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Watts RiotsThe Watts Riots broke out on August 11, 1965 when a Caucasian California Highway Patrolman, Lee W. Minikus, arrested young African American motorist, Marquette Frye, for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Enraged by the arrest, Watts’ residents protested as the police cars drove away. Less than an hour later, the black community took the streets. For 6 days, rioters set cars on fire, looted and damaged grocery stores, liquor stores, department stores, and pawnshops. Over the course of the six-day riot, over 14,000 California National Guard troops were sent to South Los Angeles and a curfew zone encompassing over forty-five miles was established in an attempt to restore public order. The rioting claimed the lives of thirty-four people, resulted in more than one thousand reported injuries, and almost four thousand arrests before order was restored on August 17.
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Freedom RidersFreedom rides is the given given to a group of people who traveled to the south in 1961 to protest the south's refusal to integrate bus terminals. They draw attention to and protest racial segregation. The northern young people to challenge racism proven a political and public relations success for the civil rights movement.
www.blackpast.org/aah/freedom-rides-1961 |
Memphis Sanitation Workers StrikeMemphis, Tennesse had a series of protests and strikes after two colored men were crushed while working. The two men were garbage collectors and as they were working their truck malfunctioned, which killed them. Over 1,300 black men went on strike in front of the company building. After the mishap the strikers wanted companies to have better safety standards as well as better wages.
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Little Rock NineAfter the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, nine students in Little Rock, Arkansas tried entering a previously all white high school. On September 4, 1957 a mob of white parents tried to prevent the nine student from entering and attending the school. The nine students continued their schooling at Central High school with their white peers and each graduated
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Newark and Detroit Race RiotsJuly 12th, an African American male and cab driver, John Smith, was arrested when he drove around a police officer's car and double-parked. According to a police report later released to the press, the police claimed that Smith was charged with “tailgating” and driving in the wrong direction on a one-way street. Smith was also charged with using offensive language and physical assault. Later, a witness of Smith's arrest called and reported what they saw to CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). What they saw was Smith being beaten by the police officer. Smith was then checked for bruises and/or injuries, and they found some. At 8 pm that same day, other black cab drivers started spreading the word through their radios and others began to hear. People became angry because this type of police brutality and racism isn't the first time it's happened. Riots began July 12th and ended July 17th. As the riot approached its final hours, 26 people, mostly African Americans, were reported killed, another 750 were injured and over 1,000 were jailed. Property damage was $10 million.
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Montgomery Bus BoycottThe Montgomery bus Boycott was sparked when on December 1st 195 Rosa Parks wouldn't give her seat up for a white man in a bus. She was then arrested. Approximately 40,000 African-American bus riders boycotted the system the next day. They then created the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). MIA was created to lead the boycott and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was appointed its president. the boycott lasted 381 days until a Montgomery federal court ruled that any law requiring racially segregated seating on buses violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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Freedom RidesIn 1964 the Student Non-violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) started to bring attention to parts of Mississippi. The committee had noticed that blacks were still not receiving their given basic rights that they were granted years before. One of the most important and influential campaigns was to register more blacks to vote.
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