1. The rise and expansion of the civil rights movement: causes, legal issues, tactics, Martin Luther King Jr, the March on Washington

"Jim Crow" system remained virtually intact into the early 1950sWWII set the stage for the roots of the civil rights movement- During the war Job opportunities were expanded to blacks and women due to the necessity during the war.

2. The changing movement: the Black Panthers, Black Muslims, Black Power and Malcolm X

The Black Power movement grew out of the Civil Rights movement that had steadily gained momentum through the 1950s and 1960s. Although not a formal movement, the Black Power movement marked a turning point in black-white relations in the United States and also in how blacks saw themselves. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam felt that racial self-determination was a critical and neglected element of true equality. In 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP), initially as a group to track incidents of police violence. Within a short time groups such as SNCC and BPP gained momentum, and by the late 1960s the Black Power movement had made a definite mark on American culture and society. The movement was hailed by some as a positive force aimed at helping blacks achieve full equality with whites, but it was reviled by others as a militant, sometimes violent faction whose primary goal was to drive a wedge between whites and blacks. In truth, the Black Power movement was a complex event that took place at a time when society and culture was being transformed throughout the United States, and its legacy reflects that complexity. The Black Power movement instilled a sense of racial pride and self-esteem in blacks.

3. Supreme court decisions, key congressional legislation, the response of the executive branch (Ann)

• Supreme Court Decisions
  • Plessy vs. Ferguson was in 1896 and it ruled that the “Separate but equal” law did not violate the 14th amendment, which guarantees all Americans equal.
  • Brown vs. Board of Education was in 1954 and it ruled that in the field of public education the doctrine of “Separate but equal” has no place. So, as a result public schools were integrated.
  • (Brown vs. Board of Education overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling)
• Key congressional legislation
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964 stopped segregation and discrimination in public accommodations. It forbids employers to discriminate against minorities.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1968 declared the prohibition of discrimination in sale, rental, and financing of housing because of race, color, religious practice, gender, disability, family status, or national origin.
  • 24th Amendment was passed in 1964 and it stated no poll taxes would be allowed in any state. (states could not charge people to vote)
  • Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 and it made it so no one could be denied the right to vote based on race. It outlawed literacy tests.
• Response of Legislative Branch
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964 marked the legislative attempt to make life better for minority groups.