Black Americans in the early 1950s-civil rights Flashcards
What is discrimination?
treating people unfairly because of their race or religion
What is segregation and where was it practiced the most?
separating groups of people usually by their race or religion
usually in the North
What was Jim crow laws?
lazy,funny stupid black character played by a white comedian.
“black code” laws enforcing segregation were given the nickname Jim crow law
How were the black and white people different?
black people had: worst paid jobs lived in ghettos poorest part of town) they lived in poor facilities separate cinema theatre and bus seats black kids couldn't go to a white school
What is the difference between federal and state law?
federal law are laws which cover the whole country
state laws only affect 1 state-pass its own law but supreme court can over rule them
What is a bill?
a proposed law
has to be passed in the house of representatives and the senate and be approved by the president
What was the difference between congress and state congress(legislature)?
federal congress-passed laws must be passed by both senate and house of representatives
state congress-two house system
What was the difference between federal supreme court and state supreme court?(judiciary)
federal-overrule state laws if unconstitutional
state-highest court of appeal in state
What was the different between government and president?(executive)
government-control state troops
president-control federal troops
cam issue executive orders(laws not passed by congress)
How did white southerns see black people?
racially inferior
childish and lazy
called by their first name or “boy” and “girl” even if they were adults.
What happened to the white southerners who objected discrimination?
They were called “white niggers”
faced the same abuse a black person did
Who was ku klux klan?
from the south many policemen and judges were part of it
they burnt houses and murder anyone who was not white as well as Catholics, Jews and communist
Were the black people helped in court?
white layers made no effort to defend the black
black people could not sit on juries
if a black person was killed by another black it was dismissed as “negro crime” it was not investigated
How did the second world war affect civil right?
millions worked in factories and in the war and some white Americans worked with black people and they were more open to civil rights
Why was racial inequality a political embarrassment in the USA?
the USA had gone to war in 1941 to fight for democracy and freedom and then in the cold war that was after WW2 USA were seen as the “free world”.
But opponents said black Americans were not given any freedom
this put pressure of federal government to improve black american especially in the south
Why was voting beneficial to black people?
because then the politicians would place some policies that would help the black people
this happened in the North in 1954
What methods were used to stop white people from voting?
white employees threatens to attack black employees
if they registered
*on voting days white gangs would gather outside and physically stop black people from voting
*Those who stood up for they right were often beated or murdered
What did you need in order to vote?
most states had a literacy qualification to register to vote this meant you had to read a passage or pass a written test.
To get black people from not voting they would make this test hard so they wouldn’t understand it and made the white easier
How did migration help the growth of civil rights?
poor black moved north liberal whites moved south
changed southern communities
How did the second world war affect civil rights?
black Americans pushed for civil rights after seeing integration aboard
some whites saw black as more able having worked with them
How did the growth of southern cities help civil rights?
new industries grew in southern town and cities giving black people more job opportunity
What organisation were there in the north to help civil rights?
NAACP set up in 1909
CORE set up in 1942
these groups had more members in the North and made more progress there because they had white support
Both groups had black and white members and fought for integration
What organisation were useful in the south?
church-based fought for black American rights willing to campaign for equality in ways that did not conflict with Southern prejudice non-violent tactics and it was successful
Who were the NAACP?
focused on fighting for civil rights in courts
set up LDF (legal defense fund) in 1940 to help wrongly-convicted black Americans appeal against their convictions
wanted to get Plessy over thrown
What was Plessy Vs Ferguson?
separate but equal
decision made by supreme court in 1896
this meant segregation was acceptable if the facilities provide were equal.
this meant southern states could use this incase anyone said they wanted to desegregate
How did the NAACP overcome Plessy?
provided evidence that that facilities were not equal
they argued that equal facilities were not the same as equal opportunity
they used phycological studies school segregation gave young black children a sense of racial inferior
they won every court case they took in 1850
Who was CORE?
small membership worked in the North
most members were white and middle class
targeted segregation but not in the court they used non-violent actions and did boycotts and sit ins
How were core members trained?
They were trained not to fight back if they were sworn at
taught the best position to lie in when physically attacked
this influenced a lot of small local groups
Why were the black clergymen significant?
most were paid by their churches so would not lose their job if they spoke out against white racism
educated and effective speakers
negotiate with white community because of their status
own netwrok so they could organise events
What were the attitudes of various church groups?
improve the rights for black people within the segregated system,pushing for facilities to be equal
- we should rely on ourselves if the black don’t want to help we will do it ourselves
- offer friendship and forgiveness to our opponent even if they are violent
Why did the white people think black churches were a threat?
Leaders favoured black clergymen because they were educated and polite
some whites were suspicious of them as they were too organised that they could call for support
so the whites then attacked the blacks
What was the RCNL?
Regional Council of Negro Leadership
set up in Mississippi 1951
campaigned for black rights withing segregation and worked for voter registration campaigned against police brutality against black people in Mississippi
1952–1955 held annual civil rights rallies that attracted speakers from the North
Who was Emmett till?
Emmett till was a 14 year old boy from Chicago who visited his relatives in Mississippi in August 1955
he knew about Jim crows law .
What was Till dared to do?
He was dared to go into Roy Bryant’s shop and talk to Carolyn(Roys wife)
Till went and bought sweets and talked to Carolyn.
his cousin came and then they left the store together
What was Carolyn part of the story?
she said till made sexual suggestions and grabbed her arm and he wolf whistled at her when he went passed
so she ran out to get a gun from the car for self defense
his cousins admitted to the wolf whistle and claimed that nothing could have happened in that short time
What did Roy Bryant do?
he heard the story when he came back from his trip and then that night he and his half brother went to Till uncle house hauled till into a truck and drove off.
How was Till murdered?
roy and his half brother beated him up shot him and then threw him in a river with a heavy weight attached to his neck with barbed wire
the body was found 3 days later
What did till mother do?
Mamie Bradley insisted the body was shipped to Chicago and had an open viewing of his body at the funeral home.
What happened to the defendant?
it led to huge publicity and trial was reported across the country
jury cleared the defendant after half an hour but then the defended admitted they killed him for $3500
Why was Till murder significant?
started rapid growth of the civil rights movement
showed how public outrage and publicity won support for civil rights
the campaigners used publicity to make it hard for people to ignore injustice.
NAACP produced a pamphlet linking all the black people who have been murdered
Who were the dixicrats?
opponents of civil rights
nicknamed after southern democrats who formed their own breakaway party than supporting the civil rights bill put forward by Truman in 1948
1954 they re joined the democrats but kept their view on segregation .
