Welcome to Civil Rights Movement: The Role of Students. On this blog we will explore several different points on the role in which students played in the Civil Rights Movement through entries, pictures, videos, and primary sources. This blog was created for a project for HS308 at Monmouth University.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was an African American organization during the Civil Rights Movement.
SCLC's first president MLK Jr.
The organization was founded on January 10th, 1957 following the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. Martin Luther King Jr. served as the organizations first president.
The platform that the group adhered to was one of nonviolence, based off of Martin Luther King Jr's own beliefs in non-violence.
Pin worn by members of the SCLC
In addition, the group was largely involved in local black communities in order to help the people overcome racial segregation.
One of the most important aspects of the SCLC was their involvement with Citizenship Schools. These schools helped teach African Americans how to read and write so that they could pass the literacy tests for voter registration.
Students at SCLC run Citizenship School
The SCLC was also involved with numerous other Civil Rights activities such as the March on Washington and the Selma Voting Rights campaign.
SCLC was involved in the Selma Voting Rights Campaign
The SCLC had a unique feature in the SCOPE (Summer Community Organization on Political Education) project. It was a volunteer force that placed mostly white college students to help register black voters in southern states between 1965-1966.
Above is a video from a documentary from the Discovery Channel, highlighting the critical role that students played during the Civil Rights Movement, with particular respect to the Brown v Board of Education case.
The video explains how some of the most important 'battles' of the Civil Rights Movement were fought by students and within the classroom, and that without these battles and the Civil Rights Movement would not have achieved its great success.
The SNCC legacy has been said to live on due to present day "The Wall Street Movement". The goal of the SNCC was non violence in actions and for their voices to be heard not through violent action but through large demonstration. The SNCC consisted of mostly southern students who wanted to live on not like their parents and grandparents, but as new free individuals. Both black and white individuals joined the SNCC movement. Sit-ins and walking protests were the most common form of non-violent protest conducted. SNCC was brought together to bring students and young individuals together who wanted their voice heard. The organization typically just supported with large numbers other non-violent protests already held. SNCC also helped voting rights and to get the word out nation wide.
This video is a look into the overall goal of the SNCC, reasons behind their decisions regarding demonstrations and the events leading up to the establishment of the SNCC. The commentary is depicted by past members and organization founders of the SNCC and told through their eyes.This video is a glimpse into the long history of the SNCC and the legacy that it has left on America today. CNN created this special on the members of the SNCC for the 50th anniversary since the beginning of the SNCC.
These individuals were brave, determined and strong individuals who sometimes put their lives on the line, to go up against societies norms and gain equality the American way.
In 2002, ABC News, put together a new piece on the legacy of James Meredith with it being the 40th anniversary of his fight to enter the University of Mississippi. Below is the link to the clip that originally aired.
Norman Rockwell painting for Ruby Bridges the day she was the first child to desegregate an elementary school.
PBS (Public Broadcast System) in 1997 interviewed Ruby Bridges - Hall on her experience in 1960. She was as previously noted the first African American child to desegregate an elementary school. Below is a link to the transcript of the interview.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is an organizations associated with the Civil Rights Movement. It was founded in April of 1960 after Ella Baker, a student at Shaw University began holding student meetings.
Ella Baker
Sign at Shaw University
Within a few years SNCC's numbers grew and it was especially supported by volunteers from the North who helped to raise funds and volunteered their time to help the Southern efforts.
SNCC played a major role in several well-known events of the Civil Rights Movement, such as the sit ins, the March on Washington, and the Mississippi Freedom Summer
Crowd at the 1963 March on Washington
SNCC was largely known for its efforts to register blacks to vote and they held voter registration drives throughout the South to encourage and help African Americans to do so.
Voter registration drive organized by SNCC
In 1966 Stokely Carmichael became the chairman of SNCC. Under his leadership SNCC began to advocate for the idea of black power and organizing protests against the Vietnam War.
Carmichael in 1966
Carmichael giving a speech at the University of California
In 1969 SNCC officially changed its name to reflect their changing beliefs and idea. It's acronym and nickname remained "SNCC" but the official name became the Student National Coordinating Committee. The group continued into the 1970's, when it eventually came to an end.
SNCC's Legacy - Video Clip
The SNCC
legacy has been said to live on due to present day "The Wall Street Movement".
The goal of the SNCC was non violence in actions and for their voices to be
heard not through violent action but through large demonstration. The SNCC
consisted of mostly southern students who wanted to live on not like their
parents and grandparents, but as new free individuals. Both black and
white individuals joined the SNCC movement. Sit-ins and walking protests were
the most common form of non-violent protest conducted. SNCC was brought together
to bring students and young individuals together who wanted their voice heard.
The organization typically just supported with large numbers other non-violent
protests already held. SNCC also helped voting rights and to get the word out
nation wide.
This video is
a look into the overall goal of the SNCC, reasons behind their decisions
regarding demonstrations and the events leading up to the establishment of the
SNCC. The commentary is depicted by past members and organization founders of
the SNCC and told through their eyes.This video is a glimpse into the long
history of the SNCC and the legacy that it has left on America today. CNN
created this special on the members of the SNCC for the 50th anniversary since
the beginning of the SNCC.
These
individuals were brave, determined and strong individuals who sometimes put
their lives on the line, to go up against societies norms and gain equality the
American way.
