Other attacks were made on other civil rights workers. May 1963
police turned fire hoses and attack dogs on protestors. On September
15, 1963 four young children were killed in the bombing of an
African American church in Birmingham. President John F. Kennedy
sent federal troops to protect civil rights workers.
President Kennedy gave a speech on June 11, 1963 on civil rights.
250 000 blacks marched to Washington in August. Martin Luther
King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the
Lincoln Memorial. November that year, President Kennedy was assassinated
and his place was taken by Lyndon B. Johnson. In July 1964 Congress
passed the Civil Rights Act. The act "barred states from using
different voting standards for blacks and whites". It made discrimination
illegal in public places. The federal government was given the
power to integrate schools and protect voting rights. It banned
job discrimination on account of race, sex, or religion. Later
the 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes.
A march was planned in 1965 to get the attention on the issue
of a voting law. They planned to walk from Selma to Montgomery.
March 7, marches crossing a bridge in Selma were attacked by state
troopers on horses. Martin Luther King Jr. led another march two
days later but were stopped and ordered to go no further. Hundreds
were arrested in these marches. They marched in Marion and Selma
to the courthouses to try to register to vote, but were turned
away by the police. On March 15, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson
introduced the Voting rights Act. Congress passed the act. It
ended rules that southern states used to keep African Americans
from voting.
By 1965 the civil rights movement won many new legislation protecting
the rights of African American citizens. The federal government
had more responsibility in the monitoring of schools, voting,
and racially motivated crimes. The movement brought new pride
and hope to African Americans, "Black Power" also began. Malcolm
X became their spokes person for black power. The Black Muslims
were a black supremacy group. Malcolm X urged blacks to defend
themselves against whites. He "renounced violence and urged blacks
to hate whites". But after he took a trip to Mecca he no longer
held his view of black supremacy. He pictured a world where all
races could live in peace. February 21, 1965 he was assassinated
by Black Muslims.
