ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø

Following centuries of slavery, violence, and racism, the 1950s became a watershed for Black Americans. While there had been brief moments of equality in previous decades, active segregation and disenfranchisement by white (mostly Southern) lawmakers in the form of Jim Crow Laws sought to keep Black citizens marginalized. Tensions became especially high after World War II, and on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her bus seat. This moment sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which symbolized the first steps of the Civil Rights Movement. Leaders of Black communities who had been advocating for change now had the full attention of the nation. Marches, boycotts, and sit-ins were all necessary and effective methods of civil disobedience. The arts were involved as well; speaking of the 1950s, actor and director Lloyd Richards stated: “The Black Theatre was a theatre of protest.�

Terminology

• Choreopoem: A dramatic performance that combines poetry, dance, music, and song.
• Civil Disobedience: A type of peaceful protest in which advocates refuse to comply with specific laws that are deemed unjust or discriminatory.
• Feminism: Advocacy of women’s rights in all facets of society, including civic, political, economic, medical, and judicial.
• Gentrification: Transformation of an urban neighborhood from a low to a high value by forcing out current residents. Gentrification disproportionately and negatively affects low-income and non-white residents.
• Harlem Renaissance: A cultural movement in early twentieth-century America that celebrated and advocated for the art, literature, music, fashion, and theatre of African-American communities.
• Jim Crow Laws: A set of laws enacted in the early 20th century designed to keep Black Americans segregated from white Americans.
• Postmodernism: A late twentieth-century style and concept in the arts, which represents a departure from modernism. It is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, mixing different artistic styles and media.
• Racial Integration: An objective of the Civil Rights movement, eliminating social, economic, political, educational, and civic barriers based on race.
• Segregation: The enforced separation of groups of people, often based on race.

Key Dates & Events

• 1863: Emancipation Proclamation
• 1865: 13th Amendment: Abolition of slavery
• 1868: 14th Amendment - equal protection under the law
• 1870: 15th Amendment - Black men have the right to vote
• 1880s: First “Jim Crowâ€� laws are established
• 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson which declared “separate but equalâ€� - legalizing segregation
• 1954: Brown v. Board of Education - segregation in public schools is declared illegal/unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In 1957, the Little Rock Nine arrive at school, but are greeted with the Arkansas National Guard and are refused entry to school
• 1955: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat, igniting the Montgomery bus boycott. Similar boycotts spread across the country
• 1957: Civil Rights Act regarding voting rights
• 1959: Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is the first play by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway
• 1961: Freedom Riders begin mobilizing throughout the South
• 1963: Letter from Birmingham Jail; March on Washington; I Have a Dream
• 1964: Civil Rights Act regarding employment
• 1964: Dutchman by Amiri Baraka premieres at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City
• 1965: Bloody Sunday, the Selma to Montgomery march
• 1965: Voting Rights Act
• 1965 - Malcolm X is assassinated in Manhattan at the Audubon Ballroom. This event inspires more organization around political and progressive ideologies in support of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements.
• 1965 - Amiri Baraka founded the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School. It closes less than a year later.
• 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated
• 1968: Fair Housing Act
• 1975: Considered the official end of the Black Arts Movement, other artists are later inspired to continue the socio-cultural progress of Baraka and others.