Civil Rights Movement 1940-1955
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was created in 1909, by W.E.B. Du Bois and other African American leaders and white supporters of racial equality. The NAACP has become the most enduring civil rights organization in the United States. The NAACP would publicize racial injustices all around the country. More importantly they initiated lawsuits to gain equal treatment for all people of color in education, employment, housing and accommodations. The most important gain achieved by the NAACP was the Brown v Board of Education Ruling. Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP lawyers would argue that separate but equal schools were inherently unequal. The NAACP lawyers lost in the lower courts but won when they got to the Supreme Court. The Supreme court ruled that separate but equal was in fact inherently unequal and violated the protections under the 14th Amendment. It also stated that the segregation of public education based on race instilled a sense of inferiority that had a hugely detrimental effect on the education and personal growth of African American children. |
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March on Washington Movement
Previous to the well known March on Washington led by Martin Luther King, there was the March on Washington Movement led by led by A. Philip Randolph the President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. His idea was to have a black led march on Washington to bring attention to the hypocrisy of fighting a war defending democracy while African Americans at home were living under Jim Crow segregation. His efforts resulted in president Franklin D. Roosevelt issuing Executive Order 8802 in 1941, opening national defense jobs and other government jobs to all Americans regardless of race, creed, color or national origin and establishing the first Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC).
Black men and women served heroically in World War II, despite suffering segregation and discrimination during their deployment. For example, The Tuskegee Airmen broke the racial barrier to become the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps and earned more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Yet many Black veterans met with prejudice and scorn upon returning home. The March on Washington Movement group then successfully pressured President Harry S. Truman to issue Executive Order 9981 in 1948, ending segregation in the armed services.
Previous to the well known March on Washington led by Martin Luther King, there was the March on Washington Movement led by led by A. Philip Randolph the President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. His idea was to have a black led march on Washington to bring attention to the hypocrisy of fighting a war defending democracy while African Americans at home were living under Jim Crow segregation. His efforts resulted in president Franklin D. Roosevelt issuing Executive Order 8802 in 1941, opening national defense jobs and other government jobs to all Americans regardless of race, creed, color or national origin and establishing the first Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC).
Black men and women served heroically in World War II, despite suffering segregation and discrimination during their deployment. For example, The Tuskegee Airmen broke the racial barrier to become the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps and earned more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Yet many Black veterans met with prejudice and scorn upon returning home. The March on Washington Movement group then successfully pressured President Harry S. Truman to issue Executive Order 9981 in 1948, ending segregation in the armed services.
Civil Rights 1955-1968
Two events marked the beginning of what is known as the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 60's. Those would be Emmett Tills Murder and Rosa Parks bus protest
The Murder of Emmett TillThe Emmett Till murder trial brought to light the brutality of Jim Crow segregation. This event became one of the early events that galvanized people into action beginning the Civil Rights movement.
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Rosa Park's ProtestAs a result of Rosa Park's actions, activists including Martin Luther King, organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This is what most historians would mark as the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.
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