People who made a difference

People who made a difference

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States: Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King

Separate but equal

Did you know that African Americans in the 1950s couldn’t go to the same schools as white Americans? On buses and trains, they had to sit in a different section from white passengers. African Americans had to go to different hospitals and shops and they couldn’t eat in the same restaurants with white Americans. The law at the time said African Americans were ‘separate but equal’ – so they had to live separate lives from white Americans.

Racial segregation

on the bus

drinking fountain

1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks (1913-2005), an African American woman, was on a bus on her way home from work. When she refused to give her seat to a white man, the bus driver called the police. The police arrested her and the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. 40,000 African Americans boycotted public buses for over a year. The protest only ended when racial segregation on buses stopped in 1956. This was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in the US.

Watch the video about Rosa Parks' life

The Civil Rights Movement

One of the leaders of the Montgomery Bus Boycott was the African American church minister, Martin Luther King. He became the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement wanted African Americans to have the same right to freedom and equality as white Americans. Martin Luther King believed in non-violent protest and he organised many campaigns against racial discrimination. The police frequently arrested him and sent him to prison, but he continued to protest.

1963: I have a dream...

1965: the right to vote

In 1964, Martin Luther King won the Nobel Prize for Peace and in 1965, the American government finally made it possible for all African Americans to vote. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968, but in July 1968, the American Government passed the Civil Rights Act and finally African Americans had the same rights as white Americans.

TIMELINE

1963

1965

1955

1964

1956

1968

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MAP

Washington DC

Montgomery, Alabama

Songs inspired by the Civil Rights Movement

Blowin' in the wind

We shall overcome

A change is gonna come

Bob Dylan

Sam Cooke

Joan Boez

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Now answer the following questions.1) How did African Americans live in the 1950s? 2) What did Rosa Parks do on a bus in 1955? 3) What happened to her after that episode? 4) Why African Americans organized the Bus Boycott in Montgomery? 5) How long did it last? 6) What did the Civil Rights Movement want? 7) Where did M.L. King’s speech take place? 8) What was M.L. King’s dream? 9) Quote a sentence from M.L. King’s speech, which is particularly significant for you. 10) What happened with the approval of the Civil Rights Act?