Boycotts, Strikes, and Marches

Barbara Diggs

Description

An in-depth exploration of five different marches, protests, and boycotts of the Civil Rights Era-actions that made it impossible for the people in power to ignore the social injustices rampant in the United States. Part of a new series on the civil rights era for ages 12 to 15 from Nomad Press.Thousands of protests, marches, and demonstrations of the Civil Rights Era gave a strong voice to people and groups who were traditionally ignored. These protests led to important legal and social changes that continue to impact our nation today. In Boycotts, Strikes, and Marches: Protests of the Civil Rights Era, readers 12 through 15 explore five ground-breaking events that took place during the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. Become immersed in the excitement, challenges, and spirit of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Draft Card Burning Protests of the Vietnam War, the Delano Grape Strike and Boycott, the first Gay Pride March, and the Women's Strike for Equality. Kids learn about the conditions that prompted these demonstrations and how protest organizers used critical and creative thinking to surmount the challenges they faced to initiate meaningful change. When these protests began, American society looked vastly different than it does today. African Americans were denied the same rights as whites in many parts of the country. Women couldn't pursue the same jobs as men. The LGBTQ community was forced to live in secrecy. Farm workers were forbidden to join unions to advocate for fair wages and working conditions. Protests were a tool the people used to express their discontent and start to make essential change in the fabric of both society and politics. And today, we're seeing that the job is still unfinished, as protestors take to the streets and make their voices heard in a call for anti-racism through the Black Lives Matter movement. In this book, hands-on projects and research activities alongside essential questions, links to online resources, and text-to-world connections all help further explain a complicated era and offer opportunities for social-emotional learning. Boycotts, Strikes, and Marches: Protests of the Civil Rights Era is part of a new series from Nomad Press, The Civil Rights Era, that captures the passion and conviction of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Other titles in this set include Changing Laws: Politics of the Civil Rights Era; Sitting In, Standing Up: Leaders of the Civil Rights Era; and Singing for Equality: Musicians of the Civil Rights Era.

Sujets

• États-Unis
• United States of America
• USA

Informations

• Publié par: Nomad Press
• Date de parution: 15 octobre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781619309173
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

Protests of the
Civil Rights Era
B O Y C O T T S ,
S T R I K E S , A N D
M A R C H E S
Barbara Diggs
Nomad Press
A division of Nomad Communications
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © 2020 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages
in a review or for limited educational use . The trademark “Nomad Press” and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc.
Educational Consultant, Marla Conn
Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to
Nomad Press
2456 Christian St., White River Junction, VT 05001
www.nomadpress.net
Printed in the United States.
E X P L O R E Q R C O N N E C T I O N S !
You can use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR codes and explore more!
Cover up neighboring QR codes to make sure you're scanning the right one.
You can find a list of urls on the Resources page.
If the QR code doesn't work, try searching the internet with the Keyword Prompts
to find other helpful sources.
civil rights protests
Discover the PASSION
and CONVICTION of
the 1950 S ,
'
60 S , and '70 S !
In
Changing Laws: Politics of the Civil Rights Era
, middle graders explore the
key legislative and judicial victories of the era that spanned from 1954 to the
early 1970s, including
Brown v. Board of Education
, the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, all of which
couldn't have happened without the increased activism of the times. Kids explore
how marches, demonstrations, boycotts, and lawsuits prodded local and state
governments to reveal the bigotry of their laws and the brutality of their oppression
of Black citizens.
Sitting In, Standing Up: Leaders of the Civil Rights Era
tells the story of one of the
most tumultuous and important eras in American history through the lives of six
major figures of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s: Thurgood
Marshall, Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lewis, and Ella
Baker. The work of these people sparked the passion of a nation and helped change
the tide of social injustice in a way that reverberates to this day.
Singing for Equality: Musicians of the Civil Rights Era
introduces middle graders to
the history of the Civil Rights Movement and explores the vital role that music played
in the tumultuous period of American history during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s.
The heart of the Civil Rights Movement beats in the music and musicians of
the times, whose work was both an inspiration and a reflection of the changes
happening in America and to its people. Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples and the Staple
Singers, Sam Cooke, James Brown, and Nina Simone all epitomized the passion and
commitment shown by those involved in the movement and portrayed the struggles
encountered by an entire race of people with gritty beauty and moving calls to
action and thought.
T A B L E O F
C O N T E N T S
Introduction . . . 1
What Are We Protesting?
Chapter One . . . 13
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Empty Buses for a Purpose
Chapter Two . . . 31
Vietnam War Draft Resistance
Civil Disobedience
Chapter Three . . . 49
The Delano Grape Strike
and Boycott
An International Boycott
Supporting Workers' Rights
Chapter Four . . . 67
The Stonewall Riots
Commemorating the Stonewall Riots
Chapter Five . . . 83
Women's Strike for Equality
A March Showing the
Power of Women
A demonstration of mourning and protest
after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
of March 25, 1911            
G lossary
—
Resou rces
—
Selected
Bibliography
—
Index
—
Women fight for
their right to vote
in 1913.
March on
Washington, 1963
Rosa Parks is
arrested for refusing
to give up her seat
to a white person,
1956.
The Woolworth
Sit-In, 1960        
The civil rights March on
Washington, DC, 1963
Credit: Rowland Scherman
1
The Civil Rights Era is
a period in American
history that began
in the mid-1950s
and lasted until the
early 1970s. During
this time, different
groups of people
fought for the right
to be treated equally
or to achieve social
justice. For many of
them, their fight took
the form of protest.
F
A
S
T
F
A
C
T
S
W H A T ?
The Civil Rights Era was a
period when many groups
stood up for their rights.
W H Y ?
People who'd been
historically ignored and
mistreated, including African
Americans, women, and
members of the LGBTQ
communities, demanded
that their civil rights no
longer be abused.
W H E N ?
From the mid-1950s to
early 1970s
H O W ?
Through marches, sit-ins,
strikes, and boycotts, people
across the country worked
for equal rights for all.
W H A T A R E W E
P R O T E S T I N G ?
I N T R O D U C T I O N
2
Many of the rights and privileges Americans
enjoy today are a result of the protests that
took place during the Civil Rights Era. This
was when the Civil Rights Movement erupted
across the United States, the protests focused
on racism and segregation affecting African
Americans. Today, it's illegal to deny people
services, housing, jobs, or education because
of their skin color. That's a direct result of
the Civil Rights Movement. Before then,
few people could conceive of an America
where such things would be permissible. But
thankfully, some people took brave, bold
action to help bring about a more equal and
just society.
The Montgomery bus boycott, the draft card
burning protests of the Vietnam War, the
Delano grape strike and boycott, the first
Gay Pride March, and the Women's Strike
for Equality all took place during the Civil
Rights Era. These were important flash
points on the path toward true civil rights for
everyone.
Have you heard of the Black Lives Matter
movement? People across the United States
have been marching and protesting unequal
treatment of African Americans since the
movement began in 2013. But it's not the first
time a massive social movement has worked
toward change.
1954
The U.S. Supreme Court
decision
Brown v. Board
of Education
rules that
segregated schools are
unconstitutional.
1957
President Eisenhower sends in
federal troops to protect nine
Black students as they integrate
Central High School in Little
Rock, Arkansas.
June 11, 1963
After Alabama Governor George
Wallace blocks admission of Black
students into the University of
Alabama, President Kennedy sends
federal troops to maintain order.
C I V I L
R I G H T S
T I M E L I N E
The civil rights March on Washington
in August 1963 saw about 250,000
people gather to peacefully demand an
end to racism.
P R O T E S T S O F T H E C I V I L R I G H T S E R A
3
The Pursuit
of Happiness
When the United States was first forming as
a country, the Founding Fathers provided
some direction in terms of the kind of
society they thought it could be. In 1776, the
Declaration of Independence was drafted to
document a place where all people would be
granted basic rights, such as “Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.”
However, even the signers of the Declaration
weren't completely behind this idea. Many
of them owned slaves. The institution
of slavery kept an entire race of people
oppressed. Slaves were prevented from
pursuing happiness. They were not free to
live where or with whom they wanted. They
were forced to work under harsh conditions
and would be beaten or even killed if they
displeased their masters. Even after slavery
was abolished, Black people faced many
obstacles to citizenship, building wealth, and
owning land.
Native Americans, too, weren't considered
citizens in the new country. Instead, their
lands were simply taken. Families were split
up with no regard to the traditions and
cultures of thousands of years.
June 19, 1964
The Civil Rights Act
prohibits segregation in
public accommodations.
February 29, 1968
The Kerner Commission report
is released and concludes the
United States is moving toward
two separate and unequal
societies—Black and white.
April 11, 1968
In the wake of the
assassination of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., President
Johnson pushes Congress
to pass the Fair Housing Bill.
November 5, 1968
The election of Richard M.
Nixon as president signals a
retreat from federal support for
major civil rights legislation.
C O N N E C T
Watch a short biography on Rosa Parks.
Why do you think she refused to move?
PBS Rosa video
W H A T A R E W E P R O T E S T I N G ?  
4
The founders of the United States believed
that the right to protest was so crucial to
a free and fair society that they ensured
citizens of this right in the First Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution. Since then,
millions of Americans have used the First
Amendment's protections to protest state
and federal laws and social injustice with the
hope of bringing about change.
Even after slavery was abolished during the Civil
War with the Thirteenth Amendment, Jim Crow
laws in the Southern states and other forms of
racial discrimination in the Northern states
meant that people of color were still barred from
the most basic of human rights. These included
getting a good education, being considered for
good jobs, voting, and simply living in peace.
Native Americans, African Americans, gay and
transgender people, and women were all treated
unfairly during this time. If you weren't a white
man, you had fewer rights.
America's
Tradition
of Protest
Civil Rights Era protests are remembered
for their breadth, power, and success. Still,
it wasn't the first time in American histor