Ch. 44 The Civil Rights Revolution EQ: How did civil rights activists advance the ideals of liberty, equality, and – (…Mighty Stream) opportunity for African Americans? 44.0: Preview (answer in IAN) 44.1: Coach Schroeder reads introduction 44.2-7: Read Textbook – create a chart with timeline/pictures - Each of these should be used to check your info that you recorded, cut out and placed on a timeline.

Date: 1955–1956 Event: Montgomery Bus Boycott Facts:  The boycott is sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks.  On the first day, 90% of African Americans who usually ride the bus honor the boycott.  To make the boycott work, blacks organize an elaborate carpool system.  Martin Luther King Jr. earns a national reputation as a civil rights leader  After the boycott, he and other ministers form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Date: 1957 Event: Integration of Central High School Facts:  Governor Faubus calls out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent integration.  President Eisenhower sends in federal troops to maintain order and enforce integration.  Nine African American students attend Central High School this year with military bodyguards and under harassment from white students.

Date: 1960 Event: First lunch counter sit-in Facts:  At a sit-in, protesters sit down in a public place and refuse to move.  The first sit-in is held by four black students at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.  They are joined by 20 other people on the second day.  Sit-ins spread across the South.  The Greensboro sit-ins lead to a boycott of Woolworth’s, which eventually agreed to serve blacks.

Date: 1961 Event: Freedom Rides Facts:  CORE organizes Freedom Rides to test whether southern states are complying with a Supreme Court ruling that segregation in interstate transportation is illegal.  Freedom riders face violence in Anniston, Alabama, when their bus is bombed.  The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) continues the rides after CORE abandons them.

Date: 1963 Event: Birmingham campaign Facts:  Birmingham is chosen as a site for a major campaign of nonviolent protests because it is deeply segregated.  King and other demonstrators are arrested and jailed.  King writes a letter explaining why African Americans are using civil disobedience to protest segregation.  Police use attack dogs and high-pressure fire hoses to prevent protesters, including children, from marching.

Date: 1963 Event: March on Washington Facts:  On August 28, more than 250,000 people march in Washington, D.C.  It is the largest political gathering ever held in the United States.  The most notable event of the day is Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.  At the time of the march, a civil rights bill is making its way through Congress.

Date: 1964 Event: Civil Rights Act of 1964 Facts:  Senators opposed to the bill filibuster, but the bill is passed and signed into law.  The law bans discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin.  The law is a landmark act and the most important civil rights legislation passed since Reconstruction.

Date: 1965 Event: Voting Rights Act of 1965 Facts:  The act outlaws literacy tests and other tactics used to deny blacks the right to vote.  Efforts to secure voting rights prove quite successful.  Between 1964 and 1968, the number of blacks in Mississippi registered to vote rises from 7% to 59%.  Overall across the South, African American voter registration grows by more than 2 million.