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The Political Response

The Political Response. Civil Rights 21.4. JFK and MLK. Just weeks before the presidential election JFK had an opportunity to make a powerful gesture toward African Americans MLK had been arrested in Georgia and sentenced to four months hard labor

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The Political Response

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  1. The Political Response Civil Rights 21.4

  2. JFK and MLK • Just weeks before the presidential election JFK had an opportunity to make a powerful gesture toward African Americans • MLK had been arrested in Georgia and sentenced to four months hard labor • Robert Kennedy persuaded the Georgia sentencing judge to release King on bail • Word of what JFK did spread through the AA community and many switched their vote to JFK • He won the close election

  3. Kennedy on Civil Rights • As Senator from Massachusetts JFK had voted for civil rights measures but not actively pushed issues • However, during the election Kennedy came out for civil rights • “If the President does not himself wage the struggle for equal rights – if he stands above the battle – then the battle will inevitably be lost.”

  4. Kennedy on Civil Rights • Kennedy appointed a number of AA to prominent positions in the government • Thurgood Marshall, who later would become a Supreme Court Justice, was appointed to federal court • However, Kennedy also named a number of segregationists to federal courts • When violence spread, Kennedy responded with more authority.

  5. Kennedy on Civil Rights: Medgar Evers • Hours after Kennedy’s broadcast, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was gunned down • He had recruited NAACP members and organized various voter-registration drives throughout the state • Kennedy proposed a modest civil rights bill • The bill prohibited segregation in public places • Banned discrimination wherever federal funding was involved • Powerful southern segregationists kept the bill from coming to vote

  6. The March on Washington • In August 1963 200,000 people came from all over the country to call for “jobs and freedom” • Many famous leaders and celebrities marched • The march was peaceful and orderly • After many songs and speeches, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech

  7. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Three months after the March on Washington, JFK assassinated • Lyndon B. Johnson became new President • He was eager to use his political skill to build support for Kennedy’s bill • The bill passed the House, but in the Senate, a lengthy filibuster slowed the process • LBJ got support for a cloture motion or (a procedure that can limit or end debate and call for a vote) • The bill passed

  8. The Provisions of the Act • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Banned the use of different voter registration standards in different states • Prohibited discrimination in public accommodations • Allowed the withholding of federal funds from public or private programs that practiced discrimination • Banned discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin by employers and unions

  9. Fighting for the Vote • Many civil rights leaders continued to push for expanded rights, especially in voting • Freedom Summer • 1964 leaders of major civil rights groups organized a voter registration drive in Mississippi • KKK held rallies to intimidate the volunteers • 3 civil rights workers were killed soon after • Civil Rights leaders reported 80 attacks • Volunteers were beaten up and wounded by gunfire • AA churches and homes were burned

  10. The Selma March • Many black southerners still had trouble obtaining their voting rights • In Selma, Alabama, police arrested people just for standing in line to register to vote • King and other leaders decided to organize a protest march • Armed troopers on horseback charged into the crowd with whips, clubs, and tear gas • When the Selma marchers started out again supporters from all over the country come to join them

  11. The Voting Rights Act • Reacting to Selma LBJ went on TV promising a strong new law to protect voting rights • That summer Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 • It said federal official could register voters in places where local officials were blocking registration • Also eliminated literacy tests and other barriers

  12. Legal Landmarks • Together the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 created an entirely new voting population in the South • More AA would be elected to political offices • 24 Amendment • Ratified in 1964, outlawed the poll tax

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