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Transcript

The Civil Rights Movement

Timeline

Key Events of the Civil Rights Movement

01

Arguably the first event of the modern Civil Rights movement was the case of Brown v. Board of education. In this case, it was ruled by the US Supreme Court that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. This also implied that racial segregation in any public sector was unconstitutional, and overturned laws that had allowed for racial segregation in the past.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954

On December 1st 1955, Rosa Parks, a figurehead in the US Civil Rights Movement, refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white person. Because buses were still segregated, this was against the law, and she was therefore arrested. In response to this, Martin Luther King Jr. led a bus boycott from December 5th to December 20th, when the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was also unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

1955

Through these three years, black children began to be accepted into previously all white schools, the first of which being the Little Rock Nine. Despite protests, they were escorted into a previously all white school, due to the changes made back in 1954.

Schools become more inclusive

1957 - 1960

In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama in order to undermine the city's system of racial segregation. On April 12th, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for protesting, and placed in solitary confinement. then, beginning May 3rd, children began skipping school in order to march with the demonstrations. Although their demonstrations were peaceful, police used violence and force against the protesters.

The Birmingham Demonstrations

1963

The Birmingham Demonstrations culminated in a march on Washington, led by Martin Luther King Jr., where he gave his infamous 'I Have a Dream' speech.

The Washington March

1963

The demonstrations had led to Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act into law, which President Kennedy had proposed before his assassination. This act prevented the discrimination of black people in voting, employment and use of public facilities.

The Civil Rights Act

1964

Prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Malcom X, was assassinated while lecturing in Harlem, New York.

The Assassination of Malcom X

1965

In the wake of Malcom X's assassination, the Black Panther Party was formed in order to protect black people from police brutality in Oakland, California. They offered services to black people, such as legal aid, transportation assistance and even free shoes for those who couldn't afford them.

The Black Panther Party

1966

On April 4th, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in his hotel , after leading a non-violent demonstration in Tennessee. His death started riots across the country, and forced Congress to pass the Fair Housing Act, which meant that landlords could not refuse to rent or sell to anyone, unless the reason for refusal was due to finances. Although this had made changes to the country's laws on discrimination, it could not prevent personal and deep seated discrimination in the public.

The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

1968

How the Civil Rights Movement Links to Psychology

02

In the Civil Rights Movement, when the group of protesters was small, they drew attention to themselves through boycotts. This was shown through Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where a group of black rights protesters decided to boycott the bus services to call for racial segregation to be made illegal. This drew attention to the group and, therefore, people joined the cause until around 40,000 people had joined the boycott. Not only this, but it also made other people think about the cause that they were promoting, creating change.

Protests, Marches and Boycotts

Drawing Attention

Throughout the civil rights movement, the aim of the fight stayed the same, for the black people who were being oppressed by the system, to bring in new laws that would protect them from segregation. No matter how many times they were violently forced to stop their protests, they went back out and consistenty spread the same message of equality. This then showed that they truly believed in the cause, and other people would then be more likely to take notice of it and think deeper about the topic.

Keeping the Same Aim

Consistency

By sharing and spreading the idea of racial equality, the Civil Rights Movement encouraged people to truly think about the problems, that people were treated differently because of their race. By encouraging this deeper processing, it stops people from accepting the discrimination as the truth, and makes them develop their own views on the matter. When deeper processing happens, more people then realise that the segregation of black people is actually cruel and unfair, rather than just accepting it.

Encouraging People to Think

Deeper Processing

For the cause to be seriously considered, they must put themselves in some form of personal danger. In the Civil Rights Movement, this was shown through police brutality at protests, where they would use violent methods against peaceful protesters, as well as the assassinations of Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. By putting themselves at risk, they showed to the general public that they were devoted to their cause enough to risk harm. This then made the public think deeper about the cause and see it more seriously than before.

Suffering for the Cause

Augmentation Principle

Through public protests and speeches, the Civil Rights Movement used the snowball effect to gather support for the cause. For example, Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have A Dream' speech inspired people across the country at the time, but also people in today's society too, and that march led to the Civil Rights Act. As more and more people joined the cause, word spread quicker and support increased, showing how the snowball effect influenced the Civil Rights Movement.

Recruiting People to the Cause

Snowball Effect

After the Civil Rights Movement had successfully influenced changes to the law, these changes and the changes in view became the norm for most people. However, in this case, there were still instances around the US and around the world, where people still held, and still do hold prejudiced and discriminatory views against black people. Despite this, accepting views of black people have become the majority, and prejudiced views have become the minority, showing social cryptoamnesia.

View Becoming 'The Norm'

Social Cryptoamnesia