DHS US History II

During 1961 and 1964, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had led a voting registration campaign in Selma, the seat of Dallas County, Alabama, a small town with a record of consistent resistance to black voting. Resistance from law enforcement cramped SNCC’s efforts. Local civil rights activists allured Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to turn Selma’s obstinacy to black voting into a national concern. SCLC also wanted to use the momentum of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to achieve federal protection for a voting rights statute. Over the course of January and February of 1965, King and the SCLC led many demonstrations to the Dallas County Courthouse in Selma. On February 17, during one of these demonstrations, an Alabama state trooper shot protester Jimmy Lee Jackson, fatally wounding him. A protest march from Selma to Montgomery was scheduled for the beginning of March in response to his killing. Six hundred protestors gathered in Selma on Sunday, March 7. They crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River on their way to Montgomery. Just before the bridge, they found their route blocked by Alabama State troopers and local police who ordered them to turn around back towards Selma. When the protesters refused to turn around, the officers used teargas and entered the enormous crowd, beating the passive protesters with billy clubs and sending over fifty people to the hospital. The big difference between this demonstration and bloodshed and demonstrations before it was that it was televised nationally and internationally. This embarrassed Americans and let Americans who had never witnessed the barbarity of racism see it for the first time. After this atrocity, Martin Luther King, Jr. asked civil rights supporters to come back to Selma for a second march. Members of Congress urged Martin Luther King, Jr. to hold off on the march until a court could decide whether the protesters deserved federal protection. With many prominent civil rights activists now in Selma at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s call, they didn’t want to sit around, they wanted to make change. King found it hard to elect the correct action. Should he passively listen to the government’s requests for patience or should he continue to lead demonstrations and protests to actively help his cause? On March 9, MLK did end leading the second protest. This time, however, he turned the protest around at the beginning of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s decisions at this demonstration aggravated the tension between SCLC and the more radical SNCC. The SNCC wanted more violent tactics to be used in order to win reforms to active opposition to racist programs. On March 21 of 1965, the last, and successful march began with federal protection. On August 6 of the same year, the federal Voting Rights Act was passed, making the process successful. In the end, the world witnessed change after bloodshed and a testament to what civil rights can do.

In the 1960s, Birmingham, Alabama was one of the most racially segregated cities in the United States. By 1963, Birmingham had earned the nickname “Bombingham” because homemade bombs set of in homes and churches were so common. KKK members would call in bomb threats to black churches to interrupt services and civil rights meetings. Birmingham hosted one of the largest and strongest chapters of the KKK. Because of the severe segregation and violent attitude toward African Americans, civil rights activists used this city as a target for their campaigns. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham in the spring of 1963 and wrote his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” which was published with images of police brutality, which helped gather support for the civil rights movement. The 16th Street Baptist Church was a significant church for many African Americans in Birmingham and many civil rights marches took place on its steps and many civil rights meetings took place within its walls. On the morning of September 15, 1963, a few bomb threats were called in to the church. These threats were ignored because KKK members called in frequently so as to interrupt church services and civil rights meetings. However, this day was different, these threats had truth to them. Four KKK members of the United Klans of America planted 15 sticks of dynamite under the back stairs of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Around 200 people were in the church at the time before the 11:00 service, most were girls attending Sunday School. At 10:22, the bomb went off. Four girls died in the attack and another twenty were injured. Thousands of angry protesters showed up at the scene of the bombing. Police and State Troopers were sent to break up the protest, but it only caused a stream of violence to break out throughout the city. A few protesters were arrested and two were killed in the conflict. Eventually, the National Guard was sent in to take control over the city and bring order back. The white supremacists of Birmingham were suspected from the start, even individuals were accused of the attack, however no one was brought to justice. Many people called for them to be persecuted, but their calls wouldn’t be answered for a number of years. Those in the government did not agree with the civil rights movement and therefore did nothing. It was even proven that they had information on the attackers by 1965 and still did nothing about it. They turned a blind eye to this act of violence simply because they agreed with those who committed the act and disagreed with the victims. Later, in 1977, the case was reopened by Alabama Attorney General Bob Baxley and brought Robert E. Chambliss, a Klan leader, to trial for the crime. Chambliss was convicted of the bombings and murder of the girls and died in prison in 1985. The case was reopened three other times (1980, 1988, 1997) and two more men, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry, were convicted and received life sentences for their crime. The fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994 before he could be tried.

In the early 1920s women began to have a safe place outside the home. They were given more rights, not abused in the workplace, and were able to express themselves more freely. They stood up for what was right and in August of 1920 the 19th amendment was ratified; they were granted the right to vote. With this came responsibility, respect and much more freedom than they previously had. Also, the Miss America Organization started what is now a household name, the Miss America Pageant. It started as a way for the Atlantic City Boardwalk to hold tourism past Labor Day. It attracted many, from women wanting to participate in it, to people of all ages coming to watch. This Pageant was a product of its time, due to the previous decades of transformation for women in society. For many it was a time of expansion in social, political, and cultural activities for women. Not only did women in the workplace grow by 25%, but they began to express themselves more freely. They stopped following the Victorian norms that were pushed on them since birth. They became more modern by smoking cigarettes, dancing, and becoming more sexually liberated. They stopped wearing the normal clothing, and began to dress in clothing that allowed them to be active and were more comfortable. With their newfound liberations, they began to be sexual icons. With this came women wanting to show off what they had, making pageants a way to do so. Almost 100 years later, the Miss America Pageant is still a name that everyone knows. It is televised across the country and is a way for women to show their humanitarian ways, but mostly, their good looks. However, not everyone is the biggest fan. It emphasizes the idea that there is only one type of ideal women, and that anyone who does not follow those beauty standards is not equal. Many find the system flawed by how year after year there is a scary similarity between each year’s winners. Feminists have been questioning their system for years, the first public protest in 1968. On September 7th in 1968 the Atlantic City Boardwalk became flooded with angry women who found the pageant system flawed. They had girdles, curlers, and copies of popular magazines that over sexualized women. They called these “instruments of women-torture” and threw them into a plastic bin with the words “Freedom Trash Can” scrawled on it. Many onlookers heckled them, making fun of them for standing up for what they believed in. This protest brought a national spotlight to the Women’s Liberation Movement. Unlike previous riots against women’s oppression, this one came unknowingly to the public. It ran alongside the ongoing Miss America pageant, and it became a story that viewers heard loud and clear. Many women at home could understand and support these brave women for performing an unannounced protest right at the base of the issue, the actual pageant. Signs scattered the pier reading “Lets judge ourselves as people” or “Welcome to the Miss America cattle auction” or even “If you want meat, just go to the butcher”. Women of the time wanted to be seen as real people, not items. Even though they were standing up for their beliefs, feminists of the time were given a bad reputation. Carol Hanish led the protest and put the idea out to everyone. She later recalled that, “‘Bra-burner’ became a put-down term for feminists of my generation. The risqué implication of the term made the action embarrassing even to some feminists”. She believed that if there wasn’t such a negative connotation to being a feminist, nearly all women would have rushed to join.

The Birmingham Campaign: During the early 1960s, segregation was at an all time high in the south, especially in Alabama. Times were very difficult for African Americans as they were seen as the inferior race. They were segregated from restaurants, bathrooms, water fountains and they had specific neighborhoods to live in. Furthermore, African American students were forced to attend different schools which were often not as good. Blacks were forbidden to be seen with whites. Birmingham Alabama was a city known for the extreme racism. The KKK dominated this city and years before, this group castrated an African American, forced a library to remove a book because it contained a black and white rabbit together and sought to end black music on radios. Martin Luther King Jr. said that Birmingham was “the worst big city in race relations in the United States.” The African Americans had enough with the extremities the whites were doing, so they sought change. The Birmingham Campaign was a movement in 1963 that worked to desegregate the public facilities in Birmingham, Alabama. These movements were run by Martin Luther King Jr, James Bevel, Fred Shuttlesworth and many others.The first protest in Birmingham was when Shuttlesworth pressured business employees to allow employment be open to all ethnicities and to put a stop to the segregated public facilities. However, this failed and the SCLC, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, agreed to help them. Soon a group began, which was called the Project C. Project C was a series of sit-ins, boycotts and nonviolent protests. The goal of Project C was to be on media and see why black people needed justice in the South. This was a success. People from across the country were changing views on the discrimination in the south as they saw everything that was happening. After being arrested so many times, King was sent to jail due to the protest he was apart of. While King was in jail, he wrote a letter explaining why he was in jail. "I am here because injustice is here," he wrote. "I would agree with Saint Augustine that 'an unjust law is no law at all.'" His words were powerful and motivating towards the other African American citizens in Birmingham. King and many others were willing to go to jail to fight for the rights they deserve. The Birmingham Campaign began to become very low on adult volunteers so James Bevel decided to recruit students to become the main focus of the campaign. He trained students in from elementary school to college in order for them to be able to participate in nonviolent protests and peaceful walks. However, this failed as it ended it thousands of arrests and children sitting in jail. Having children participate in these movements proved how passionated people were about the rights they deserved. On may 11th, things turned violent; a bomb went off at the Gaston Motel where King was previously stayed. Thankfully he had left earlier that day. In addition, another bomb exploded at King’s younger brother’s, A.D King, house. These two bomb attacks affected the protesters greatly and they become violent as well. They rioted through the city, burning building and cars and attacking police officers. Soldiers from the US army were forced to come to control the terror and violence. The Birmingham Campaign was a model of nonviolent directed actions to attract attention on the media to the rest of the country in order for others to see the problems occurring. Stores were desegregated, opportunities for African Americans improved and a biracial committee was set up in Birmingham to help fix the troubled community. This campaign ultimately paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Malcolm X who was born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19th 1925 from his mother Louise Norton Little and his father Earl Little. He was one of 8 children and grew up in a very proactive household. His father, Earl who was a baptist minister was very outspoken and was a large supporter of the Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Being outspoken came with its consequences, his father would receive death threats from a white supremacist organization Black Legion. They were forced to move to avoid the threats but less than a year later their house was burned, and two years later he was found dead. It was presumed an accident and after his death his mother became insane and had to go to a mental institution in which all the kids went to foster care. As Malcolm grew up he bounced from home to home and eventually in 1946 he was arrested for burglary. During his time in prison he reflected on his life and his brother would visit him, he introduced him to Nation of Islam. He then took very close following of the leader Elijah Muhammad, and when he got out he decided to get involved. He then changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X to get rid of his slave name. Most importantly he became the spokesperson for the NOI because he was very intelligent and articulate. He used television, radio and newspapers to spread his beliefs and ideas with the world. The NOI grew from 500 to 30,000 followers in 10 years. Malcolm X was very controversial and his statements brought outrage from the public. He told his followers to break away from racism “by any means necessary” which means violence is acceptable. Separate from his rival Martin Luther King who was anti-aggression, Malcolm often scolded MLK for being friends with the white man. He said “You don’t have a peaceful revolution” and “You don’t have a turn the cheek revolution. There’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution”. These words had an effect on the people of America due to his pro-violence views. These statements won him large amounts of followers but also brought many critics. One of the critics was MLK himself saying “I feel that Malcolm has done himself and our people a great disservice.” showing the feelings he has for Malcolm’s opinions. In 1963 Malcolm was betrayed by his most coveted friend Elijah Muhammad. He had followed Muhammad’s teachings for many year only to find out that Elijah himself was breaking some of the most important rules of his religion. He was having affairs with numerous women and it caused a huge outbreak for Malcolm to handle. He then separated himself from NOI and moved on to start his own organization. The death of Malcolm X was monumental for the civil rights movement. He was killed in 1965 at the Audobon ballroom in Manhattan. He was shot 15 times at point blank range by members of the NOI. This allowed Martin Luther King to take Malcolm’s followers and move forward with the civil rights movement. Without Malcolm X the civil rights movement would have been drastically different.