1910 - 1945

Question 1

How many AA were part of the great migration during this period and why?

Answer 1

• socially and economically
• over 1.5 million AA moved north between 1910 and 1940
• seeking better jobs as wages were up to three times higher

Question 2

Limitations of the great migration

Answer 2

• race riots
• segregation
• limited political influence despite high numbers

Question 3

Example of race riots

Answer 3

• Led to Chicago Race Riots of 1919, killing 23 AA and injuring 500
• Red Summer (1919): 26 race riots nationwide.

Question 4

Who was Marcus Garvey and what was his impact?

Answer 4

• began the Universal Negro Improvement association in 1914
• UNIA had 4 mil members
• advocating for Black economic independence.
• encouraged AA to have pride in themselves and their culture
• created the Black Star Line in 1919 as a way of promoting economic independence

Question 5

Criticisms of Marcus Garvey

Answer 5

• “Back to Africa” movement was unrealistic and divisive.
• Held talks with the KKK which was frowned upon
• convicted of mail fraud in 1923, then deported in 1927, then UNIA collapsed

Question 6

Impact of the NAACP during the period

Answer 6

• targeted desegregation, voting rights and education
• By 1919, NAACP membership surged to 91,000 due to its anti-lynching campaigns.
• attempted to lobby congress but no legislation due to opposition

Question 7

what legal victories did the NAACP achieve during the period

Answer 7

-1938
- won the ‘Missouri ex rel. Gaines v Canada,’ which ruled that states must provide equal education for AA

Question 8

How did segregation impact AA

Answer 8

• Schools were underfunded with AA schools receiving 1/3rd of the funding
• inferior hospitals, parks, libraries, and transport. Many Black patients denied medical care, increasing mortality rates.
• Restricted to low-paying jobs

Question 9

What happened to the KKK during this period

Answer 9

• revived in 1915, due to the film ‘Birth of a Nation’
• 4 million members by 1925
• 1925 March on Washington: 40,000 Klansmen paraded openly in D.C
• declined by 1930, as Jim Crow laws firmly in place

Question 10

What was the Harlem resistance?

Answer 10

• encouraged AA individualism with musicians and poets showing AA society
• Harlem had de facto segregation, with Black performers often restricted from white venues.

Question 11

How did the 1929 Great depression impact AA

Answer 11

• AA unemployment reached 50%
• 500,000 Black tenant farmers and sharecroppers were displaced in the South.
• AA were first to be fired and last to be hired

Question 12

How did the 1935 New Deal benefit AA?

Answer 12

• 30% of AA families supported by 1935
• Roosevelt’s administration included the Black Cabinet, advising on Black issues.
• The Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Crops provided over 200,000 jobs

Question 13

Negatives of the new deal for African Americans

Answer 13

• Social Security excluded domestic and agricultural workers, affected 65% of AA
• Federal aid programs were run by Southern officials, who often denied benefits to Black families.
• The national recovery administration allowed businesses to set lower wages for AA workers

Question 14

How did WW2 impact civil rights?

Answer 14

• Over 1 mil AA served in segregated units, leading to demands for equal treatments
• the Double V campaign called for victory against the fascism abroad and racism at home
• Military experience led to many black veterans to demand equal rights

Question 15

What was Executive order 8802, why was it significant

Answer 15

• 1941
• signed by Roosevelt, banned racial discrimination in defence industries
• first federal action against employment discrimination
• led to more AA workers getting jobs in war agencies