African American Studies 100
Monday, October 29, 2018
Topic
Charles Hamilton Houston; Thurgood Marshall; Montgomery Bus Boycott (Martin Luther King
Jr.)
Activities
Charles Hamilton Houston went to Harvard Law School (after returning from World War I)
- Felix Frankfurter was his professor / mentor
o Frankfurter went on to become a Supreme Court Justice
- Houston then went on to teach at Howard Law School
o Later, his student at Howard, Thurgood Marshall, would go on to argue a
landmark case (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954) before Felix
Frankfurter (case brought by the NAACP—they would win the case).
. Marshall himself then became the first African American Supreme Court
Justice (appointed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson)
Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Started by Rosa Parks
o Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat before Rosa Parks
o But, because she didn’t fit the image, the movement opted to use Rosa Parks as
the face of the struggle instead.
Charles Hamilton Houston challenged the “Separate but Equal” concept of Plessy v. Ferguson,
1896 (decision in this case unjustly violated the right of equal protection guaranteed by the 14th
Amendment).
- Court strategy: He asked the court to prove that the facilities that black people had were
equal to those of white people (Case: Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 1938)
The U.S. Civil War changed the position of the power of the court.
- The importance of the supreme court as a federal institution was greatly enhanced.
o Civil War elevated the power of the federal government in relations to the state
o The state government must follow the ruling of the federal government
- Even some of the justices on the court, at the beginning, didn’t want to reverse Plessy v.
Ferguson; eventually, however, the decision was unanimous.
o They realized this was a very controversial case so they decided to go with the
majority
Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president because of the assassination of JFK
- Lyndon B. Johnson wants Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act but he’s dealing with a
racist congress. He eventually succeeds (in part because of the Civil Rights Movement) in
pushing Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
- Johnson, a controversial president.
- He sponsored the Great Society programs that aimed at eliminating inequality, racial
injustice, and improving the environment. (Example of authentic democracy). - But he was also responsible for escalating the Vietnam War in which thousands upon
thousands died.
Concepts/Theories
Conjuncture of Fortuitously Propitious Historical Factors (about historical coincidences--such as the connections between Houston, Frankfurter, and Marshall). See definition in the online course glossary.
Examples
Tests/Quizzes
- Announcements will be posted about test next week.
Homework
See announcement on class home page; plus Thurgood Marshall’s Biography