The March on Washington 1963 and the 1964 Civil Rights Act

1
The March on Washington 1963 and the 1964 Civil
Rights Act
2
Aims

• Examine the reasons why the 1963 March on
  Washington took place.
• Assess the impact of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

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Background

• After the Birmingham demonstrations, President
  Kennedy had promised a new law would be passed
  giving full civil rights to all Americans.
• It would not be easy to get a new law passed
  through Congress most Southern politicians
  would opposed this.
• Civil Rights leaders knew that they needed to
  keep their cause in the headlines, so the March
  on Washington was organised.

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• The March on Washington on the 28th August 1963
  was one of the biggest demonstrations in American
  history around 200,000-250,000 men, women and
  children took took part.
• The march started at the Lincoln Memorial in
  Washington. Abraham Lincoln had been the
  president who had freed slaves in 1863.
• Washington was packed with peaceful protesters.

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I have a Dream

• At the start of the march Martin Luther King made
  his most famous speech.
• Within it he outlined his hopes for the future of
  America.
• This became one of the most famous speeches of
  the 20th century.

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• The March on Washington was covered
• live by four national TV channels and
• gained massive publicity for the cause.

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Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing

• Two weeks after the March on Washington, America
  was shocked by events in Birmingham, Alabama.
• A bomber threw 15 sticks of dynamite into the
  churchs basement.
• Four young Black girls were killed and 20 people
  were seriously injured.
• The bomber, Robert Chambliss was a member of the
  KKK. He was not arrested for this crime for 14
  years.

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The 1964 Civil Rights Act

• President Kennedy was assassinated in November
  1963 and many felt disheartened that Presidential
  support for the Civil Rights movement was lost.
• However, the new President Lyndon Johnson made
  sure a Civil Rights Act became law.

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What Was Achieved?

• Did not solve discrimination in housing.
• Did not give Black people a fair and free vote.
• Did not end the activities of the KKK Blacks
  still faced fear and violence.

• No racial discrimination allowed in public places
  e.g. hotels, restaurants.
• No discrimination in employment.
• No segregation in schools, hospitals etc.
• Federal Government had greater powers to deal
  with state governments who discriminated against
  Blacks.

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What Next?

• After the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist
  Church, many Black Americans were angry and
  wanted revenge.
• Some started to turn against non-violent protest
  and felt that if Blacks used the threat of
  violence, at least then the government might send
  in federal soldiers to protect Black communities.
• Martin Luther King and other Black leaders argued
  that this would lead to a loss of public support.
• To get real change, Blacks needed to be able to
  exercise their right to vote they could then
  use their political power to get rid of racists
  in local and state governments.

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Tasks

• Read pages 84-88 of your workguide and
• complete the following activities
• Page 85 question 2
• Page 87 question 2
• Page 88 question 1-2