3. Issue Of Civil Rights 1941-1970 Flashcards
Evidence of discrimination in ww2
Segregated units with only white officers.
Black nurses could only treat black soldier & only blood from other black soldiers could be used.
Air force didn’t accept black pilots.
Black people found promotion difficult in the armed forces.
Reasons for progress in terms of discrimination in ww2
Black soldiers had joined front lines and running out of men, they began proving themselves as worthy soldiers and so change came.
Tuskegee airmen (all black) won great acclaim acting as escorts for US bombers.
761st tank battalion also won acclaim in Battle of the Bulge.
Evidence for progress in terms of discrimination in ww2
Supreme commanded Eisenhower supported integrated combat units- by 1944 there were hundreds of black officers in the army and marines.
Fighter squadrons of black pilots- by end of 1945 about 600 trained.
By end of war 58 black sailors out of about 3.5 million had risen to rank of officer.
Desegregation in navy came in 1946 and other services followed in 1948. By 1955 the army had gone from being the most segregated organisations in the country to the most successfully integrated.
What was the double V campaign
Started at home to gain improved civil rights as well as victory in war
What did Roosevelt do in 1941 fearing race riots
Executive order/Set up a fair employment practices committee, banning discrimination against black Americans in industrial & government jobs.
How many black people were working in war factories by 1944 & in gov jobs by end of the war
2 million & 200,000
Evidence of discrimination on the home front during ww2
Blacks paid half that of whites,
Against company policies to employ blacks in skilled jobs,
Segregation in the work place
What did many us states have + how much did South Carolina spend on schools
Segregated schools,
Spent 3x the amount on white schools than black schools.
What was the brown vs Topeka board (of education) case and when was it
1954, argued educational/academic achievement was restricted by the separate but equal Jim Crow laws.
It was ruled that segregation in education was unconstitutional
Was there progress after BvB?
Ish- by 1957 more than 300,000 black children attending schools which had been formally segregated.
By 1957 still 2.4 million southern black children educated in segregated schools + in response to BvB more than 100 senators & congressmen in the south signed the southern manifesto, opposing racial integration in education +more than 450 laws passed in southern states aiming to prevent the BvB decision from being enforced.
What happened at Little Rock high school in Arkansas in 1957
9 AA students attempted to enter the hire only high school. State governor, faubus, ordered national guardsmen to block entry.
What did media coverage of Little Rock do
Embarrassed the USA, pres Eisenhower forced to send 1000 federal troops into the school.
What did faubus do in response to Eisenhower sending in troops to Little Rock
Closed all Arkansas schools to prevent integration until 1959 following a Supreme Court ruling that schools must integrate
Why was Little Rock significant
Demonstrations publicised in the media, USA was embarrassed.
Involved president, showing civil rights was an issue that could no longer be ignored.
Demonstrated states could be overruled by federal government when necessary.
Showed that racial hatred still existed in southern states.
What % of AA children attended multi racial schools in souther states by 1964
2%
In 1962, what did jfk do for James Meredith
Sent 320 federal marshals to escort him to campus as the university of Mississippi didn’t want any black students and prevented him from registering after they were forced to accept him.
There were riots and so he sent in a further 2,000 troops to restore order.
300 soldiers remained on campus until Meredith received his degree
What led to the Montgomery bus boycott and what year
1955-56, Montgomery law stated AA had to sit at the back of the bus and give up seats if whites wanted them.
In1955 Rosa parks refused to give up her seat and was arrested. Local civil rights activists including mlk set up the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and organised a boycott.
Was the Montgomery bus boycott successful
Civil rights lawyers fought Rosa parks case in court and in dec 1956 Supreme Court declared Montgomery bus laws illegal. Bus company gave in.
Was the beginning of non-violent mass protests by the civil rights movement & inspired
What were sit-ins?
When people would occupy an area for a protest, e.g outside a shop that only served whites. They became very widespread and effective especially in cities with many students, had an impact on local economy and so was successful.
When and what were the freedom rides
1961, civil rights activists deliberately rode interstate buses run by companies that were ignoring laws banning segregation. These were met with much violence in the racist south until ending of segregation was fully enforced in all bus and rail stations
When was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference formed, what did it believe
1957- led by king believing that boycotts and other peaceful, non-violent protests should be adopted in the struggle for equality
When and what was the march on Birmingham, what happened as a result?
- King led the SCLC at the march, challenging Birminghams avoidance of desegregation.
King was arrested and sent to jail where he wrote his ‘letter from Birmingham jail’, explaining why AA were tired and angry at their humiliating treatment.
Police reaction& brutality televised to world + got mlk attention he wanted.
When was the march on Washington, what happened?
1963, king delivered a speech calling for jobs and freedom, but broadened to cover the aims of the entire civil rights movement.
Put pressure on jfk to put forward a civil rights bill
When was the civil rights act passed and what did it do?
1964, banned segregation, made federal government responsible for bringing discrimination cases to court, blacks able to enter gov. Funded places e.g schools, fair employment.