During the period 1945 – 1989, to what extent did the movement for racial equality achieve meaningful change in the US? (Higher Level 2019)

Between 1945–1989, there was a significant and meaningful movement in favour of racial equality in America. This aided the millions of African Americans living in a divided nation. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence promised “Liberty for all citizens” and that all US citizens were born equal but this was not the case for the African American citizens. Despite slavery being abolished in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, African Americans continued to face discrimination because of their race in America . Plessy v. Ferguson which legalised segregation in the United States with the theory of being “separate but equal”, but the equal part was overlooked. African Americans began to fight for their rights after World War Two which was a steady process but finally gave them rights in 1964 by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 becoming imposed.

Racism was most visible in America’s southern states, where slavery was a common practice as well as the tradition of prejudice, dehumanisation and discrimination against African Americans. Jim Crow Laws were imposed in the southern states, making discrimination and segregation legal. For black people, segregation became a way of life. The Jim Crow Laws created segregation onboard the buses and bus stations, prohibited interracial marriage, unequal public services and denied services in hotels and restaurants. In 1870, black Americans were given the right to vote under the 14th Amendment, but southern states prevented it. Firstly, African Americans weren’t able to vote because of the establishment of the polling tax which poor black people couldn’t afford, they also deliberately made difficult voter literacy tests and restrictions on voter registrations which were only imposed on black voters. Secondly, many African Americans were hesitant to vote as anyone who tried to vote were intimidated or assaulted.

Many innocent African Americans were victims of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist group who promoted violence and carried out mob murders against minorities. Emmet Louis Till was a fourteen year old African American boy who suffered on the behalf of the KKK. Emmet was accused of offending a white woman in a grocery store in Mississippi. On August 28th 1955,the woman’s husband went to Emmet’s great-uncles house armed and abducted him, tortured him, shot him in the head and sank his body in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, Emmet’s body was discovered. Emmet’s mother wanted media to document at the open casket funeral to raise awareness of the violence inflicted on innocent black people in the south and what happened to her son, “I wanted the world to see what they did to my baby.” Martin Luther King (MLK) stated that it “might be considered one of the most brutal and inhuman crimes of the twentieth century”. What happened to Emmet Till is still being discussed in the movie ‘’Till 2022’’. Emmet Till’s murder was one of the reasons that helped make a change during the Civil Rights Movement.

In the years after WW2, a number of factors came together to initiate change in the US with a growing demand among black Americans for civil rights. Black soldiers no longer wanted to accept prejudice at home, after fighting in war for the freedom of other people in Europe. This coincided with the increase of black people going to college. This created a generation of black leaders who were not willing to accept oppression. The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured people (NAACP), founded in 1908, funded lawyers, organised and brought their own cases to court. They helped bring cases to court for the African Americans arrested during protests. The NAACP also initiated campaigns for the segregated armed forces. Black soldiers were segregated in units and were refused to serve in the Marine and Air Corps. This undisguised segregation resulted in a vital campaign for equality. Harry Truman began to desegregate the army as segregation brought international shame to the US and Truman decided to desegregate the army to reduce shame. This was a stepping stone to help bring positive change for African Americans. This was the beginning of the abolition of segregation.

The NAACP continued to concentrate on desegregating schools and universities. The segregation of schools could no longer be justified by Plessy vs Ferguson and were challenged by the Civil Rights movement. The NAACP helped bring Linda Brown’s case to the Supreme Court. Linda’s case was the first Civil Rights case to be brought to the Supreme Court. Linda Brown was a 3rd grader African-American girl who was not permitted to attend a local white school and therefore had to commute to a black school which was 20 miles away from her home in Kansas. A team of NAACP lawyers, led by Thurgood Marshall, argued that separate schools caused psychological damage to African-American children and therefore denied them their rights under the 14th Amendment. The NAACP won the case and the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was unconstitutional. On May 17 1954, the Supreme Court overturned Plessy in its decision and stated “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” and later declared that public schools should be desegregated. Which was the most important ruling ‘Brown V. Board Education.It called on each state to implement this decision by setting up integrated schools “with all deliberate speed.” Segregation in schools was finally coming to an end.

Although segregation in schools was ruled unconstitutional and this was a positive change, in September 1957, nine black students tried to enroll in an all-white school. Little Rock Central High School, which was their legal right, but Orval Faubus used the national guard along with aggressive protesters to prevent the students from entering school. The NAACP took Faubus to court; he withdrew from the national guard, but the black teenagers were left unprotected from violent and angry mobs of white students. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent 1,000 federal troops to protect students for the next year while they attended school. 2,600 black children out of a total of 2,000,000 in the South went to integrated schools just five years after the Brown decision. This shows how successful the white community was at resisting the Supreme Court’s order to desegregate schools. Similarly, in 1962, President Kennedy sent forces into the University of Mississippi to protect James Meredith from protestors and to ensure he entered. Although the process of integration caused violent outbursts and riots among some members of the public, it was clearly successful as in 1969, 20% of black children attended previously white schools, compared to 1% in 19. The support of the Federal Government greatly impacted the hope of desegregation and equality

In 1955, in the capital city of Alabama Montgomery, there was a fight for equality because of the integrated public services. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was an influential event for the Civil Rights Movement. Segregation on public transport was particularly humiliating in Montgomery as approximately 75% of the local bus companies revenue came from African Americans. Black people were only allowed to sit at the back of the bus; the front row seats were reserved for white people. Black passengers had to give up their seats for white people when requested. Black passengers had to pay for their tickets at the front; they then had to exit the bus and board from the back. Infamous bus driver James F. Blake would drive off after they paid which left them stranded. After the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Brown case, the NAACP were looking for a “test case” to challenge the bus segregation laws. In March 1955, Claudette Colvin, a young 15 year old African American, refused to give up her seat for a white man and was later arrested. The NAACP didn’t see her as a good representative as she was impregnated by a white married man. In December 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42 year old seamstress, wanted to test the case by refusing to get up when requested by the bus driver; she was then arrested and was taken to court four days later.

The African American community was outraged, and they thought that action was needed. E.D Nixon, NAACP leader, and Jo Robinson, Montgomery Women’s Political Council leader. Nixon asked Rosa Parks if they could use her case to fight against segregation, but this was risky for Rosa’s life due to white community animosity . Rosa agreed to let Nixon use her case against the state after talking with her family. Robison requested that black people refrain from taking buses on the day of Rosa’s trial. The Women’s Political Council distributed over 35,000 leaflets in support of the bus boycott. The black community supported this because they were tired of segregation rules. The black community was united in its support despite the inconvenience made of the bus services.

The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) set up the boycott but they needed a leader. The boycotters chose Dr. Martin Luther King (MLK) to be leader as he believed in protesting in a nonviolent way which made him a natural leader and an inspirational figure. Martin Luther King Jr peace protests had inspired black people years later for example Black Lives Matter Protests (2020) MLK urged all black people not to use the buses. The MIA organisied peace protests which had a huge support from the black community. Carpooling was organised so black people would not use the bus services to promote the bus boycott. African American bus drivers reduced their fare to 10 c to match the bus fares. The city council threatened to take the drivers licenses away, the MIA raised $30,000 to subsidise the drivers they also organised new insurance with the Lloyds of London as white insurance companies no longer wanted to. Many people walked up to two hours each day and back for work. The boycott emphasised the African Americans economic power which made many losses in businesses.This was a step forward for the movement however the ruling did not spread to all cities across America. The success of the boycott gave rise to black community in the USA and inspired other minority groups to struggle for equality.

The events such as the freedom riders and lunch counter protests helped desegregate buses and towns across America. In 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organised a series of ‘freedom rides’ which was when black people sat in“whites only” sections of buses and railway stations. Black people were attacked by white people, Roberty Kennedy sent 500 federal marshals to protect the riders. The freedom riders helped fully desegregate busses.In 1960, African Americans attending college in Nashville staged a sit-in and a store lunch counter as they refused to serve black customers. On February 27 1960, students staging the sit-in were attacked white people. Many were arrested but this made a change to the segregated restaurants. This was repeated throughout the south which helped slowly desegregate which was the right step to racial equality.

According to MLK, Birmingham Alabama was the most racist city in the south.
MLK setup peaceful protests to help desegregate the city. Bull Connor (Connor) enforced extreme segregation. Connor used dogs and fire hoses to disband peaceful demonstrations. This event was broadcast worldwide, resulting in widespread support and sympathy for the civil rights movement. On June 11 1963 George Wallace, the segregationist, refused black students to enter the University of Alabama. Kennedy ordered national guards to ensure they got in. That night John F. Kennedy made his Civil Rights speech to show support for civil rights and the black community.

In August 1963, MLK’s most influential speech, “I Have a Dream ” was delivered where he led over 250,000 people including 50,000 white Americans to Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. This was crystal clear as it resulted in one of the biggest developments during the Civil Rights Movement. President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act 1964 and the Voting Rights act in 1956. These outlawed discrimination,racial segregation in public services, outlawed the discriminatory voting practices to all African Americans this was a big achievement for both MLK and all organisations involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

In conclusion, the civil rights movement was a roaring success which made significant changes in American society between the years 1945-1989. The African Americans were tired of the prejudice that they were experiencing so they decided to fight for equality and freedom for not only themselves but for future generations. As Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “The time is always right to do what is right