Award Date

12-1-2014

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

History

First Committee Member

Todd E. Robinson

Second Committee Member

Elizabeth Nelson

Third Committee Member

Marcia Gallo

Fourth Committee Member

Maria R. Casas

Fifth Committee Member

Doris Watson

Number of Pages

272

Abstract

This study chronicles a story of civil rights that has been left untold until now. Recent scholarship contributing to the history of the "long civil rights movement" has reframed our understanding of civil rights beyond the years of the late 1950s and early 1960s. In addition, it has also demonstrated that civil rights activity occurred in regions other than the South. However, most work on the long civil rights movement demonstrates that activism among blacks began much earlier than the Brown v. Board Supreme Court case and instead, was a part of a longer freedom struggle that, in many ways, makes up the African American experience. By focusing on Denver, this work will demonstrate that civil rights activity, just as it began before 1954, extends past significant legislative milestones, and tragic historical moments, like the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. By turning our attention westward, this work proves that 1968 was not an end point in civil rights history. Denver's story had regional and national impact, as two contemporary educational equality movements took shape and youth activism became more formalized and visible. Similarly, Denver's Chicano Movement had significant influence on activism in Denver and the nation, and this history demonstrates the multicultural makeup of civil rights.

Keywords

Black; Chicano; Civil Rights; School; Urban; West

Disciplines

African American Studies | American Studies | Education | History | Race and Ethnicity

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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