African Americans Quick Quiz Flashcards
When were the Black Panthers founded?
1966
What did the Black Panthers emerge in the wake of?
1965 Watts Riot
By the late 1960s what did the membership of the Black Panthers reach?
5,000
How big was the Black Panther newspaper circulation?
250,000
Give 2 main reasons why the Black Panthers achieved little
- They were violent - armed self-defence
- They were Communists
How often were lynchings in the 1890s?
1 every 2 days
Give 2 examples of state measures against African American voting
- Literacy tests
- Grandfather Clauses
Which 2 states received independent powers in the Hayes-Tilden Compromise?
- Louisiana
- South Carolina
When did Tennessee first segregate rail travel?
1881
What was the SC case US v Harris 1883 outlining?
Private discrimination did not fall under federal jurisdiction
By 1960 what % of AA in the South were registered to vote?
28%
To what % did AA votes increase in Mississippi in 1968?
67.5%
What happened under Johnson for the first time that allowed significant change to occur (involving the other branches of Federal Government)?
The Federal Government was united to tackle the racist South
How many lynchings took place across Eisenhower’s presidency?
12
When was the death (lynching) of Emmett Till?
1955
Give an example to why the 1954 Brown v Board ruling was not significant enough to improve the position on segregation
- Opposition visible at Little Rock high school 1957
- The need for further rapid desegregation of schools Alexander v Holmes SC 1969
What did Executive Order 11578 state? (Nixon)
All employers with federal contracts were to draft policies showing the promotion of African American employment
What was the reason for greater economic change under Nixon in the 1970s?
The extension of Affirmative Action
What did 1971 Griggs v Duke Power allow
Affirmative action to avoid implicit workplace discrimination
How many jobs did the New Deal create for AAs?
1 million
In 1935 what % of AA were below the poverty line?
45%
What SC case allowed the exclusion of AA from registering to vote?
Mississippi v Williams
In the 1870s how many AA were elected to congress?
22
In 1947 what % of African Americans were registered to vote?
12%
What year was Smith v Allright?
1944
What SC case gave the rights of citizens to states?
1873 Slaughterhouse Case
How many times bigger was the illiteracy rates between AA’s and whites?
5x
Which AA was killed in 1955 for speaking to a white woman?
Emmett Till
By 1915 how many businesses in the south were owned by AA?
30,000
When and who founded Tuskegee University?
Booker T Washington
1881
What did Booker T encourage AA’s to increase?
Their money
What controversial policy did Booker T agree with?
Segregation
What did Booker T not pass any of?
Legislation
What year did MLK fail to address the housing crisis and where?
1966
Chicago: underestimated scale of the issue
What years was Jesse Jackson a democratic candidate?
1984 & 1988
Name 2 Supreme Court measures NAACP achieved
1944 Smith v Allwright
1954 Brown v Board
What presidents did Booker T. work with?
- Teddy Roosevelt
- Taft
In 1965 how many voters did Stokely Carmicheal raise and where?
70-> 2600 voters
In Lowndes County
What did Phillip Randolph pressure Truman to do?
Desegregate the army in 1948
What economic achievements did Booker T. have?
- Negro Business League 1900
- ‘Dip your buckets’ -> improving wealth & education
What university did Booker T establish and when?
- Tuskgee University 1881
What did Marcus Garvey do to improve economic status of African Americans?
Established the Black Star steamship line
What was Martin Luther King’s aims in 1966 for economic improvement (+ where)?
Chicago, Marquette Park
- Aimed to deal with poverty & housing issues.
What happened before Selma-Montgomery?
Bloody Sunday
By 1913 how many homes did African Americans have?
550,000
How did Booker T encourage white American support?
Atlanta 1895:
Talks to white American audiences & compromises, supporting segregation
Who did Phillip Randolph work with?
White sympathisers
Malcom X’s view on the American Dream
“I don’t see an American Dream, I see an American nightmare”
What was the aims of the pan-African movement?
Sought to unify and connect people of African descent worldwide.
What did Du Bois do?
The Niagra Movement: Set forth foundation for NAACP in 1909
By the mid-1980s what % of African American families had acquired middle-class lifestyles?
40%
Define bifurcation of African Americans
- Splitting into two economic classes: w/c & m/c
What was the AA unemployment rate in 1992?
Nearly twice the national average (around 14%)
What were White Citizen’s Councils formed in response to?
1954 Brown v Board
By 1913 how many AA pupils were in public schools?
1.7 million
Garvey’s Pan-Africanism quote
‘Africa for the Africans home and abroad’
Was Garvey a success?
No, his commercial schemes failed and he was imprisoned for fraud
What did Phillip Randolph do socially? [2]
- Pressured Roosevelt to end discrimination in the war industries in 1941
- Pressured Truman to end segregation in the armed forces in 1948
What did Randolph organise politically?
The March on Washington
Who did Randolph work with?
White sympathisers & put pressure on administrations
What 3 legislations did MLK get?
- Browder v Gayle 1956
- Civil Rights Act 1964
- Voting Rights Act 1965
How many times was MLK arrested?
29
What bus boycott does MLK lead?
Alabama-Montgomery bus boycott 55-56
What does Malcom X do in congress?
Threatens he’s the alternative to Dr. King
Who did Malcom X speak to?
Northern AA’s - better at motivating the North
What did Malcom X argue for economically?
Black control of their own community e.g. black politicians & businesses
What hindered Malcom X?
He had less popular support than Garvey at his height
What did Stokely Carmicheal raise AA voters from and where?
70 to 2600 voters in 1965
Lowndes County
When did Carmicheal become President of the Black Panthers?
1967
What movement did Carmicheal support?
Pan-African movement
How many black Congressmen were in South Carolina between 1867-77?
8
What did Andrew Johnson establish?
Black codes - de facto slavery
Who was the Governor of Little Rock and what did he do?
Orval Faubus - in 1957 prevented 9 black students from entering school
Who was the Police Chief at Birmingham 1963 and what did he do?
‘Bull’ Connor - used fire houses & attack dogs against CHILDREN
What did Southern states do after 1877?
Little or nothing to control violence against AA’s or stop lynchings
How many deaths were there in the run up to the 1868 Louisiana election?
200 deaths due to KKK
Who did the KKK attack in the 1860s?
Members of the Freedmen’s Bureau & those who attempted to vote
What was KKK membership in Tennessee in 1871?
40,000
What film caused the rebirth of the KKK?
‘The Birth of a Nation’ - portrayed the Klan as heroic
What did KKK membership reach in 1924?
Peaked at 6 million
Why did KKK membership decline in 1930s
Due to sexual scandal involving the Grand Wizard
What happened to the KKK in 1950s
Various groups used the name & some methods, but it ceased to be a mass organisation
What did the KKK do in 1961?
Some members attacked the Freedom Riders
When was the last lynching and what happened to the perpetrators?
Michael Donal 1981
Perpetrators given death sentence.
Why were the White Citizens’ Councils formed
Following 1954 Brown v Board to protest desegregation
How many lynchings were there between 1885 and 1917?
2700
What happened to the murderers of Emmett Till in 1955?
They were acquitted
In 1991 what did LA police do?
Beat Rodney King
Who was Governor at Birmingham 1963?
George Wallace
What did Reagan do to hinder progress?
Begin removing support for Civil Rights
Rehnquist Supreme Court 1986
What was George Wallace’s inaugural speech?
‘Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever’ 1963
What did Grant (1869-77) do?
Used federal troops and authority to support Reconstruction
What did Woodrow Wilson (1913-21) do?
Did little for civil rights: Praised KKK for defending Southern rights after the Civil War
What New Deal reforms helped AA’s
- Civilian Conservation Corps
- Federal Emergency Relief Administration
- Public Works Administration
What executive order did Truman do?
1948 order against segregation in armed forces
What acts did Eisenhower pass?
- Civil Rights Act 1957 & 1960 reaffirming AA right to vote
Who was the first AA Supreme Court justice appointed by Johnson?
Thurgood Marshall
What organisations gained the Civil Rights Act & Voting Rights Act?
SCLC, SNCC and CORE
What did the Civil Rights Acts 1957, 1960 do?
Set the right to vote down in Law - largely ignored by the South
Why was civil rights progress maintained politically in the 1980s?
Due to a liberal 1980s Congress
What did 1980s Congress do?
Strengthened the Voting Rights Act 1982 with stronger penalties against discrimination
Why weren’t organisations needed post 60s?
Momentum had already started and continued due to changing society
What boycott did the NAACP help organize?
1955 Montgomery, Alabama boycott with Rosa Parks
What were the militant organisations?
- Black Panthers
- Nation of Islam
- SNCC-post 65
Why did militant organisations fail?
Hindered progress due to their militant approach causing white backlash
When were the SCLC established?
1957
How did Stokely Carmichael change the SNCC?
In 1965 He expelled all white members from staff positions.
What happened to the SCLC once MLK died
It fizzled out - shows his individual improant
What policies did Nixon do economically?
Affirmative Action
Agreed to busing
What did the NAACP do in 1917?
Prevented the enforced segregation of African Americans into seperate residential districts
When was CORE founded?
1942
What did CORE introduce?
Freedom Rides in 1947
What was CORE dominated with?
White members
What did CORE achieve with Kennedy?
1961 Kennedy authorised the desegregation on interstate transport
How many people were at March on Washington 1963?
250,000
What date was Bloody Sunday?
7th March 1965
Who led Bloody Sunday march?
SNCC
How long did the Selma marches last?
7-25th March 1965
What did Operation Breadbasket become?
Operation PUSH
What was Operation PUSH?
Weekly meetings in Chicago to expand business ties
What was 1898 Williams v Mississippi?
It upheld African American disenfranchisement
What SC case did 1965 US v Mississippi overrule?
1898 Williams v Mississippi
What was the 1873 Slaughterhouse case?
14th Amendment undermined, states individually could decide rights
What did Jesse Jackson want to achieve socially?
Unity between all Civil Rights groups
What did Phillip Randolph do economically?
Led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - pushed for better pay
What did W.E.B Du Bois say would lead African Americans to prosperity?
The ‘Talented Tenth’ would lead AA’s to equality
Did Du Bois lead to any gains?
By 1913 AA’s owned 550,000 homes.
What was the result of the 1933 National Industry Recovery Act?
550,000 AA were fired, not classed as skilled workers
