Civil rights movement

· until WWII there was a strong segregation of blacks, they couldn’t eat in the same restaurants, sit in the same places in buses and trains, go to swimming pools, vote and drink the same water; during the WWII, according to Truman’s orders, the blacks were given the same positions in the army as the white and in 1948 the army was desegregated
· in 1954 the segregation in schools was outlawed and the black children could attend the same schools as white pupils; in 1957 9 black students tried to enroll at a previously all-white high school, but were stopped by national guard; two days later, according to Eisenhower’s order, they were admitted under a protection of federal troops
· the landmark came in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, when a black woman refused to give up her seat to a white passanger and was arrested; this encouraged thousands of blacks , led by Martin Luther King, to Montgomery bus boycott and other willing, but non-violent protests (such as sit-in, civil disobedience); the Supreme court declared segregation in public buses unconstitutional
· in 1963 the black marchers were attacked by dogs and cattles and 4 months later MLK led an assembly on Lincoln Memorial where he delivered “I have a dream ...” speech; when Lyndon B. Johnson overtook the presidential office, he aimed mainly on racial discriminations; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed which had a powerful impact on equality in accomodation, employment and voting rights ...
· civil rights had been focused mainly in the south, in the north the blacks had worse opportunities in everything; in 1964 many towns in north were struck by riots; the black nationalist movement in the 60’s was very strong, some of the black leaders called for total segregation rather than integration; among them were the Black muslims led by Malcolm X
· in 1970’s the blacks decided that voting was the most effective way to gain equal rights and by 1985 10% of all American officials were blacks