3. Issue Of Civil Rights 1941-1970

Question 1

Evidence of discrimination in ww2

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Reasons for progress in terms of discrimination in ww2

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Evidence for progress in terms of discrimination in ww2

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

What was the double V campaign

Answer 4

Started at home to gain improved civil rights as well as victory in war

Question 5

What did Roosevelt do in 1941 fearing race riots

Answer 5

Executive order/Set up a fair employment practices committee, banning discrimination against black Americans in industrial & government jobs.

Question 6

How many black people were working in war factories by 1944 & in gov jobs by end of the war

Answer 6

2 million & 200,000

Question 7

Evidence of discrimination on the home front during ww2

Answer 7

Blacks paid half that of whites,
Against company policies to employ blacks in skilled jobs,
Segregation in the work place

Question 8

What did many us states have + how much did South Carolina spend on schools

Answer 8

Segregated schools,
Spent 3x the amount on white schools than black schools.

Question 9

What was the brown vs Topeka board (of education) case and when was it

Answer 9

1954, argued educational/academic achievement was restricted by the separate but equal Jim Crow laws.
It was ruled that segregation in education was unconstitutional

Question 10

Was there progress after BvB?

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

What happened at Little Rock high school in Arkansas in 1957

Answer 11

9 AA students attempted to enter the hire only high school. State governor, faubus, ordered national guardsmen to block entry.

Question 12

What did media coverage of Little Rock do

Answer 12

Embarrassed the USA, pres Eisenhower forced to send 1000 federal troops into the school.

Question 13

What did faubus do in response to Eisenhower sending in troops to Little Rock

Answer 13

Closed all Arkansas schools to prevent integration until 1959 following a Supreme Court ruling that schools must integrate

Question 14

Why was Little Rock significant

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

What % of AA children attended multi racial schools in souther states by 1964

Answer 15

2%

Question 16

In 1962, what did jfk do for James Meredith

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What led to the Montgomery bus boycott and what year

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

Was the Montgomery bus boycott successful

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What were sit-ins?

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

When and what were the freedom rides

Answer 20

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

Question 21

When was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference formed, what did it believe

Answer 21

1957- led by king believing that boycotts and other peaceful, non-violent protests should be adopted in the struggle for equality

Question 22

When and what was the march on Birmingham, what happened as a result?

Answer 22

1963. 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.

Question 23

When was the march on Washington, what happened?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

When was the civil rights act passed and what did it do?

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

When was the march on Selma and what happened

Answer 25

1965, used to present a petition demanding voting rights. Protesters attacked by police and state troopers.
In response, pres Johnson called for the voting rights act.

Question 26

When and what was the voting rights act

Answer 26

1965, a result of the march on Selma, ended literacy tests and fed agents could monitor registration, and step in if there was discrimination.

Question 27

What did Malcolm x believe in and how did he justify it

Answer 27

Violence rather than peaceful protest.
In self defence- “by any means necessary” as he saw no point in Respecting others if they don’t respect him.

He suggested change could be achieved by taking a more aggressive route, making a change rather than waiting for it.

Question 28

What did Malcolm x set up for black youths in ghettos & want to connect black Americans with

Answer 28

Educational & social programmes- he appealed far more to youths than mlk
Their heritage

Question 29

Who was stokely Carmichael + what did he believe in

Answer 29

Chairman of SNCC(?) and inspired by Malcolm x.
He encouraged blacks to take responsibility for their own lives and reject white help with the slogan “black is beautiful” to promote their heritage.

Later joined black panthers

Question 30

Where did stokely Carmichael and the black panthers gain publicity

Answer 30

1968 Mexico olympics. Athletes Tommie smith and John Carlos wore the movements uniform snd gave the salute during their medal ceremony.

Question 31

Who were the black panthers

Answer 31

Party formed in 1966 heavily influenced by Malcolm x.
Had a 10 point programme to combat social issues e.g hunger, drug abuse etc and were prepared to use revolutionary means to achieve these aims.
Advocated to end capitalism and establish a socialist society “our fight is a class struggle, not a race struggle”

Question 32

What caused the race riots and why were they significant

Answer 32

Despite introduction of civil rights legislation, anger and frustration of many young blacks over continued racial injustice, high unemployment and poverty resulted in the outbreak of a series of riots across many us cities in the late 60s.

A report following the riots states that racism was deeply embedded in American society. Not only highlighted the economic issues faced by black people but also the systematic police bias and brutality.