CIVIL RIGHTS ACTS OF THE 1960s
- Created by: nasifahuddin04
- Created on: 26-04-20 12:28
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- CIVIL RIGHTS ACTS OF THE 1960s
- The Civil Rights Act, 1964
- by 1963 civil rights was a key national issue- everyone in USA had a view on it
- 2 July 1964: President Johnson signed Civil Rights Act
- the Act made it illegal for local government to discriminate in areas like housing & emplyment
- with momentum gained from Civil Rights Act, King & SCLC continued to encourage African Americans to register to vote
- they were helped by young white people
- in the 20 months after Civil Rights Act, 430 000 African Americans registered to vote
- Selma
- after Civil Rights Act, MLK's priority was to get African Americans voting
- he deliberately targeted areas with the worst discrimination
- early 1965: MLK organised a 'voting rights' march through Selma, Alabama.
- population: 29 000 & 15 000 of this were black adults old enough to vote yet only 335 (2.4%) were registered
- the town was also notorious for its brutally racist sheriff, Jim Clark. The authorities banned the planned march
- 7th March 1965, about 600 people went to the march anyway, without MLK, & were brutally attacked. The media called it 'Bloody Sunday' & TV pictures of the violence horrified USA
- MLK tried to keep the pressure on & rearranged the march. However, he compromised on 11th March by leading a token march. It turned back after a short distance
- after Civil Rights Act, MLK's priority was to get African Americans voting
- Voting Rights Act, 1965
- MLK's compromise avoided more violence although it annoyed the more radical activists
- MLK tried to keep the pressure on & rearranged the march. However, he compromised on 11th March by leading a token march. It turned back after a short distance
- his restraint probably helped President Johnson to force through a Voting Rights Bill in 1965
- the Act allowed government agents to inspect voting procedures to makes sure they were taking place properly
- ended literacy tests that voters had previously had to complete before they voted
- these had discriminated against poor African Americans in particular
- after 1965, 5 major cities, including Detroit, Atlanta & Cleveland, all had black mayors
- in Selma, African Americans began to register to vote & in the next election Jim Clark lost his job
- MLK's compromise avoided more violence although it annoyed the more radical activists
- The Civil Rights Act, 1968
- dealt with one other aspect of discrimination
- housing couldn't be sold/rented on the basis of race, religion, national origin or sex
- dealt with one other aspect of discrimination
- Assassination of MLK, 1968
- MLK was assassinated in 1968- no one knows who actually killed him
- his death marked the end of an era for the civil rights movement
- during his life, he helped to transform the movement from a southern sideshow to a national movement
- major battles had been fought and won
- segregation was now illegal
- Civil Rights Act enshrined black civil rights in law; African Americans in the south now held real political power
- The Civil Rights Act, 1964
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