The whole civil rights movement could have not occurred. If only the Civil Rights Act of 1875 had remained in force, segregation would have remained illegal and Martin Luther King Jr.’s (to the left) legacy would be quite different. Instead, though, the all white Supreme Court ruled the act unconstitutional in 1883, creating the whole problem.
During the 1890s, African American civil rights were severely limited, and in Louisiana the law was created, saying railroads needed to provide “ equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.” The universally known case then came upon the Supreme Court, Plessy v. Ferguson, and the court determined that “separate but equal” was not in violation of the four
teenth amendment. This armed all those who wanted to be armed with ammunition to segregate and discriminate.
In the South, this was first exhibited by the Jim Crow laws, which aimed at separating the races. Forbidding marriage between blacks and whites was only the tip of the iceberg. Many other restrictions were enforced on social and religious interactions between races. Signs were posted everywhere in the south saying “Colored Water”; “No Blacks Allowed”; “Whites Only!”.
During the beginning of the 20th century, African Americans sought refuge in the North. Instead, they only found more segregation and discrimination. Through the beginning Second World War, plots to strike back sweltered within the African American community. World War 2 brought an unexpected blessing, however, and many jobs were opened for African Americans due to labor shortages. Additionally, almost a million African Americans served in the armed forces, which ended discrimination to
get enough men. The war also brought reform from the President, ending discrimination by federal agencies and all war related work in the United States.
The NAACP, an organization formed in 1909, headed the desegregation campaign. It was formed to end segregation. It took a legal strategy, in which they sought to show the inequalities between separate schools that should have been “equal”. In 1938, Thurgood Marshall (to the right) became the head of the NAACP, and under his leadership the NAACP would win 29 out of their 32 Supreme Court cases.
These cases slowly started chipping away at Plessy v. Ferguson. In 1946, Morgan v. Virginia interstate bus seating segregation was mandated to be unconstitutional. In 1950, Sweatt v. Painter ruled that state law schools must admit black students, even if separate black institutions existed. These were only the first step forward in a long line of wins for the NAACP and the civil rights movement.
By Benjamin and Andrew
Great use of visuals. Very informative posting good job.
ReplyDeleteThe posting is well-organized and informative. It tells all the important information from the Civil Right Act to desegregation. I was impressed by the ability of Thurgood Marshall to win most of Supreme Court cases.
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