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Life as an American Teenager

During the Civil Rights Era

In 1951, an African-American student named Linda Brown was forced to attend a school across town instead of going to the school closest to her. As a result, her father and a few other parents sued the school board. The case had reached the Supreme Court in 1954 and they had decided that segregation in schools was unconstituional. However, before this event, colored children had to go to seperate schools even if it was inconveniant for them.

brown v. board of education

MISTREATMENT

African American children grew up in a very judgemental society as they were discriminated just for the color of their skin. Public places such as restrooms, parks, and restaurants had seperate areas; the luxurious and expensive side was "For Whites Only" while the cheap and dirty side was given to those of color. A lot of children even struggled to have access to education or had to go to a specific school which was a downgrade from the schools that were for white children.

civil rights movement and protests

Children, teenagers, and young adults decided to become activists and joined this movement. The Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963 was a march with hundreds of students in Birmingham, Alabama and was during May of 1963. Their purpose was to march to downtown to talk to the mayor regarding segregation in their city, specifically schools. Children of all ages (7-18 years) skipped school to join the protest and some kids even got arrested.

On February 1, 1960, four African American students refused to leave the Woolworth’s lunch counter without being served to show that they were against segregation. Several people joined the students and this became known as the Greensboro sit-ins. Though some were arrested and charged, they launched a boycott for the segregated lunch counters until the four college students were served with their meal.

The SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) was designed encourage the youth to involve in the civil rights movement and give them a voice. Ella Baker (director of the SCLC) told the SNCC to aim for social change and to look for Martin Luther King Jr's principles of non-violence as a political tactic to help them in protests.

September 4, 1957: A group of nine black students known as the Little Rock Nine are restricted from joining the Little Rock Central High School. President Eisenhower sends federal troops to escort the students however they are still harassed.

November 14, 1960: Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African American, is escorted by four armed federal marshals as she becomes the first student to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans.

May 17, 1954: The Brown v. Board of Education case was taken to the Supreme Court and they decided that racial segregation in public schools should be ended.

June 11, 1963: Governor George C. Wallace stands in the way of two Black students to prevent them from registering to the University of Alabama. This continues until President John F. Kennedy sends the National Guard to the campus.

February 1, 1960: Four African American college students refuse to leave a Woolworth’s “whites only” lunch counter without being served and were inspired by Gandhi’s nonviolent protests.

December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus.

CITATIONS

• “Youth in the Civil Rights Movement | Articles and Essays | Civil Rights History Project | Digital Collections | Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, 2015, www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/youth-in-the-civil-rights-movement/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.

• ‌I Have a Dream.pdf. “I Have a Dream.pdf.” Google Docs, 2021, drive.google.com/file/d/1mfh-M9TyYPv7teG2IlJELjBfPE2nQEcQ/view. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021. ‌

• Civil Rights Act of 1964.pdf. “Civil Rights Act of 1964.Pdf.” Google Docs, 2021, drive.google.com/file/d/1GBrMjauKCVNvQXglokh1rLFxPtXAmb2q/view. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021. ‌

• History.com Editors. “Civil Rights Movement.” HISTORY, HISTORY, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement#:~:text=The%20civil%20rights%20movement%20was%20an%20empowering%20yet%20precarious%20time,discriminatory%20employment%20and%20housing%20practices.. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021. ‌

• American Experience. “Groups during the American Civil Rights Movement.” Pbs.org, American Experience, 8 Mar. 2018, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eyesontheprize-groups-during-american-civil-rights-movement/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021. ‌