History

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954

Topic: Segregation in schools
Case:
- Linda Brown, age 7
- Not allowed to register in an all-white school in Topeka, Kansas
- School were ruled ‘separate but equal’
- Her father thought that this was unfair and brought it to the supreme court
Proof:
- 14th amendment
- “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (Mount).
Decision: ruled 9-0 that segregated public schools were not giving equal opportunities to children of different races. They were being deprived of their rights stated in the 14th amendment
Overall: public schools cannot separate or deprive students based on race

Mount, Steve. "The United States Constitution - The U.S. Constitution Online -USConstitution.net." Index Page - The U.S. Constitution Online -USConstitution.net. 6 Mar. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am14>.

"3 Supreme Court Cases EVERY KID SHOULD KNOW." History Reference Center. EBSCO, 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <3 Supreme Court Cases EVERY KID SHOULD KNOW>.

Photograph. Cinematical. Moviefone, 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.<http://blog.moviefone.com/2008/07/21/tobey-maguire-recreating-brown-v-board-of-education/>.

Photograph. A "Silent Majority" Madison District Public Schools, 2007. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.madisonschools.k12.mi.us/Schools/MadisonHighSchool/MaryBanka/ASilentMajority/tabid/1379/Default.aspx>.

Newark Race Riot in 1967

Wednesday July 12th

John Smith was arrested for driving his taxi around a police car and double parking on 15th avenue

Offensive language and physical assault

After he was taken into custody a visitor came in and examined his injuries and requested that he be taken to Beth Israel Hospital.
Word spread around about the arrest and the beatings from police officers and caused tension in the precinct and at 11pm a civil rights activist informed police of a peaceful protest across the street of the precinct.Young adults smashed windows and things were thrown at police officers. Many were shot by the officers and the national guards were sent out.
“Despite the presence of National Guardsmen and state troopers rioting continued for three more days. As the riot approached its final hours, 26 people, mostly African Americans, were reported killed, another 750 were injured and over 1,000 were jailed. Property damage exceeded $10 million. The riot, the worst civil disorder in New Jersey history, ended on July 17, 1967.” - "Newark Riot (1967) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. Web. 23 Mar. 2011. <http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/newark-riot-1967>.

3) Malcolm X vs. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

Malcolm X- equality
- Believed in non-violence, equality- fire with fire
- MalcolmX.com. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.malcolmx.com/>.
- "Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it."
- "Who Killed Malcolm X? - True Knowledge." True Knowledge - the Internet Answer Engine. Web. 23 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/who_killed_malcolm_x>.
- Radical approach

Martin Luther King Jr.
- Believed in non-violence, equality-peace
- Shepard, Aaron. "Martin Luther King, Jr. - Story-Lovers SOS Story Lists." Story-Lovers Greeting Cards. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.story-lovers.com/listsmartinlutherking.html>.

"YouTube - MLK vs. Malcom X." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG_NqsBzKhE&feature=related>.

7) African Americans Unity Group and the Klu Klux Klan

“In the 1960s, African Americans through unity overturned police brutality and racial violence perpetrated by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, who were permitted to terrorize the black population in South.” http://www.suite101.com/content/the-power-of-unity-a346492
“Unjust power and oppression against a people stifles the progress of any nation. A country with a majority of poor and illiterate people does not do anything to uplift, but drags down any probable accomplishment that could be made with an equally educated and employed population. Their terror of the police is the same terror African Americans felt during the civil rights era. Even today, African Americans do not trust the police to treat them fairly. Neither we nor the Egyptian people allowed the continuation of such power and brute force that oppressed the right to liberty and freedom. To think that one man or group should dictate who should be free is always wrong. Through unity, the people rule and the government that is chosen by the people are to respect the needs of the people and their right to the pursuit of happiness.”

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-power-of-unity-a346492

Unity is the only way to solve a societal problem. Time and time again it has proven that a divided people, country or group cannot stand.

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-power-of-unity-a346492
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bEOiDjdhF4

Civil Rights Act of 1964
- During the election of 1960, John F. Kennedy promised the people a new Civil Rights Act
- John F. Kennedy: "The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day; one third as much chance of completing college; one third as much chance of becoming a professional man; twice as much chance of becoming unemployed; about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year; a life expectancy which is seven years shorter; and the prospects of earning only half as much."
- June 15th, 1964: Richard Russell told the two main supporters of the new Civil Rights Act, Mike Mansfield and Hubert Humphrey, that he was going to end the filibuster that was keeping the bill from being passed. This led to the act passing with 73 votes to 27.

The Act
- made racial discrimination in public places, such as theaters, restaurants and hotels, illegal
- also required employers to provide equal employment opportunities
- projects involving federal funds could now be cut off if there was evidence of discriminated based on colour, race or national origin
- also attempted to deal with the problem of African Americans being denied the vote in the Deep South

The Voting Rights Act of 1965
- southern blacks risked harassment, intimidation, economic reprisals, and physical violence when they tried to register or vote
- African Americans had little if any political power, either locally or nationally
The Act
- grew out of both public protest and private political negotiation
- empowered the federal government to oversee voter registration and elections in counties that had used tests to determine voter eligibility or where registration or turnout had been less than 50 percent in the 1964 presidential election.
- the effects of this act were powerful
- Between 1965 and 1990, the number of black state legislators and members of Congress rose from two to 160.
- by 1968, nearly 60 percent of eligible African Americans were registered to vote in Mississippi, and other southern states showed similar improvement.

http://www.core-online.org/History/voting_rights.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcivil64.htm

Violence Against Civil Rights Activist

Many Civil Rights Activist faced many serious consequences for voicing their opinion COINTELPRO
(Counterintelligence Program)

Founded under President J.Edgar Hoover in the 1970's which was a secret often, illegal FBI campaign of surveillance and sabotage against a wide variety of right-and-left- wing, including the Ku Klux Klan, the Blank Panthers, and the Fair Plat for Cuba Committee.
One of the key targets was the Civil RIghts Movement
COINTELPRO not only in wiretapping, but as the investigation showed, attempts to disrupt,discredit, and defame perceived political radicals
Hoover targeted a few figures. One popular one was Martin Luther KIng jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

1964 Martin Luther King Jr. voiced his opinion whether the FBI had done enough to safeguard the lives of civil rights activist and black citizens after three civil rights workers went missing.
President Hoover was enraged that King would question the authority of the FBI and told reporters that King was "the most notorious liar in the country"
Once Hoover saw Martin Luther King Jr. as a threat he had the FBI start a major campaign to discredit KIng, by stating that he had affairs with other women.
King was then sent a copy of a note saying "King, There is only one thing left for you to do. There is but one way out for you. You better take it beforeyour filthy, fraudulent self is bared to the nation."
King and his advisors anylazed the note as to implying for King to commit suicide
King was later to be killed in a bombing in his own house

Malcolm X

Civil rights activist
Spoke out against the unfair treatment to African Americans
At a speaking engagement in 1965 at Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21st three gunman rushed Malcolm on stage
He was shot 15 times in close range
He was pronounced dead