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Station 1: Jim Crow Laws and Racial Segregation in the SouthThe segregation and disenfranchisement laws known as "Jim Crow" represented a formal, codified system of racial apartheid that dominated the American South for three quarters of a century beginning in the 1890s. The laws affected almost every aspect of daily life, mandating segregation of schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, restrooms, buses, trains, and restaurants. "Whites Only" and "Colored" signs were constant reminders of the enforced racial order.Signs such as "Colored Waiting Room" constantly reminded travelers of the enforced racial order. In legal theory, blacks received "separate but equal" treatment under the law — in actuality, public facilities for blacks were nearly always inferior to those for whites, when they existed at all. In addition, blacks were systematically denied the right to vote in most of the rural South through the selective application of literacy tests and other racially motivated criteria.The Jim Crow system was upheld by local government officials and reinforced by acts of terror perpetrated by Vigilantes. In 1896, the Supreme Court established the doctrine of separate but equal in Plessy v. Ferguson, after a black man in New Orleans attempted to sit in a whites-only railway car.In 1908, journalist Ray Stannard Baker observed that "no other point of race contact is so much and so bitterly discussed among Negroes as the Jim Crow car." As bus travel became widespread in the South over the first half of the 20th century, it followed the same pattern."Travel in the segregated South for black people was humiliating," recalled Diane Nash in her interview for Freedom Riders. "The very fact that there were separate facilities was to say to black people and white people that blacks were so subhuman and so inferior that we could not even use the public facilities that white people used."Transit was a core component of segregation in the South, as the 1947 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) pamphlet and Bayard Rustin song, "You Don't Have to Ride Jim Crow" attests. Keeping whites and blacks from sitting together on a bus, train, or trolley car might seem insignificant, but it was one more link in a system of segregation that had to be defended at all times — lest it collapse. Thus transit was a logical point of attack for the foes of segregation, in the courtroom and on the buses themselves. It would take several decades of legal action and months of nonviolent direct action before these efforts achieved their intended result.Image AImage BPolitical CartoonStation 2: Problems with Plessy v. FergusonThis 1896 U.S. Supreme Court case upheld the constitutionality of segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. It stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African-American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow car, breaking a Louisiana law. Rejecting Plessy’s argument that his constitutional rights were violated, the Court ruled that a state law that “implies merely a legal distinction” between whites and blacks did not conflict with the 13th and14th Amendments. Restrictive legislation based on race continued following the Plessy decision, its reasoning not overturned until Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. Under Plessy v. Ferguson schools were segregated as long as the facilities for both were considered equal. Examine the images below depicting a white only school vs. a black only school in the South under the Jim Crow Laws. 01905White Only Schools Image AImage BBlack Only SchoolsImage AImage BStation 3: Brown vs. Board of EducationOn May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously announced an end to public segregation in schools in the famous Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case.Linda Brown was an African-American third-grader whose father, Oliver Brown, had sued the school system in Topeka, Kan., alleging that the school his daughter went to, which had only African-American students, was equal to the school that only white Americans went to. Further, Brown alleged, the school system was discriminating against African-American students in violation of the 14th Amendment, which granted all Americans the right to equal protection and, by extension, the right to an equal education.Arguing the case before the Court were, for the plaintiffs, Thurgood Marshall, general counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, and for the defense, John W. Davis, a former solicitor general.Direct precedent in the case pointed to an 1898 case, Plessy v. Ferguson, which had upheld segregation in public railway cars. But in an opinion of historic magnitude, the Court struck down Plessy, saying "we cannot turn the clock back to 1868 when the Amendment adoped, or even to 1896 when Plessy v. Ferguson was written." In other words, the Court was applying the 14th Amendment to the realm of public education as it stood in the present day. Thus, "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and "such segregation is a denial of the equal protection of the laws."Desegregation in schools happened slowly and with further verification from the Supreme Court and from lower courts, but it did happen.0-2539Image AImage BImage CStation 4: Montgomery Bus BoycottsPart of life in the southern states in the 1950’s included specific local and state laws that required that Black Americans sit in the back of the bus as well as a requirement that they give up their seats if a white person needed the seat. When Black American women started objecting to this practice, they were arrested and thrown in jail. It wasn’t until Rosa Parks, a respectable young black woman, refused to give up her seat so that white man could sit, that sparked the life force of the civil rights movement known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Montgomery Bus Boycott break During this time, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) were looking for ways to protest the unfair treatment of Black Americans in the public transportation system. Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP and on that fateful day in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa refused to move when the bus driver asked her to. The arrest of Rosa Parks and her placement in jail was the perfect opportunity for the NAACP to start a protest. They created pamphlets and publications requesting that all of the Black Americans in Montgomery boycott (refuse to support) the bus system. Since a majority of the bus riders were Black Americans, they knew this would hit the system where they would notice it. The NAACP suggested that Black Americans walk, take taxis and even not go to work. The boycott started on December 5, 1955 and continued for 381 days, which was the amount of time it took for the hearing for Rosa Parks. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was considered to be the first large-scale objection to discrimination practices. The Black American community elected Martin Luther King, Jr to be the lead representative of a new organization, Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). As a well-like Baptist minister, King had the ability to attract crowds and followers and yet maintain a message of peaceful demonstration. The MIA organization presented the City of Montgomery with their requests for equality, with the intention of continuing the boycott until their requests were met. The initial request did not require removal of the segregation laws, only a request that bus drivers use courtesy, the hiring of black bus drivers and seating based on the first-come-first-serve concept. A later law suit against the city in U.S. District Court, sought to have the busing segregation laws removed. Since the boycott went on so long, Black leaders organized ways to help get those that were supporting the boycott around. They arranged car pools, the African American taxi drivers reduced their fare to ten cents and people walked in groups together. Black American leaders continued to have rallies and meetings to maintain the support. It took until June 5, 1956, when a Montgomery federal court passed a ruling that it was against the law to racially segregate any seating on buses and that to do so was a violation of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The amendment, which was adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, guarantees that all citizens, no matter what their race, have equal rights and protection under federal and state laws. While the city of Montgomery did try to appeal the law at the U.S. Supreme Court, they lost and on December 21, 1956, the boycott ended.0165100 Image AStation 6: Freedom RidesIn 1961 Civil Rights Activists undertook a new tactic aimed at desegregating public transportation throughout the south. These tactics became known as the "Freedom Rides". The first Freedom Ride took place on May 4, 1961 when seven blacks and six whites left Washington, D.C., on two public buses bound for the Deep South. They intended to test the Supreme Court's ruling in Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. In the first few days, the riders encountered only minor hostility, but in the second week the riders were severely beaten. Outside Anniston, Alabama, one of their buses was burned, and in Birmingham several dozen whites attacked the riders only two blocks from the sheriff's office. With the intervention of the U.S. Justice Department, most of Freedom Riders were evacuated from Birmingham, Alabama to New Orleans. John Lewis, a former seminary student who would later lead the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and become a US congressman, stayed in Birmingham. Civil Rights Leaders decided that letting violence end the trip would send the wrong signal to the country. They reinforced the pair of remaining riders with volunteers, and the trip continued. The group traveled from Birmingham to Montgomery without incident, but on their arrival in Montgomery they were savagely attacked by a mob of more than 1000 whites. The extreme violence and the indifference of local police prompted a national outcry of support for the riders, putting pressure on President Kennedy to end the violence. The riders continued to Mississippi, where they endured further brutality and jail terms but generated more publicity and inspired dozens more Freedom Rides. By the end of the summer, the protests had spread to train stations and airports across the South, and in November, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued rules prohibiting segregated transportation facilities.Route of the Freedom RidersImage AImage BPolitical Cartoon Station 7: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He led non-violent protests to fight for the rights of all people including African Americans. He hoped that America and the world could become a colorblind society where race would not impact a person's civil rights. He is considered one of the great orators of modern times, and his speeches still inspire many to this day. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929. He went to Booker T. Washington High School. He was so smart that he skipped two grades in high school. He started his college education at Morehouse College at the young age of fifteen. After getting his degree in sociology from Morehouse, Martin got a divinity degree from Crozer Seminary and then got his doctor's degree in theology from Boston University. Martin's dad was a preacher which inspired Martin to pursue the ministry. He had a younger brother and an older sister. In 1953 he married Coretta Scott. Later, they would have four children including Yolanda, Martin, Dexter, and Bernice. In his first major civil rights action, Martin Luther King, Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. As a result, Martin helped to organize a boycott of the public transportation system in Montgomery. The boycott lasted for over a year. It was very tense at times. Martin was arrested and his house was bombed. In the end, however, Martin prevailed and segregation on the Montgomery buses came to an end. In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to organize the famous "March on Washington". Over 250,000 people attended this march in an effort to show the importance of civil rights legislation. Some of the issues the march hoped to accomplish included an end to segregation in public schools, protection from police abuse, and to get laws passed that would prevent discrimination in employment. It was at this march where Martin gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech has become one of the most famous speeches in history. The March on Washington was a great success. The Civil Rights Act was passed a year later in 1964. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4. 1968 in Memphis, TN. While standing on the balcony of his hotel, he was shot by James Earl Ray. Interesting Facts about Martin Luther King, Jr.:King was the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a national holiday.There are over 730 streets in the United States named after Martin Luther King, Jr.One of his main influences was Mohandas Gandhi who taught people to protest in a non-violent manner.He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.1343025372745MLK Monument in Washington, D.C.Station 8: March on Washington and “I have a dream” speechIn 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to organize the famous "March on Washington". Over 250,000 people attended this march in an effort to show the importance of civil rights legislation. Some of the issues the march hoped to accomplish included an end to segregation in public schools, protection from police abuse, and to get laws passed that would prevent discrimination in employment. It was at this march where Martin gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech has become one of the most famous speeches in history. The March on Washington was a great success. The Civil Rights Act was passed a year later in 1964.I Have A Dream SpeechStation 9: Key People, Organizations and Events in the Civil Rights MovementStudent Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): It is pronounced “Snick”Represents the ‘youth’ movement of the Civil Rights eraMany college studentsSit-ins; protests; freedom ridersSibley Commission: Formed in 1960; the intent of the Commission was to give appearance that the state of GA was integrating their schools to comply with the federal court’s decision in Brown v. Board of EducationHearings found that 60% of witnesses ruled in favor of segregationSibley ignored the results of the hearings and recommended that each individual school system get to decide whether or not to integrateGovernor allowed schools to decide for themselves by changing state laws, which went against the federal court’s decisionThe Sibley Commission’s decision help to avoid violent confrontations over desegregating GA schools, but slowed the process of integration of GA public schools.The Albany Movement: 1961, Albany, GeorgiaSNCC and NAACP begin protests to de-segregate ‘whites only’ waiting rooms at the bus stationMovement quickly grows with broad-ranging efforts to de-segregate all facets of the citySometimes viewed as an MLK failure due to lack of focusAnother view is that MLK learned valuable lessons in Albany and applied them elsewhereLester Maddox:SegregationistChased patrons from his Atlanta restaurant with an axe handle (true)Elected Governor in 1966; Lieutenant Gov during CarterAppointed more African-Americans to state boards and commissions than all prior governors combinedReformed prisons and integrated State PatrolCivil Rights Act of 1964:Passed after JFK was assassinatedFederal law that makes segregation of public facilities illegal (restaurants, theaters, parks, hotels, etc)Prohibits discrimination in businessesKey example of Fed. Government taking action to force states into actionThe Voting Rights Act of 1965: Prohibited states from imposing any voting qualification on voting or deny the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.Station 10: The 1956 Georgia FlagAfter the Brown vs. Board, ruling many southern states urged their white citizens to display acts of massive resistance against the federal mandates outlawing segregation. One of the ways the Georgia General Assembly showed their disdain for these federal regulations was by changing the state flag. Though the design of the pre-1956 flag was based on the first flag of the Confederate States of America, the 1956 flag was changed to include the Confederate battle flag, a flag that had been adopted by “hate groups” such as the KKK. To this day there is debate on the reasoning behind the change of the flag. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia some of the legislators favored the change to “mark the upcoming centennial of the Civil War.” However, many people believe the flag was changed to protest civil rights legislation. For example, after the flag was changed, legislator Denmark Groover said the flag would show “that we in Georgia intend to uphold what we stood for, will stand for, and will fight for.” Though denying it for many years Groover admitted toward the end of his life that anger over the Brown v. Board case was a factor in changing the flag. In 2001, Governor Roy Barnes changed the flag based on the request of many of his supporters and civil rights activists. In 2003, the people of Georgia were allowed to vote on either the 2001 or a new 2003 flag. The 2003 flag won with over 70% of the vote. This flag looked very similar to the pre-1956 flag. ................
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