Organisations such as the NAACP and CORE campaigned for civil rights throughout this period and organised things such as economic boycotts, “sit-ins” and “freedom rides”. The NAACP put continuous pressure on the government and was the driving force behind Supreme court decisions such as Little Rock and Montgomery. In 1947, the “Journey of Reconciliation” took place, aiming to ensure the enforcement against segregation on interstate bus transportation. In 1950, further advancements were made toward equality with the help of two law court victories, ruling an end to segregation on railway dining cars and in the University of Oklahoma. By 1952, 11 states and 20 cities had fair employment laws and 19 states had some form of legislation against racial discrimination.
In 1952, Eisenhower became president. Although he was a racist and against using federal intervention, he did do some good towards civil rights in his presidency, even if he didn’t purposefully mean to. He called for publicity, persuasion and conscience to help end discrimination and he supported the segregation of the armed forces. Eisenhower also worked against discrimination in federal facilities in Washington and federal hiring.
The president inadvertently appointed Earl Warren to the Supreme Court as a judge, and in 1954 Warren struck a great blow against segregated schools in the BROWN v. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, TOPEKA, KANSAS law case. The BROWN case took place in 1954, which overturned PLESSY v. FERGUSON by removing all constitutional sanction for racial segregation. The result of BROWN was that all schools were to be desegregated. This gave much hope for the future of civil rights in America.
In December 1955 the Montgomery Bus Boycott began, which proved to be a great triumph in the civil rights movement. It was effective for many reasons. It was very organised; students copied and distributed leaflets to get as much support as possible. The Church gave funds, used its services for rallying cries, decreased the chances of black disorder and turned the event into a “moral crusade”, which brought more support. Cooperation between the NAACP and the black Alabama State College, and between the NAACP and Martin Luther King was an important factor. A new organisation called the MIA (Montgomery improvement Association) was set up. African-Americans got their crisis, which also got them publicity, federal intervention and therefore change (desegregation of buses) in 1956. The event gave more support from Northern whites as well as increased cooperation between northern and southern blacks. The boycott lasted one year and brought economic hardship to all the bus companies. However, the accomplishment would not have been possible without the BROWDER v. GAYLE case going on simultaneously in the courts. The fact that it was non-violent retained blacks’ moral high ground and many whites began to change their beliefs about “violent” blacks. As a result, the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) was set up.
1956 brought the re-elections for America’s presidency, so Eisenhower was keen to gain as much support as possible from the electorate. The Eisenhower administration therefore drew up a civil rights bill. The bill aimed to give all citizens the right to vote, a Justice Department within the government to monitor civil rights abuses and a bipartisan civil rights commission report on race relations. Unfortunately, congress gave little support for the bill and so had no significant effect on civil rights.
In 1957, Eisenhower was forced to use federal intervention after Orville Faubus used the National Guard to block nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The white mob protesting outside the school became out of control, so Eisenhower was forced to intervene. This was at least a good sign that Eisenhower would use federal intervention if it proved absolutely necessary.
The Cold War did bring some advantages to civil rights organisations, as it was difficult for America to defend its supposedly free country against Communist totalitarianism when blacks were so clearly oppressed. America was extremely sensitive to its image abroad and therefore did try up to help civil rights.
In conclusion, I think that the period 1945-57 did see quite a lot of change for the good concerning the civil rights of African-Americans. The period saw many heroes, such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. The Montgomery Boycott also proved that if mass action was applied with organisation, change was very possible. However, the period also saw victims, such as Emmett Till. There was still no single strong black organisation; after the BROWN ruling the NAACP was persecuted in the south. There was also a lack of cooperation between organisations such as the NAACP and the SCLC. The SCLC lacked massive grass-roots support and an organised infrastructure necessary for success. Even if the Supreme Court demanded desegregation, it was either a very slow process or blocked in some way. Progress with civil rights also very much depended on the president’s attitude towards the issue and how much help they gave. Even if desegregation was achieved, African-Americans saw no end to racial prejudice and discrimination. Despite all this, civil rights progress did go forward throughout this era, however slow it went. It made America far more aware of civil rights than it had ever been. Comparing the situation in 1957 to that of 1945, we can see that an increasing number of blacks had more professional jobs. There was now less public segregation than ever before, although in some places it was still a social fact.
