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While black activism in the US didn’t start with the civil rights movement (for example, scholars have identified over 250 slave revolts and conspiracies during the era of slavery), it was a remarkable time in terms of bringing about rapid policy changes. During this time, a key Supreme Court decision was challenged – that of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which had stated that the segregation of whites and blacks was constitutional as long as what was being provided to different races was “separate but equal.” That decision had been used to justify a host of discriminatory, segregationist practices, and equal resources weren’t provided to blacks because the segregation made those resources de facto unequal. 164
page 167
When John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, the African-American electorate was hopeful that he would champion legislation for their equality. Sympathetic as he was to their plight, Kennedy did not immediately move to pass new laws, sensing that he did not have sufficient support from members of Congress. However, as civil rights activists faced increasing brutality for their protests, he became more compelled towards action. For example, when activists known as “Freedom Riders” took buses down South to protest continued segregation in interstate travel facilities and were attacked by mobs, he sent federal troops to protect them, and when the City Commissioner in Birmingham, Alabama used fire hoses and police dogs against peaceful protesters, Kennedy began drafting comprehensive civil rights legislation. Unfortunately, he was assassinated before it could be passed. It was under Lyndon B. Johnson, his successor, that the Civil Rights Act (1964) finally passed. The Act comprised 11 sections or “Titles.” Title I stipulated that any requirements to vote be applied evenly among all races (with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, barriers to voting, such as literacy tests, were eliminated entirely). Other parts of the legislation include: 165

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While black activism in the US didn’t start with the civil rights movement (for example, scholars have identified over 250 slave revolts and conspiracies during the era of slavery), it was a remarkable time in terms of bringing about rapid policy changes. During this time, a key Supreme Court decision was challenged – that of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which had stated that the segregation of whites and blacks was constitutional as long as what was being provided to different races was “separate but equal.” That decision had been used to justify a host of discriminatory, segregationist practices, and equal resources weren’t provided to blacks because the segregation made those resources de facto unequal.

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