Black Americans In The 1950s Flashcards
Why was segregation in the north and south different
In the north segregation was produced by discrimination due to black people usually having the worst paid jobs meaning they were seperated from white people as they lived in the worst parts of town.In the south segregation was enforced by racist Jim Crow laws
What are Jim crow laws
It was a nickname from a character who was black and lazy and stupid played by a white person,these laws enforced segregation in the southern states
What were the attitudes on black people in the south
Many southern white people were brought up to see black people as inferior childlike and unitelligent
What were the effects of the second world war on the relations of black and white people
When the war ended some white people were more open to civil rights due to them fighting alongside them.It was also a political embarrasment as they were supposed to show the free world and yet Black Americans were discriminated against
In 1956 how many black americans were registered to vote
About 20%
How did white people stop black people from voting in the 50s
Employers threatened to sack black employees,On voting and registration days white gangs gathered outside registration and voting places to stop black people,some states passed laws to make it harder for black people to vote,most black people were given harder tests to see if they were eligible to vote
What does NAACP stand for
National Association for the Advancement of coloured people
What does CORE stand for
Congress of Racial Equality
What were the NAACP focused on in terms of civil rights in the 1950s
They focused on fighting for civil rights in the court,for example setting up the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) it wanted to focus on fight segregation in the law courts
What was the Plessy v Ferguson (seperate but equal) decision of the supreme court and when was it made
Made in 1896,This ruling upheld the Jim Crow laws by saying that segregation was acceptable if the facilities provided were equal
What did CORE target in the 50s
It had a smaller membership than the NAACP and targeted segregation outside of the courts by doing things like boycotts,sit ins and pickets of segregated places
What is a boycott
To refuse using a service if you believe it’s doing something wrong
What is a Picket
Demonstrating outside a place you believe is doing something wrong
What is a sit in
Sitting down somewhere and refusing to move
Why were many church organisations involved in speaking out on civil rights
They were mainly paid by their church so woulden’t lose their jobs,they were educated,they could negotiate with white people because of their status,they had a good network to organise events,they could gain support from many people
How did black people face violent opposition
They faced violent opposition from the KKK who claimed that the bible said that integration was a sin,there was also frequent white violence against black people in the south
Who were three black people killed in 1955
Emmet Till,George Lee and Lamar Smith
When was Emmet Till murdered
August 1955
What was the story of Emmet Till
Emmet was dared to go into a shop and talk to the shop owners wife,He allegedly wolf whistled at her and when her husband arrived back the next day she told him the story saying that he had groped her,The next night Roy and his half brother went to Till’s uncle’s house got him into a truck hauled him off and beat till,shot him and threw him into the river with barbed wire
What did Emmet Till’s mother do that was significant
She had her sons body taken back to chicago and had an open casket viewing of the body at the funeral home.It led to huge publicity with widespread outrage from the condition of Emmet’s body causing a huge uproar in the USA
Did Emmet Till get justice
He didn’t,The judge cleared the offenders in about an hour and later on they sold their story (admitted murder) to a magazine for 3,500 dollars causing even more anger in the USA
What was the opposition to civil rights from the goverment
Opposition to civil rights also came from both federal and state goverments, Attempts to produce a civil rights act to enforce the rights of black americans was constantly blocked by southern politicians
What were dixiecrats
Southern politicians who had formed their own breakaway party instead of supporting a civil rights bill put foward by Teuman
