the political process, so did
the number of African Americans increase to be elected officials.
.For the first time, African Americans had been mayors in large cities such as
Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Newark.
.African Americans also made gains in the federal government. In 1966, Edward
Brooke of Massachusetts had become the first African American senator since
Reconstruction.

Summing Up the Civil Rights Era

Cont.
1. Affirmative Action
.Many gains had a result of affirmative action programs. Under affirmative
action businesses and schools had been encouraged to give preference to
members of groups having been discriminated in the past.
.By the 1970s, African Americans had been attending colleges or entering
professions in medicine and law. However, growing numbers of Americans
charged that affirmative action was a form of reverse discrimination because
it unfairly favored one group of people over another.

Section Checkpoint Questions

Identify three sources of Kings philosophy of nonviolent protest.
How did Freedom Riders protest segregation?
What were the goals of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
What was meant by black power?
What gains did African Americans make in government?

Sources
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/stokely-carmichael
Textbook