Changes

In 1957, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and began to emerge as a leader in what became known as the Civil Rights Movement.  Rev. King advocated nonviolent resistance by African Americans, culminating in a speech to a massive crowd of 250,000 that marched on Washington for civil rights in 1963.  Rev. King's speech, known as "I Have a Dream," was delivered from the base of the Lincoln Memorial and relied on passages in the Bible to urge an end to discrimination based on race.  Rev. King was tragically assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

In 1957, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and began to emerge as a leader in what became known as the Civil Rights Movement.  Rev. King advocated nonviolent resistance by African Americans, culminating in a speech to a massive crowd of 250,000 that marched on Washington for civil rights in 1963.  Rev. King's speech, known as "I Have a Dream," was delivered from the base of the Lincoln Memorial and relied on passages in the Bible to urge an end to discrimination based on race.  Rev. King was tragically assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

The Civil Rights Movement grew in size and intensity throughout the 1960s.  In 1960, there were organized protests called "sit-ins" conducted against restaurants that would not serve African Americans in the South.  Large groups of people would enter the restaurants that refused to serve blacks and simply "sit in" without moving, ordering, paying, or leaving, thereby causing the business to lose money.  These "sit ins"  began in North Carolina and soon spread.  Also in 1960, the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee formed to organize more sit-ins.  This was a more radical group that scorned integration and interracial cooperation.  By 1966, it was demanding "black power."

The Civil Rights Movement grew in size and intensity throughout the 1960s.  In 1960, there were organized protests called "sit-ins" conducted against restaurants that would not serve African Americans in the South.  Large groups of people would enter the restaurants that refused to serve blacks and simply "sit in" without moving, ordering, paying, or leaving, thereby causing the business to lose money.  These "sit ins"  began in North Carolina and soon spread.  Also in 1960, the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee formed to organize more sit-ins.  This was a more radical group that scorned integration and interracial cooperation.  By 1966, it was demanding "black power."

In 1962, James Meredith became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi, after the Supreme Court ordered his admission.  The Mississippi Governor opposed allowing African Americans into the state college, and riots occurred to try to prevent his attendance.  President Kennedy sent in U.S. Marshals (the police force for the federal courts) and also federal troops; dozens of the troops were injured and one foreign journalist was killed.  Meredith graduated a year later, majoring in political science.  During a march in 1966, he was shot at by an unemployed Ku Klux Klan member but suffered only superficial wounds.  Meredith did not support the broader civil rights movement that sought special treatment based on race.  Instead, Meredith wanted individual rights regardless of race, rather than collective benefits based on race.  He later worked for [[conservative]] Senator [[Jesse Helms]].  "Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights," Meredith once said. "It means perpetual second-class citizenship for me and my kind."<ref>http://americanheritage.com/articles/web/20060606-james-meredith-education-ole-miss-columbia-segregation-martin-luther-king-black-power-march.shtml</ref>

In 1962, James Meredith became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi, after the Supreme Court ordered his admission.  The Mississippi Governor opposed allowing African Americans into the state college, and riots occurred to try to prevent his attendance.  President Kennedy sent in U.S. Marshals (the police force for the federal courts) and also federal troops; dozens of the troops were injured and one foreign journalist was killed.  Meredith graduated a year later, majoring in political science.  During a march in 1966, he was shot at by an unemployed Ku Klux Klan member but suffered only superficial wounds.  Meredith did not support the broader civil rights movement that sought special treatment based on race.  Instead, Meredith wanted individual rights regardless of race, rather than collective benefits based on race.  He later worked for [[conservative]] Senator [[Jesse Helms]].  "Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights," Meredith once said. "It means perpetual second-class citizenship for me and my kind."<ref>http://americanheritage.com/articles/web/20060606-james-meredith-education-ole-miss-columbia-segregation-martin-luther-king-black-power-march.shtml</ref>

Congress responded to the Civil Rights Movement by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, or gender in employment facilities.  It also passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which guaranteed everyone the right to vote in federal elections.  This was designed in particular to ensure the right to vote by southern blacks.

Congress responded to the Civil Rights Movement by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, or gender in employment facilities.  It also passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which guaranteed everyone the right to vote in federal elections.  This was designed in particular to ensure the right to vote by southern blacks.

Some civil rights activists became militant and violent.  From 1966 through the early 1970s, the Black Panthers collected weapons to resist police and promoted a violent approach to establishing civil rights.  Many of them were arrested and went to jail.

Some civil rights activists became militant and violent.  From 1966 through the early 1970s, the Black Panthers collected weapons to resist police and promoted a violent approach to establishing civil rights.  Many of them were arrested and went to jail.  This shift from a productive movement to a destructive one was marked by the abandonment of Christian values and a pronounced move to the left; key members of the Black Panthers, such as [[Angela Davis,]] were also Communists.

== The "Great Society" ==

== The "Great Society" ==