CIVIL RIGHTS

The Problems

The problems were mostly in the south.

The problems were the same problem of reconstruction. The North had made valiant efforts to change the south. First of all the Civl War, then the freedmens bureau. The freedman’s bureau built schools and hospitals, helped settle legal cases and things did get better. But the Klan started to terrorize. The North eventually got tired. They left the south to the south.

3 areas of rights-

Voting rights, equality rights, general rights (lynchings, housing, status)

SHOW FIRST 11 MINUTES OF EYES ON THE PRIZE 1954 SHORT VERSION

And thats the way it had been since reconstruction in the 1870s. Northerners did nothing. Southerners were racist. And really since the civil war the rest of the country hadn’t taken much notice of that.

Two things spur changes

The things that really changed things were the new deal and WWII.

The New Deal

^{Blacks first inroads towards educational integration came during. Franklin Roosevelt’s administration.}

^{To deal with the depression he started public employment projects. These happened to lift black’s employment prospects with the rest of the population. For the first time they had non-agricultural opportunities. These jobs required higher educational levels than agricultural work. Therefore the employment programs were accompanied by educational programs. By 1938-39, more than 90 percent of the members of the corps were enrolled in some instruction, averaging four hours per week.}

^{One hundred thousand black adults were reported to have learned to read and write because of the WPA program. African Americans were sequestered in segregated camps.}

^{The new deal let the whole nation know that the federal government was responsible for problems.}

^{The blacks also got the idea that the federal government could be brought in to remedy their problems too.}

^{Before Roosevelt, blacks mostly voted for the party that won the civil war, Republicans. But after the federal government and the New Deal did so much for black peoples, they switched their alliegence to the Democratic political party.}

^WWII

World War II caused the creation of the largest well documented literacy program on record in any historical period, or in any country (Bond, 1945). This effort was coordinated by the War Department. During the period (1943-4) 205,470 people went through this training program.

During the beginning of the war illiterates were rejected from service. And they requested that civilian organizations do what they could to make the citizenry that were eligible for service literate. Citizens in the US complained that few blacks or illiterates were serving.

So from August 1, 1942 the War Department started taking “intelligent” illiterates. (Goldberg, 1951). So the Army set up Special Training Units (STUs) to educate the illiterates separately. They gave instruction in reading, expression (writing and conversation), and arithmetic. (Office of the Director of Military Training, 1941) These units ran from February 1944 till Nov. 1945.

The biggest lesson society learned from this undertaking was that blacks can learn and deserve an equal opportunity to do so (Fass,1989). For the last year of the program the Army kept meticulous records. The Army divided the men into Negro and white personnel. As many as 90.7 percent completed training satisfactorily. The comparable figure for the white trainee was 84.5 percent (Army service Forces, p. 34). The overwhelming conclusion was that blacks can learned. The Army’s official declaration of this was used in the landmark educational victory against segregation Brown v. The Topeka Board of Education.

^{During this war America had to concede that minorities were not just a problem. America had to admit its dependence on the participation of all its citizens. Indeed, without African American and Mexican (mention the brazero program) American participation we were far less assured of victory.}

^{African American and Mexican American valor in World War II made them cognizant of the fact that they are Americans. They had shed blood for this country.}

^{They were not to be denied full and equal participation in this country. They would no longer accept the idea of themselves as second class citizens. They were Americans. They were America.}

^{As this realization became apparent, so did its contrast with their reality. Segregation in schools was no longer acceptable. The need for Mexican workers forced the powers that be into looking for ways to consciously integrate Mexico and people of Mexican descent into the American rainbow. Just as the elite members of LULAC had before the war, the rank and file of their constituency now began to see themselves as Americans. These realizations doomed segregation in schools. To be sure, segregation still happens. But it now goes against the generally accepted principles of nearly all Americans.}

We discovered during the new deal that the federal government could do something to change the world.

We also reconfirmed our committment to equality and freedom and non-discrimination.

Blacks had also been exposed to more of the world.

Blacks had also become more mainstream.

TWO THINGS THAT ARE KEY TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

1) LEGAL ACTION

intro-

The last legal decision we looked at in this class was Plessy .v. Ferguson

Homer Plessy, was denied a seat on the train. He again sued to say that he was really white.

And by losing his seat in the whites only section he had been deprived of his property without due process (as the 14th guarenteed). READ the 14th AMENDMENT

The ironic thing was that during the progressive era the 14th amendment was used to keep corporations free at the expense of workers.

The supreme court even tried to stop the NEW DEAL. FDR tried his stunt, and then they came around.

Brown v. Board of Education

Explain linda brown’s situation.

She lived in Topeka cansas is 1954. She lived 5 blocks from a puclic school. But had to take a bus 21 blocks to a black school, that wasn’t equal.

Brown v. the board of education of Topeka Kansas overturned this.

Realize that black people pay the same rate of taxes, so to have the right to go to the same schools denied is to have property taken without due process. They used to bus people away to get the races apart, was this right? Now they bus to get the races together. Is this right?

write 10 lines on why separate, but equal is wrong. In a world where there is too much hate, in a world where our neighbors, justice is the name of the game and it requires equality and.....

Read pg 298 of the big red folder LAW IN US HISTORY

This ruling had stood for 83 years.

There was a lawsuit that said that it was NOT okay for Linda Brown to have to go to a school far away when there was a white school in her neighborhood.

Using a barage of psychological and sociological evidence, they showed that Separate but equal was untrue.

Ike didn’t think that you could force people to do things they didn’t want to.

When the supreme court over turned plessy v. ferguson, it meant that black children had to be let into white schools.

George Wallace was the govenor of Arkansas. He said no little negro child was going to tgo to school in a white school in his state. Segregation now segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.

Ike sent in the troops.

They are to read and summarize 859 to870 using the green titles as subjects under the red ones. A three line summary of each is required.

2) CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

NON-VIOLENT

Rosa Parks

Her full time occupation was a seamstress.

Tell her story

They do a boycott Led by MLK

Martin Luther King Jr.

Intro -

Martin Luther King is the leader of the non-violent type. He wants integration.

He is the only one with a holiday named after him.

MLKs Philosophy-

Non-violence runs through it

1) There is a difference between good and evil

Ex. people who watch tv instead of do their homework.

Christians generally believe in right and wrong.

That is your glory to do right.

Is is your prayer.

And is violence right? No. He doesn’t want to use violence to create this new world. If he has to use violence to achieve his goals, that’s not okay.

2) Non-violent civil disobedience will show it

They sit in coffee shops, march on streets and do other things that aren’t acceptable.

3) Conscience will win

If people see good and evil they cannot help but be moved and act.

He wants to love the white man. He wants the white man to love him

If you spit in my face and I “turn the other cheek”. Eventually, if I am totally respectable, I must be accepted.

READ NON VIOLENCE HANDOUT

MLKs Life-

Martin luther had his house bombed and he didn’t stoop to violence.

Ex. 3 The Children in Montgomery getting bitten and attacked.

This outrages the nation.

When martin luther starts there is segregation.

When he ends there is integration.

His most famous speech is the “I have a dream” speech.

He wins the nobel peace prize.

Then he is shot when he is there are riots all over america.

This leads to Violence

the lunch counter sit in.

They train for this because they tak a lot of abuse.

There are two big parts to non-violent civil disobedience. One is get it on tv. Another is to create moral outrage in america by making the ugliness obvious.

If you sit at the counter and the other guy attacks who is right?

VIOLENT-

The leader of the violent legion was Malcom X. He wanted segregation.

He was born Malcom Little.

When he was 6 his father was killed by the KKK.

When he got older he did crimes and ended up in jail. There he joined the Nation of Islam.

These are the guys with the little bow ties selling magazines.

He discovered lots of stuf. He figured out that little wasn’t an African name. He discovered that he was african and his name had been stolen and was unknown to him. So he changed it to X.

He thought a lot about his african roots and how eevil america was. He tied how evil america was to how evil whites were around the world. He decided that whites were the devil.

Why didn’t he go to Africa and stay there then?

He said blacks had been here since the beginning. They built america. Why didn’t the whites leave? Why was it always the blacks in white land? It was whites in black land.

He didn’t like MLK. He said that MLK wanted to be friends with the devil and be a devil.

He didn’t want to mix. He said if you want respect carry a gun. Someone comes to mess with you get a gun and shoot him. The blacks should take part of america and take care of themselves.

He didn’t like MLKs tactics. If gettinghit in the head by white guys got you free the blackman would have been free a long time ago.

Towards the end of his life he went to Mecca and found that all whites weren’t evil and toned down his rhetoric. He started to leave the Nation of Islam and they feared his dividing the group they killed him.

Martin and Malcom together

Malcom Gave martin more power. People new they had to give MLK a listen and integration. If they didn’t play with the good cop they’d have to play with the bad cop.

MARTIN LUTHER KING WANTED PEACEFUL INTEGRATION.

MULTI-CULTURALISM TODAY

^{Mexicans and Negroes became integrated into the American educational system at precisely the time that they come to think of themselves as Mexican Americans and Afro Americans. Knowing this is important because it runs counter to the what is commonly assumed in the design of minority educational programs. The common assumption is that the way to help minorities excel in the American educational system is to emphasize their distinct identities. Yet both these groups biggest gains happened when they come into an awareness of their essence being American. Afro American’s biggest gains towards educational equality happened during the national depression as a result of President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. This program made the federal government recognize them. Mexican American’s biggest gains towards educational equality were fueled by the leader’s of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). They were the “second born”, one of earliest generations of Mexican Americans that felt more American than Mexican. Both ethnic group’s integrations were significantly accelerated by World War II. After their participation in WW II neither group would accept second-class citizen status. In both instances the advances made clearly began with qualitative changes in the group’s identities as Americans. This fact has important implications for Mexican American and Afro American curriculum.}

^{However, the philosophical chasm between the views of the capitalist Protestant upstarts and the feudal Catholics is studied by every student. This split is apparent in LULAC’s identity and struggles.}

^{The first major group organized for the education of Mexican Americans was the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Significantly the members of LULAC were a distinctive group. All the individuals involved in LULAC were either born in the United States or naturalized citizens. And they were a middle class group. These people were Americanized. They even went so far as to try to exclude those who were not US citizens. .How does this relate to our European historical roots? The members of LULAC had distinguished themselves through making a philosophical break with their historical roots. They had proven themselves to be fully imbued with the Protestant ethic. Ben Garza, one of LULACs founders, personifies this. He had to drop out of school when his father died to help support his family. Garza helped his brother through school and worked in shipyards. His later savings were invested in a Café and eventually bought the building. While doing all of this, Garza helped start LULAC. His entire life was spent in a struggle to better himself. He wasn’t content with his situation. His struggle reflects his acceptance of the Protestant and capitalist elements of our country. Indeed LULAC’s membership was distinguished from previous Mexican American organizations by its attachment to America. They did not look to Mexico for their redress. They looked to America’s institutions for solutions. True they made a special point of identifying with their cultural heritage. But, in many ways (enforced by them) they were distinct from those who identified themselves with Mexico. The previous Mexican American groups had not pursued the educational opportunities as they did. This is because they weren’t as energized about the concepts of constant advancement that education implies. LULAC had to struggle against lack of commitment to education among Mexican Americans. The difference of enthusiasm on behalf of LULACs constituents and themselves reveals that they were not entirely of them any longer. This division between LULAC and the rest of their community goes back to the Protestants and Catholics. The milieu that made the first conscious attempts at educational advancement saw themselves as an integral part of America, not Mexico.}

^{As world War II got going, the army found that at least forty percent of all black recruits were illiterate. Clearly as long as Blacks segregated from America their schooling was dismal.}

^{In my opinion the multi cultural approach of celebrating our diversity furthers division amongst our citizens. More instances come to mind of people fighting over their diversity than celebrating their diversity. The people who are involved in the walkouts are working under the assumption that if students are given a more culturally relevant curriculum they will become less disinterested in school. This is supposed to lead to higher scholastic achievement. But if my historical analysis is correct, this is not a well founded assumption. It would appear that minorities’ educational gains are advanced when they increase the affiliation with their identity as United States citizens. The more students are persuaded to become disengaged from the system in its actual existing form their alienation must grow. The insistence on an emphasis of differences in the school leads to a grudging relationship towards whatever is taught that is not about ones own people. Dislike for what will necessarily be a majority of their curriculum cannot help foster academic achievement. People who care about bilingual education’s longevity should emphasize that their intent is to teach peole English. They should emphasize that they are working to make people better Americans. And this should be done with an emphasis on making them blend into, not stand apart from, the dominant culture. One extreme suggestion would be to rename their field of endeavor. A term such as “Americanizing” or “English language tutorial” as new synonyms for bilingual education The issues of African Americans are not entirely the same as those of Mexican Americans. Perhaps the reason that Mexican Americans are more susceptible to the cry for disenfranchisement than African Americans is the relative low profile their struggle had for their gains towards integration. Many more people can quote Martin Luther King Jrs’. I have a dream speach that can quote George Sanchezes’ led Office of Inter-American affairs educational conferences results that spoke to the equality of Mexican Americans in the popular mind. Their struggles lack of visibility has made Mexican Americans easier targets of discrimination. I see the Californian black community as divided. On the one hand, there are a lot of well integrated middle and upper class African American professionals. This kind of conscious socialization must take place before America will accept these people into society again. Accompanying this socialization must be opportunity to integrate into our economy or it will fail. The more difference is percieved between certain segments of the African American community and the larger dominant shared values of our country, the more the risk that sympathy and opportunity will be jeapordized.}

^{READ THE ARTICLE ON THE BEATING OF THE PRINCIPAL.}

^{CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964}

^{LBJ got this passed.}

^{It prohibited discrimination in public places, employment and schools.}

^{THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965}

^{Outlawed all laws that interfered with the right to vote.}

^{To get together}

^{MLK Integration -}

^{MX Segregation}

^{Movements go from MLK to MX generally}

^{For example:}

^{LULAC to GI Forum to Chicano power}

^{Which works better?}

^{From my historical analysis more progress has been made under the MLK model}

^{Modern Examples}

^{#1Affirmative Action}

^{#2 Principal beating}