AA Black Power Flashcards
1
Q
Positive View + Quote
A
- Black Power led to African American culture being celebrated and serious issues facing African Americans being brought into the mainstream
- J.O.G. Ogbar - “NOI brought attention to the ubiquity of white supremacy and its effects on black people, such as unemployment, police brutality, and housing and job discrimination”
2
Q
Mixed View + Quote
A
- Although the NVDA (Non-Violent Direct Action) movement had brought some change in terms of political rights and regarding segregation, it failed to address pressing economic issues and those surrounding institutional racism
- Black power played some role in bringing about Nixon’s administration
3
Q
Negative View + Quote
A
- Radicalism alienated many whites from the movement → Divided movement
- The movement was never that popular and was easily crushed
- Reversed all the progress achieved by King
- “The supporters of Black Power achieved far less for African Americans” - Murphy, Cooper and Waldron
- Murphy, Cooper and Waldron also assert that “the Black Panthers gained publicity far greater than their real influence deserved”
4
Q
The political stance of the Black Panthers
A
- The Black Panthers were an openly Communist Party, and handed out Mao’s Little Red Book
5
Q
Where did support from the movement come from/ What caused the unrest
A
- The movement was Urban-centered
- Most of the support from Black Power came from the North and in cities
- After WW2, over ½ of America’s black population lived in North and West industrial cities
- As these industries went into decline, the situation of AAs became poor with poor education, housing and high crime.
- The cities experienced race riots between 1965 and 1967 in Harlem, Philadelphia, LA, etc.
- Many African Americans in the Northern cities felt that they had little had been done for them with the peaceful CRM which had been focused in the South.
- Northerns were getting frustrated with the slow progress in the South and MLK received accusations that he did not understand the problems in the North
- Black Power movement was strong in those born in poverty, especially ghettos.
6
Q
Nation of Islam
- When was it founded
- Aims
- Membership
- Successes and Failures
A
- Founded in 1930, main leader was Elijah Muhammad
Aimed to provide blacks with an alternative to the white man’s Christian religion, increase black self-esteem and encourage blacks to improve their economic situation - Membership - exclusively black and concentrated initially in poor ghettos in urban centres
- As high as 100,000 in 1960, possibly 250,000 by 1969
Successes:
- NOI newspaper Muhammad Speaks had a wide circulation of 600,000 by mid-1970s
- Elijah Muhammad and his son Wallace created many businesses, symbolising black success and giving employment opportunities to ghetto dwellers
Failures:
- Some solutions such as returning to Africa or creating a separate black state were unrealistic
- Many of the NOI’s teachings exacerbated tensions between blacks and whites
- Departure of Malcolm X damaged it; his assassination further decreased its popularity among blacks
7
Q
Views of Malcolm X and his organization
A
- He argued for pride in African American heritage and rejected the idea of relying on white support to gain rights
- He became a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam in 1962, which was fast growing
- 1960- 100,000 members
- 1969- 250,000 members
- He focused more on social and economic rights, whereas King had focused more on political rights
- He spoke for poor African Americans in the North and stressed the distinctive nature of their heritage, rather than integration.
- He rejected non-violence and believed in self-defence
- By 1960, he had become a well-known and influential figure
- He was dismissed from the Nation of Islam in 1963/64 after believing more in the mainstream civil rights movement and coming in to increasingly greater conflict with leader Elijah Muhammad.
- Formed the OAAU (Organization of Afro-American Unity) in 1964 - similar to the UNIA and asserted the right of African Americans to self defense, but never had more than 900 members
- 1965- he was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam.
- The Black Power movement derived from a number of different ideas from Malcolm X, different separatist movements and disappointment in the civil rights movement and lack of effectiveness of the wave of riots in 1965.
8
Q
Role of the Black Panthers
A
- They represented the most extreme manifestation of Black Power. Founded in October 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale
- Fought for social and economic positions of AAs and to put an end to capitalist exploitation
- Challenged white supremacy unlike previous civil rights organizations
- The group were easily identifiable in military-type clothing; they wore black leather jackets, berets and light blue shirts.
- Black Panthers associated more with Cuban Revolutionary Che Guevara than with MLK.
- Murphy, Cooper and Waldron also assert that “the Black Panthers gained publicity far greater than their real influence deserved”
- The death of King in 1968 is often marked as the end of the civil rights movement
9
Q
Differences from the Civil Rights movement
A
- Black Power did not have unified aims
- Did not focus on cooperation with white progressives or the achievement of political goals
- New focus was the progress of African Americans themselves
- Did not have much of a base in the South, but was spread throughout the US
- Did not focus on non-violence and perceived a need for AAs to be prepared to defend themselves with weapons
- Rejected cooperation with white Americans
- Most mainstream AA campaigners had looked to influence mainstream politics
- Du Bois worked with white liberals and wanted integration into US Society
- Randolph and NAACP accepted the rule of law
- King used non-violent protest and aimed for political equality and full citizenship
- Exception was Marcus Garvey and NOI who favoured separatism
- Arguably Black Power arose out of frustration and was never likely to bring about change
10
Q
Impact of Black Panthers on AA rights
A
- Black Panthers fought for economic equality and an end to capitalist exploitation
- Those in ghettos were given economic support
- Black Panthers monitored police, limiting their brutality
- Radicalisation of BPs highlighted the ineffectiveness of peaceful movements
- The Panthers set up the Free Breakfast for School Children Program for inner city youths, which fed around 10,000 children every day
- In 1970, the Southern California chapter of the programme served over 1,700 meals weekly to the ghetto poor
11
Q
Impact of AAs themselves on AA rights
A
- Local communities also began to take action
- Support given to ghettos and grassroots activists pushed CR legislation beyond what it would have been
- in 1972 a national Black Political Convention was held to push for reform - Marxists have argued that it created some degree of class consciousness
- Kennedy troubled by black mobs, so perhaps it was their militancy in 1963 which led to the CRA 1964 and VRA 1965
12
Q
Examples of the promotion of black culture + heritage
A
- Afros became common and black people such as Louis Armstrong became popular figures
- Courses were run on African American culture in schools and universities
- “Black is beautiful”
- Black Power remade black identity, which had been destroyed through slavery. It gave a sense of independence, pride and confidence.
- Jazz composer and musician Miles Davis showed cultural changes of Black Power through music
- Blacks were shown in a more positive perspective in films and TV shows.
- Scholars such as William van Deburg argued that the greatest contribution made by Black Power lay in its intellectual and cultural impact.
13
Q
Problems of Radicalisation and Separatism
A
- Isolated the federal government
- Looks like its going back to the idea of ‘separate but equal’.
- 1967- MLK was critical of the movement’s failure to see that progress depends on interracial cooperation. Exemplified by the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which showed political improvements and the role of legal changes was very significant.
- Last piece of legislation was the Fair Housing Act 1968- Black Power may have isolated itself from the federal government and lack of legislation highlights the importance of the support of the Fed.
- Violence was a dead-end. May have taken influence from the revolutions against colonisers in Africa, yet the circumstances were very different so they achieved very little
- The movement excluded whites who wanted to help- limited achievements and did not reach levels of support that MLK had.
14
Q
Riots in this period
A
- Wave of race riots hindered progress: Watts riot in LA 1965 cost $40 million in damages and led to 34 deaths and 1000 injuries
- 238 other race riots in over 200 US cities 1964-68
15
Q
Limitations of economic benefits
A
- Economic changes were in fact limited- In 1969, 3.6% of African Americans aged over 14 were illiterate, compared to 0.7% of whites aged over 14.
- Furthermore, the 1992 African American unemployment rate was nearly twice the national average (14.2% compared to 7.8%).
