African American Civil Rights

Question 1

Which events had raised the profile of the civil rights movement?

Answer 1

Montgomery and Little Rock. Raised even further by sit-ins and the freedom riders.

Question 2

What happened in Greensboro in 1960?

Answer 2

4 students used a sit-in to protest against an all-white café.

Question 3

What support did the Greensboro sit in acquire?

Answer 3

ML King supported them. By August 1961, the sit-ins had attracted over 70,000 participants and resulted in over 3,000 arrests.

Question 4

What did the Supreme Court decide about bus stations in 1960?

Answer 4

All bus stations and terminals that served interstate travellers should be integrated.

Question 5

What was CORE?

Answer 5

The Congress of Racial Equality. They wanted to test the 1960 decision by employing the tactic of the freedom ride.

Question 6

Who were the freedom riders?

Answer 6

Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the Southern states where segregation laws were still in operation.

Question 7

When did the freedom rides begin?

Answer 7

Washington DC May 1961. They continued throughout the summer of 1961, with over 300 of the riders being imprisoned.

Question 8

What happened on the 22nd September 1961?

Answer 8

The Interstate Commerce Commission issued a regulation that ended racial segregation in bus terminals.

Question 9

What had ML King become by 1963?

Answer 9

The leading figure in the civil rights movement. He aimed to end segregation and to gain political equality for African Americans in the South.

Question 10

What was King’s belief in method?

Answer 10

He wanted African Americans to help themselves through peaceful methods such as marches and boycotts, to avoid the unnecessary alienation of white Americans.

Question 11

How did King tactically play the marches?

Answer 11

He used marches to draw attention to segregation but also to get himself arrested (e.g. SNCC march in Georgia)

Question 12

Why did King want to get arrested?

Answer 12

To put a spotlight on the civil rights cause, providing national and international publicity.

Question 13

What were the two most significant marches?

Answer 13

Birmingham and Washington, both in 1963.

Question 14

Describe the Birmingham march.

Answer 14

King knew the racist police chief Bull O’Connor would act violently - he set dogs on protestors and used fire hoses.
2,000 demonstrators and 1,300 children were arrested . This was televised to the whole world.

Question 15

Why was the Birmingham march significant?

Answer 15

• This gave King all the publicity he wanted as it showed the violence of the authorities in the face of peaceful demonstrations.
• At this stage, Kennedy became involved and it was agreed that desegregation would take place within 90 days.

Question 16

What was the Washington march a call for?

Answer 16

Jobs and freedom, but it broadened to cover the aims of the whole civil rights movement.

Question 17

How many people came to the Washington march?

Answer 17

250,000

Question 18

Describe the aftermath of the Washington march.

Answer 18

King and other leaders met to discuss civil rights legislation with President Kennedy, who confirmed his commitment to the cause.

Question 19

Which Bill by Kennedy did Johnson push?

Answer 19

Johnson pushed Kennedy’s Civil Rights Bill through Congress and it became the law in 1964. However, it did not guarantee African Americans the vote.

Question 20

What encouraged president Johnson to introduce the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

Answer 20

‘Bloody Sunday’ - in 1965 marchers (demanding voting rights) from Alabama to Birmingham were attacked by police and state troopers.

Question 21

What has historian Kevern Verney questioned?

Answer 21

The ‘King-centric approach’ - believing that it has underestimated the role of other individuals such as Philip Randolph and presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

Question 22

What was King not directly involved in?

Answer 22

The sit-ins and freedom rides of the early 1960s. Indeed, it was the SNCC that mobilised the sit-ins, the SNCC and the NAACP that worked together on the freedom rides.

Question 23

What did King admit in his 1967 book ‘where do we go from here?’

Answer 23

He admitted that his campaign ‘just isn’t working. People aren’t responding.’

Question 24

What did Malcolm X help to set up?

Answer 24

Educational and social programmes aimed at black youths in ghettos.

Question 25

How was Malcolm X a realistic role model for ghetto african americans?

Answer 25

He had changed himself from pimp, cocaine addict, armed robber and convict, into a national African-American leader.

Question 26

Why was Malcolm X seen as a failure in comparison to King?

Answer 26

His support for violence let to many enemies and critics. Moreover, his advocacy of separatism was unrealistic and unattainable.

Question 27

In the south, what had been broken politically?

Answer 27

The old Democratic stranglehold - a new generation of black politicians won elections:

• Julian Bond was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1965
• Maynard Jackson became the first black Mayor of Atlanta in 1974.