The Civil Rights Movement:

A Struggle for Power

The "Little Rock 9" (Library of Congress)

By the 1950s, Americans were growing restless.  Poverty was on the rise and women were demanding equal rights.  Freezing temperature (the Cold War) between the United States and the Soviet Union was at an all time high and the U.S. was defending Asia by getting involved in the Vietnam War, a war which many Americans disputed.  However, one of the nation’s most pressing problems was the effort to provide justice and equality for African Americans.  They were no longer questioning their legal status in America but were demanding what had been denied to them after the Civil War; full citizenship rights and unrestricted voting rights.  African Americans often used the court system to exercise their legal powers but to no avail.  However, by the mid 20th century, things began to change.  On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court announced one of the most important decisions in its history.  After the justices reviewed the findings in the Brown v. Board of Education, they declared that the segregation of public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional.  On this day, the American society was literally turned upside down.

Objective:  Examine the impact the Brown v. Board of Education decision had on

                  Americans during the 1950s/60s.

Directions:  Review the directions for each of the primary sources given below.  Record

                   your answers on the sheet entitled “Primary Sources Worksheet.”

Resource #1:

 Chief Justice Earl Warren of the US Supreme Court

Access the “Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S.483 (1954) Supreme Court Case.” “The web site address is:

            http://www.nationalcenter.org/brown.html

Analyze the case by answering the questions listed under resource #1.

 Resource #2:

             Access the letter Roy Wilkins wrote to President Kennedy in 1963.

The web site address is:

                        http://www.jfklibrary.org/images/cr_doc9-1.jpg

 

Analyze the letter by answering the questions listed under resource #2.

 Resource #3:

Access the editorial written by news reporter Mike Wallace.  He interviewed a  student who attended Central High School (AK) in 1957.  The web site address is:

                         http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/central/wop1757.html

            Analyze the editorial by answering the questions listed under resource #3.

 

 

Primary Resources Worksheet

 

Resource #1:  Brown v. Board of Education

 

  1. Why did the Supreme Court overturn the separate but equal doctrine in the Brown

case? Cite specific examples.

 

 

     2.  What arguments did Earl Warren use to persuade the other justices in the Supreme

           Court to support the Brown decision?  Give specific examples.

 

 

  1. What impact did the Brown case have on African Americans?  What future           

       implications would it have on Africans Americans, whites, and other minorities?

 

 

  1. The Supreme Court Justices did not come up with a plan for implementing the

Brown decision until one year later.  Can you think of any reasons as to why?

Discuss.

 

 

Resource #2:  Roy Wilkens Letter to President Kennedy

 

 

1.      Based on the letter, what is happening in Prince Edward County (VA)?

 

 

 

2.      Who was Roy Wilkins and what is he requesting from President Kennedy?

 

 

 

3.      If you were Kennedy, how would you respond to Mr. Wilkin’s request?

 

 

Resource: #3:  A Student Leader Gives His Opinion (editorial)

 

  1. Why do you think Ralph Brodie was selected to be interviewed by Mike Wallace?

 

 

 

  1. Based on the interview, describe Brodie’s feelings concerning the integration of 

      Central High School?  The community?

 

 

  1. Can you find some underlying thoughts Brodie may have had concerning integration (pro or con)?  Discuss.

 

 

 

 

Critical Thinking:

 

      During the 1950s, the NAACP made ending segregation in education a

      top priority.  Discuss your reasons for this move.

 

 

     African Americans had been working to achieve equity and justice for well

     over 300 years.  What factors do you think enabled the civil rights movement

     to accomplish so much in the 1950s/60s?  Discuss.