Black Activists Flashcards
Who were the main three Black Activists during this period we look at?
Thurgood Marshall
A. Philip Randolph
Adam Clayton Powell
What is Thurgood Marshall’s background?
Graduated high school early and went to a segregated university to study law
Joined the NAACP in 1936
Which law did Thurgood Marshall successfully challenge? And how?
Plessy v. Ferguson (‘Separate but equal’)
He highlighted how the institutions were not equal in opportunity or access
How many rulings did Thurgood Marshall win against the ‘separate but equal’ policies?
He won 29 out of the 32 he fought against
What was Thurgood Marshall critical of within the Civil Rights movement?
The aggression of certain Civil Rights leaders
What was A. Philip Randolph’s background?
Editor of a radical black magazine - The MESSENGER (1917)
Organised an all-black trade union (‘Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters’) in 1937
Threatened to conduct a mass march on Washington in 1941 to protect against discrimination in the defence industry - FDR establishes FEPC (Fair Employment Practise Committee) as a response
Which law did A. Philip Randolph pressure Truman to implement in 1948?
Executive Order 9981 - Army desegregated
What did A. Philip Randolph mastermind in 1963? And what did this lead to?
The March on Washington
Helped pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act
What was A. Philip Randolph’s argument for future civil rights campaigns?
He argued that mass, non-violent protests could force the federal government into vitally important measures to help blacks
What was Adam Clayton Powell’s background?
Involved in Harlem’s ‘Don’t buy when you can’t work’ campaign (1934-5)
Led successful boycotts against NY bus companies who employed only whites (1938)
Won a seat in the NY City Council (1941)
What newspaper did Adam Clayton Powell establish? What did this newspaper do?
‘People’s Voice’
Campaigned against discriminatory employers (Macy’s, city colleges, Red Cross)
Compared American racism to Nazi racism
How many times was Adam Clayton Powell elected to the House of Representatives?
12 consecutive times (1945-69)
What was Adam Clayton Powell’s legacy?
Became Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labour (1961) - most influential position a black person had obtained
Claimed to have originated the phrase - ‘Black power’
‘He taught us pride in ourselves’ was a phrase used to describe Adam Clayton Powell by who?
David Dinkins, New York’s first black mayor
