African Americans in the North and South (1960-1963)

Question 1

How did Kennedy use his executive power for Civil Rights?

Answer 1

• He created five black federal judges (including Thurgood Marshall)
• Rob Kenndey brought 57 suits against violations of black voting rights in the South at the Justice Department
• JFK created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to encourage companies to employ more black people

Question 2

When was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) created?

Answer 2

1957 (founded by King)

Question 3

What were the sit-ins?

Answer 3

• Beginning on February 1st 1960, young people went to segregated restaurants, sat in ‘whites only’ seats, and asked to be served
• Within a month 50,000 students in 30 venues across seven states were doing the same
• They were met with a lot of media attention and violent reactions from white people, particularly in Nashville

Question 4

What Civil Rights group was birthed due to the sit-ins?

Answer 4

The Student Non-Violent Coordination Committee, organised by Ella Baker

Question 5

What did Kennedy do after King was placed in prison in October 1960?

Answer 5

He used his political capital to secure King’s release after he was arrested for partaking in a sit-in

Question 6

What were the Freedom Rides?

Answer 6

• Organised by CORE in 1961 in an attempt to replicate their 1947 Journey of Reconciliation
• 13 riders (7 black, 6 white) set out from Washinton to New Orleans to make the president confront the issue of civil rights
• There were over 60 rides involving over 300 riders

Question 7

How did the Kennedy Administration deal with the Freedom Rides?

Answer 7

• Due to the violent reaction it received, Robert Kennedy demanded the ICC enforce the 1955 ruling on the desegregation of interstate buses
• On November 1st 1961, the ICC ended segregation in interstate travel and facilities

Question 8

How were the Freedom Rides successful?

Answer 8

• They gained international attention
• The ICC desegregated interstate travel
• It showed the Kennedy administration’s willingness to deliver on its promises to black people

Question 9

What was the Albany campaign?

Answer 9

Three SNCC campaigners went to Albany, Georgia, to challenge segregation there, even though they lacked the focus that the sit-ins had

Question 10

How did Albany’s police chief, Laurie Pritchett, react to the campaigners?

Answer 10

• He was aware that violence would attract media attention so he instructed his officers to police the marches fairly, make sure there were spaces in jail, and treat King with care when he arrives

Question 11

How did SNCC campaigners react to Pritchett’s tactics?

Answer 11

They were frustrated and called King, who was arrested during a march
King was offered a fine or jail time, and when he chose jail, Pritchett quickly arranged for his fine to be paid and his release as he feared media attention

Question 12

Was the Albany campaign successful?

Answer 12

Although it was not successful in the short run due to strategic challenges and Pritchett driving away media attention, Albany had removed all segregationalist laws within a year

Question 13

What happened to James Mederith in Ole Miss?

Answer 13

• Meredith successfully applied to the University of Mississippi in October 1962
• He was faced with riots where two were killed, and Robert Kennedy had to send in 500 US Marshalls supported by the 70th Army Engineer Combat Battalion but they too were injured
• Meredith graduated in August 1963 with a degree in Political Science

Question 14

Who was George Wallace?

Answer 14

• The Senator of Alabama
• Famously said “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” in his inaugural speech
• Blocked the access of the already integrated University of Alabama for two black students in June 1963

Question 15

What was Birmingham nicknamed?

Answer 15

‘Bombingham’ due to its Klan activity

Question 16

What happened in Birmingham?

Answer 16

• In April 1963, the SCLC launched a campaign in Birmingham
• They lacked the money to cover bail, so when King was arrested, his wife (Corretta) contacted the Kennedy Administration and he was released in April 1963

Question 17

What was the result of using young children in the Birmingham campaign?

Answer 17

• Bull Conner directed local police to use dogs and extremely powerful fire hoses on them, as well as arrest them
• This gained a lot of media attention all over the world, and Rob Kennedy sent Burke Marshall (his chief civil rights assistant) to negotiate, which resulted in an agreement to start desegregating facilites

Question 18

What was the March on Washington?

Answer 18

• On August 27 1963, over 200,000 marchers went to DC to increase the pressure on the Kennedy Administration to get civil rights legislation, as well as to show the economic prejudice faced by African Americans
• The subtitle of the march was ‘For Jobs and Freedom’
• It involved a lot of powerful civil rights campaigners like King and CORE’s James Farmer

Question 19

How many troops did Kennedy station in the suburbs during the March on Washington?

Answer 19

19,000 (although no protesters were arrested in the end)

Question 20

How did the March on Washinton benefit MLK?

Answer 20

• His ‘I Have a Dream’ speech gained a lot of media attention
• Time Magazine named him the Man of the Year in 1963 and he received a Nobel Peace Price in 1964

Question 21

Why was the Nation of Islam gaining more popularity in the 1960s?

Answer 21

Because of the exposure that Malcolm X had gained in the 1959 documentary ‘The Hate That Hate Produced’

Question 22

How did the general population oppose civil rights?

Answer 22

• They would get involved in racist mobs and riots
• People like Hazel Massry who screamed abuse at Elizabeth Eckford during the Little Rock Crisis and William Zantzinger who murdered a black waitress (Bob Dylan wrote a song about it titled ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’)

Question 23

How did White Citizen’s Councils oppose civil rights?

Answer 23

Informally known as the ‘Country Club Klan’, the middle-class nature of the Councils allowed them to exert economic influence and encourage employees not to join marches with hints at their job status

Question 23

How did the KKK oppose civil rights?

Answer 23

They were directly responsible for several deaths and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama in 1963

Question 24

How did the Dixiecrats oppose civil rights?

Answer 24

They obstructed desegregation in numerous ways, including filibustering, savaging bills and rousing sentiment against desegregation
They included people like Strom Thurmond and Harry Byrd

Question 25

How did Kennedy respond to pressure for civil rights changes?

Answer 25

• He drafted a Civil Rights Bill in June 1963 with more power than Ike’s ‘57 and ‘60 Acts
• However, the bill was stalled by Dixiecrat Howard W Smith and could not be passed due to Kennedy’s assassination