CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES         AAF 300L                                                                           MW  2:00p.m-3:15p.m.        Roosevelt Office Hours:  TTh and by appointment Phone 874-2536 REQUIRED BOOKS Clayborne Carson, In Struggle, SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960’s (Harvard University Press, 1981) Todd Gitlin, The Sixties, Years of Hope, Days of Rage (Bantam Books, 1987) Manning Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion, The Second Reconstruction in Black America, 1945-1990 (University of Mississippi, 1991) reserve readings available at Campus Copy in the Student Union (and library) PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW The Civil Rights Movement ushered in major transformations in American life in law, in social relations, in the role of government.  This year marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act (of 1964) and Mississippi Freedom Summer which signaled the new emphasis on electoral politics and the forty-fifth anniversary of the Brown decision which brought an end to legal apartheid in America. These anniversaries are marked by efforts to reverse all gains. We will focus this semester on the period between 1954 and 1968, on the Civil Rights Movement and the student movement which was influenced by it. We will attempt to identify and evaluate the changes in government and civil society which occurred during this period. REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING Each student will be responsible for completing three short                   (3 to 5 typed pages each) essay assignments.  Students will also be asked to form groups at the beginning of the  semester. Each group is responsible for completing a project for final presentation to the class. Groups or individuals may facilitate one discussion of the assigned written material in place of one of the written assignments. (25% final project, 20% per essay, 15% discussion and facilitation) I..          BACKGROUND What are the conditions which provide the background for our           understanding of the civil rights struggles which began in the 1950’s? reading: Manning Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion, chapter 1,2 “Prologue:    The Legacy of the first Reconstruction,”  “The Cold War in Black America. . .” Joel Joseph, Black Monday , “American Apartheid” (Plessy v. Ferguson)  -handout Derrick Bell, “Remembrances of Racism Past:  Getting Beyond the         Civil Rights Decline” *Piven & Cloward,  “Structuring Protest” *Gerald Horne, “Civil Rights /Cold War” film:      “The Road to Brown” II.         A LEGAL STRATEGY FOR REFORM             The decision to use the courts as a mechanism for social change was well thought out but there were limitations. Later, strategies of the movement would move away from this use of law. reading: Manning Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion, chapter 3 “The Demand for Reform” Todd Gitlin, The Sixties years of hope, days of rage, chapters 1-3 *Piven & Cloward, “The Civil Rights Movement, ” Poor Peoples’ Movements III.       DIRECT ACTION            Students made a major contribution to the movement for          social change when they challenged the old legal strategy and in          1960 begin to use “direct action” which challenged the Government’s      resistance to enforce Constitutional change. reading: Carson, In Struggle, chapters 1-6 Marable,  Race, Reform, and Rebellion, chapter 4 Gitlin, The Sixties, chapters 4,5 *Garrow, “Birmingham and the March on Washington” film:   “Eyes on the Prize”                          PAPER DUE FEBRUARY 24 IV.     ELECTORAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL REFORM           1963-1965 marked a dramatic shift in the thrust of the                Civil Rights Movement. The Kennedy campaign had sought to bring in those who had previously been ignored by electoral politics.                    New legislation would attempt to make these new votes a permanent      part of the Democratic Party, but everyone was not pleased. reading: Carson, In Struggle, chapters7,8,9 *Kenneth O’Reilley, “Mississippi Burning, Freedom Summer 1964” *Garrow, “Selma and the Voting Rights Act, 1965” Gitlin, The Sixties, chapter 6,7, film:     “Eyes on the Prize”                                         PAPER DUE MARCH 24 V.     GOVERNMENT RESPONDS         The expanded role of government was facilitated by the Civil Rights Movement. The Federal Government now had a central role in domestic urban policy. reading: *John Donovan, The Politics of Poverty, chapters 2,7 *Kenneth O’Reilley, “Black Hate, Community Surveillance and              Counterintelligence” Gitlin, The Sixties, chapters 8-11 Carson, In Struggle, chapters 10-13 film:      “Cointelpro” VI.     BLACK POWER:  END OR NEW BEGINNING?           Black Power was used first by SNCC and later by many other groups. The new term signaled a multitude of changes including a racial backlash in American society. reading: Carson, In Struggle, chapter 14-18 Gitlin, The Sixties, chapters 12-19 Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion, chapters 5-9 *Stokley Carmichael, “Black Power” VII.  CIVIL RIGHTS TODAY         The twenty first century may find us with little evidence of the          progress of the movements and struggles of the ‘60’s. reading: Robert Carter, “Thirty Five Years Later:   New Perspectives on Brown”  (handout)                                   THIRD PAPER DUE MARCH 21           PRESENTATION OF FINAL PROJECTS APRIL 26, 28, MAY 3 POSSIBLE ORAL PRESENTATIONS ON READING Piven & Cloward, “Structuring Protest” Gerald Horne, “Civil Rights/Cold War” Todd Gitlin, The Sixties, chapter 12, “1968” Garrow, Bearing the Cross, “Birmingham and the March on Washington” Garrow, Bearing the Cross, “Selma and the Voting Rights Act” Carson,  In Struggle, chapter 9, “Mississippi Challenge” O’Reilley, Racial Matters, “Mississippi Burning” O’Reilley, Racial Matters, “Black Hate, Community Surveillance and Counterintelligence” Carmichael, “Black Power” FINAL ASSIGNMENT AAF 300L Your final assignment should be a group effort, prepare a written text and an oral presentation for the class.  This is your opportunity to explore some historical development of the 1960’s and evaluate its contemporary significance. Select an event from the history of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954 to 1968. Review the significant facts:  participants, place, time.  Discuss some of the legal implications of the event:  legal cases, state and/or federal, legislation. Give an assessment of the philosophy  which informed action, the tactics used, and government response.  In conclusion discuss the implications of this event for present day race relations, civil liberties, student activism.                          FIRST RECONSTRUCTION 1865-1877      13TH AMENDMENT      14TH AMENDMENT       15TH AMENDMENT      Civil  Rights Act (pre 14th Amendment)                              1866      Civil Rights Act (Klan Act)                                                 1871      Civil Rights Act                                                                1875                        POST RECONSTRUCTION 1877-1898       Hayes/Tilden Compromise                                               1877       Civil Rights Cases                                                            1883         (Supreme Court rules Civil Rights Acts unconstitutional)      Plessy v. Ferguson                                                           1896                            SECOND RECONSTRUCTION Brown v. Board of Education                                                  1954 Civil Rights Act                                                                     1964     Voting Rights Act                                                                  1965                           SECOND POST RECONSTRUCTION                                                                                         1976-1989           Rehnquist Court (Patterson v. McLean, Runyon V. McCrary, Martin v. Wilks, Wards Cove v. Atonio), Richmond v. Croson, Lorance v. AT&T Technologies, Jett v. Dallas Independent School District)