a. When did the Civil Rights Movement begin?
It began in 1954.
b. What was the Civil Rights Movement about?
This Movement was worldwide and was aimed at equity before the law (no one gets special privileges) which included outlawing racial discrimination against African-Americans (black Americans) and restoring suffrage for the blacks in the Southern States. It was also meant to promote racial dignity, economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from oppression by white Americans. This was because police and ordinary citizens alike crazily enforced separation of the two races, discriminating against them, and a black who mixed with a white person could be killed without reason. Punishment for killing a black person was rarely meted. The founding fathers of the United States had written of humanity's inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but many did not believe this should apply to black slaves or women. Racism obstructs America's desire to be a land of human equality; the struggle for equal rights was also a struggle for the soul of the nation.
c. State some of the significant incidents that took place in the civil rights movement (2-3 incidents, briefly stated)
1. On 26 July, 1948, President Truman signed the Executive Order 9981 which reads, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin."
2. In the early months of 1957, Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele and Fred Shuttlesworth found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which became a major force in the Civil Rights Movement and is based on “non-violence and civil disobedience”. As King said, “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.”
3. In September 1957, nine black students are denied access into the previously all-white Central High School on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus, who opposed integration. He called out the Arkansas National Guard to block integration. However, President Eisenhower then sent federal troops and the National Guard to intervene on behalf of the students. Later, in 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to allow the federal government to use arms to enforce desegregation.
d. Which American President supported the Movement?
Lyndon Baines Johnson, or just President Johnson, was a supporter. He signed an act, backed a federal investigation regarding the death of three people who had been murdered by the Ku Klux Klan after they were working to register black voters in Mississippi, and issued Executive Order 11246, enforced for government contractors to "take affirmative action" toward prospective minority employees in all aspects of hiring and employment.
e. What was the outcome of the movement?
Basically, African-Americans outwardly are on par with whites on privileges. However, racist prejudices have never died. Black Americans have voting rights and hold office to good jobs, but people do still carry the mind set of old that African Americans are lesser people. Segregation was outlawed.
f. In what way is the Civil rights Movement related to the novel?
Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird during a very tense time racially in her home state of Alabama. The South was still segregated, forcing blacks to use separate facilities apart from those used by whites, in almost every aspect of society. The Civil Rights Movement began to pick up steam when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. Following her bold defiance, Marin Luther King, Jr., became the leader of the movement, and the issue began to gain serious national attention. Clearly, a prime subject of To Kill a Mockingbird, namely the injustice of racism and inequality in the American South, was highly relevant at the time of its publication. Also, women did not receive many rights. Scout, being a female, matures and slowly learns about racism. Another thing is that racial discrimination is a big-scale epidemic.
Montgomery Bus Boycott and Scottsboro Trials
a. State the specifics of each trial and why they were significant.
• Dr King organized a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, that lasted for 382 days, with 90 per cent participation of blacks. It was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. The boycott resulted in a crippling financial deficit for the Montgomery public transit system, because the city's black population who were the drivers of the boycott were also the bulk of the system's paying customers. Under the system of segregation used on Montgomery buses, white people who boarded the bus took seats in the front rows, filling the bus toward the back. Black people who boarded the bus took seats in the back rows, filling the bus toward the front. Eventually, the two sections would meet, and the bus would be full. If other black people boarded the bus, they were required to stand. If another white person boarded the bus, then everyone in the black row nearest the front had to get up and stand, so that a new row for white people could be created. Often when boarding the buses, black people were required to pay at the front, get off, and re-enter the bus through a separate door at the back. On some occasions bus drivers would drive away before black passengers were able to re-board.
• The Scottsboro boys were just nine black youth who were like hitchhikers who took train rides to look for jobs, and their trial started when one white guy stepped on one of the black youth’s hand. Both the white and black had friends, and they had stone fights, and the black boys managed to push every of the black boys except one off the train. They pulled one of the white boys in after the train had sped to dangerous speeds. These white boys went to report the black youth, hereafter termed the Scottsboro boys. Also, two girls came forth and accused six of the nine boys of rape. Then, the rest was legal battles, then long periods of jail, then lots of publicity. In the end, they all died wronged. Their lives had been ruined by this trial. It was the most shameful injustice in American law.
b. How is the Scottsboro trial related to the trial in the novel?
The case largely contains racial prejudice. Justice is not meted out because these people are black. However, at the same time, there is a kind soul who is heroic enough to defend these black people.
c. In what way are these trials similar?
In both trials, the accused is black, the accuser is white, and the accuser has the support of the crowd because they are prejudiced against blacks. However, the accuser presents distorted facts. The black person is victorious, but still draws a lot of flak and has not really won anything. In fact, he has probably suffered much more than he gained.
Trials of a true Southern Belle and Southern Gentleman
a. What were the rules of etiquette for Southern gentlemen and ladies?
A Southern gentleman refers to a polite gentleman with respect and is from the upper class. A Southern belle is an archetype for a young woman of the American Old South's upper class. She was deemed “the natural product of aristocratic breeding”. She had to be demure and had to avoid talking to anyone other than whites. They had rules. For a Southern Belle, she had to:
• Avoid pants or trousers, or be risked being called a prostitute or a lesbian even.
• Wear dresses at all times, and Sunday dresses were almost always bought.
• Speak only to white, rich or properly dressed people.
• Boycott sexual conversation, talks of pregnancy, etc.
• Refrain from raising her voice and speak politely.
• Never swear and use proper grammar.
For a Southern gentleman, he had to:
• Wear full attire (suit, tie, etc.)
• Tip his hat to a lady, and remove it in the presence of a lady.
• Usually talk with a drawl
• Pull out a chair for a lady and never let her do it herself
• Offer the woman assistance (carrying stuff, lighting her cigarette)
• Know how to appreciate a good meal
b. Southern ladies did sewing to pass their time. Nothing strenuous was permitted, so
c. Pictures of Southern ladies and gentlemen
d. Identify characters in the novel that fit the mould of true southern belles and gentlemen and those who don’t? Explain.
Southern belles: Aunt Alexandra: petty about a lady’s behaviour
Southern gentleman: Atticus, Judge Taylor: respectful to ladies
Harper Lee
a. About the author
Harper Lee is an American author best known for her 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with the issues of racism that she had seen as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. She loved writing. She has only written one novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
b. Biodata
She is 85 years old, and female. Her birthday is on April 28.
c. Novels written by her
She has only written To Kill a Mockingbird.
d. Awards she has received
She has received the Pulitzer prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom
e. Why is To Kill a Mockingbird important to her?
It was important because she based it on her life experience and it was close to her.
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