black civil rights Flashcards
when was slavery abolished
-1865 congress passed the 13th amendment to the constitution abolishing slavery in the USA
what was the 14th amendment and when did it occur
-1868
-made all people born of natrulaised in the us, us citizen
what was the 15th ammendment and when did it occur
3rd Feb 1870
-declared that all US citizens had equal voting rights
what was the position of black people after the amendments
-supposedly by 1870 all black americans were ‘free and equal’
-however despite 15th ammendment black voters were met with violence (e.g Fannie Harmer went to register to vote in missisippi 1962 but was sacked from her job as a result)
-this shows the difference between the existence of law and its enforcement (de facto and de jury)
what were conditions like for black people after WW1, why dsid they need to fight for civil rights
-after ww1 black Americans found they still faced a struggle for equality. There was discrimination segregation and violence
-this was worse in the south but even in the north, minorities were unofficially segregated and discriminated against
-were last hired first fired
-anti black race riots occured in the south
-wilson introduced segregation in the white house in 1913
why was life like for black americans in the south post ww1
-faced legal restrictions, violence and lower quality living
-lynchings from KKK
-significant unequal pay and restricted job options
-Jim crow laws introduced in 917 segregated white and black people (seperate toilets, schools, restraunts, places to sit etc)
-dramatic difference in quality of education
-booker T washkingto advocated for accepting segregation and had a huge following of white people
what and when was plessy Vs Ferguson
‘seperate but equal’ law in 1896
what was life like in the north post ww1 for black people
-expected to live in their own part of town, segregated from rest of city
-expected to do the lowest paid jobs, last hired first fired
discrimination reached the gov
who introduced segregation in gov offices and the white house and when
1913- president Wilson
what was voting like for black people after 15th ammendment
-given harder literacy tests, had to be home owners which they were not
-polls often surrounded by white mobs
what were jim crow laws
-introduced laws of segregation, ‘seperate but equal’
-state and local laws that enforced racial segregation, operating primarily in the south
-many christian ministers believed that white people were the chosen people and black people were cursed to be servants and that god supported racial segregation
-belief that black people were innately, intellectualy and culturally inferior to white people
FEATURES
-segregated transport
-segregated living areas
-segregated public facilities
-workplaces segregated workers to the point of different staircases to go on
how did jim crow laws effect voting rights
-voters had to pass a literacy test (black people didnt have access to good education and had low literacy rates as a result)
-cultivated a predominantly white voting body in the USA
-in these literacy tests black people were sometimes given harder passages to read and in many. states voters had to be home owners, most blacks werent which the gov was aware of
-white mobs surrounded voting polls to make racial attacks
what was lynching and why did it occur
-some whites felt segregation wasnt enough and that black people needed terrorising into obedience
-happened mostly in the south
how many lynchings occoured of white vs blck men between 1915 and 1930
-65 white men
-579 black men
what was the criteria for lynching a black person
-did not need to have committed a crime or an accusation
-black people often wrongly accused of a crime as an excuse to Lynch
what was the culture of lynching in the south
-often advertised beforehand
-photographs of crowds of men and women grinning happily beside corpses (was an event of leisure)
examples of injust lynchings
-1955, 14 year old Emmett Till visited relatives in south Chicago. He was lynched for merely talking to a white woman- allegedly asking her for a date
-he didnt understand the southern rules as he came from the north where measures were more mild
-this lynching attracted alot of publicity and shock, even in the south
what was the KKK and when was it founded
-brutal white supremacist organisation revived in 1915
-against any non-WASP group but especially black people
-by 1925, estimates of membership ranged from 3 to 8 million (even state governors and policemen)
-hid identity with whitw hooded cloaks but many knew the identities of the members
-created an extreme anti black environment that non clan members felt too scared to reject
-reduced quality of life of black people by creating terror.
how did the federal government hinder black equality
voting literacy tests
plessy vs ferguson ‘seperate but equal’
what was plessy vs Ferguson
1896
supreme court ruled that segregation was possible despite the 14th ammendment if the provision was ‘seperate but equal’
hindered black people economically socially and politically due to unequal oportunities that segragation gave
how did presidents intervene with segregation and violence
-wilson had no problem with segregation
-harding spoke out against lynching and was in favor of civil rights
-adressed 30,000 people at university of alabama of the evils of segregation
-BUT both harding and coolidge were committed to laissez faire so they didnt take any legal action/ legislation
how did the great depression effect civil rights intervention
-federall gov focused on correcting economic struggles, abandoned focus on civil rights
when and what was the great migration
-1917-32
-wave of black migration from the south to the north and east, mainly to cities (chicago/ Detroit)
-drawn to cities as they were mostly industrial towns providing work opportunities
-also to escape violence and discrimination of the south the have a better standards of living in all ways.
how did migrants spark race riots between 1917-19
closer proximity of blacks and white living together in north caused race riots
what were the eastern cities with the largest growth due to the great migration
New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
why were black americans drawn to northern cities
as they were mosrtly industrial towns so black americans weere drawn there for work
the migration sprung at ww1 and there was a demand for workers (e.g munitions factories-owners advertised in southern newspapers
what was segregation like for migrants in the north
-lowest paid wages
-accom in most crowded run down areas
-little respect from bosses in workplace
BUT they could vote and be elected to federal/local gov, and some black professiobnals were rich. some african americans luved in white areas and became nannies etc
how did the great migration begin and ensurre accessibility of work and a good standard of living for black people
-first world war meant there was a rising need for workers iin munitions factories in the north
-factory owners advertised this in southern newspapers
-it was appealing as they offered free housing, transportation, good wages (all things they didnt have in the south)
what were pull factors towards the north
-factory owners offered free housing, free transport and good wages (SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC)
-people were encuraged to migrate by friends and family who had already migrated north who could offer them a place to stay and help finding work (security and comfort) (SOCIAL)
-Sense of community cultivated in living areas for black people in north due to connections and cultural recognition/familiarity
-respect as citizens had the right to vote and be elected into federal gov
-chance for equal opportunities like education, employment etc
-chance to escape racism
-positive media coverage of the north
what wre push factors from the south
-Jim Crow- inferior treatment and facilities
-lynching and kkk
-brutal racism
-the 1927 great flood (affected over 9 states) in refugee camps there were rapes and murders from guardsmen
-the boil weevil infestation (from Mexico, beetles fed off cotton fibrews and laid eggs which killed the plants, by 1908 cotton harvests in mississipi had beed reduced by 75 %)
difference in number of population in new york detroit and chicago from 1910-30
NY
91,709 to 327,706
DETROIT
5,741 to 120,066
CHICAGO
44,103
what wa sthe positive experience for migrants in the north
-not all landlords exploited migrants (SOCIAL)
-black people could have influence on politics and gov government (e.g 1919 chicago mayor) BUT in cities like NY whites maintained a hold
-not all black people forced to live and work in the worst parts of the city (SOCIAL)
-poorer black americans found job opportunities when they moved to rich white suburbs (living in their own segregated areas) as nannies and domestic servants for families
-black people could vote unlike unequal opportunity in the south
-not all black people had low paid jobs
what were the negative experiences of mifgrants in the north
-jobs low paid and hard to find (ECONOMIC)
-RIGHTS WERE EXPLOITED as black workers replaced white workers asking for higher wages (SOCIAL)
-accom in crowded and run down places, cramping and disparity (SOCIAL)
-rent was 10x higher than what a whirte person would be charge- violation of seperate but equal (SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC)
-SKILLED MIGRANTS TOOK UNSKILLED JOBS
what was the harlem renaissance
-a literary, artistic and intellectual movement
-harmlem became an epicentre for black artistic explosion
-also hit white people: e.g the musical ‘shuffle along’- written and acted by AA’s became a smash hit on broadway and attracted white audeiences too
what was the impact of the great migration
-population of northern cities rose sharply
-bigger black american voing body (E.G THE BLACK VOTE COULD KEEP A MAYOR, as seen in the 1919 chicago mayor)
-powerful business orientated black elite grew and more likely to have political positions (black ward vote)
-in cities like NY whwere white politicians had hold, blacks did not have political influence
impact of migration on the south
-the labour force shrank
-farming struggled to get by (poorest black farmers suffered)
-sotherners saw migration as blacks ‘voting with their feet’ over jim crow laws so they assumed those who remained accepted jim crow laws
WW1 effect on AA’s
GOOD
-boom in low skilled jobs
-blacks found their voting rights for the first time
-sparked increase in AA consciousness and activism
-great migration sparked due to increase in need for industry workers
-Wages rose and many black Americans found themselves better off. Immigration fell, particularly from 1917, so there was less competition for jobs.
-those who fought in france (more racially tolerant country) realised the us degree of intolerance
BAD
-urban decay (Harlem-poverty stricken ghettos)
-hostility and violence when white men returned
-chicago riots 1919 becaise White soldiers found that their jobs and neighbourhoods had been taken over when they returned home. (23 black and 15 white dead, when black teenager was drowned at a whites only beach)
African Americans suffered from the wave of isolationism and the Red Scare that affected the USA from 1917.
The Ku Klux Klan came back to prominence in the early 1920s.
how was the black vote important in the election of Roosevelt
1930s marked a shift in blacks voting republicans to democrats due to promise of new deal
REPUBLICAN LAISSEZ FAIRE POLICIES WERE OF NO USE TO CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS AS NO ACTION WOULD BE TAKEN
large population of black peopkle led to the e,ection Roosevelt- contributed massively to roosevelt election landslide
adantages of the new deal on black people
-they were recieving some level of relief for the first time
Roosevelt included specific policies to help black Americans in the New Deal. Separate CCC camps were set up for black Americans and many found temporary work.
Roosevelt appointed a ‘Black Cabinet’ to advise him on social and economic issues AND From 1933, the number of black Americans employed by the federal government began to rise steadily.
-Roosevelt named black educator Mary McLeod Bunche to the advisory committee for NYA (meaning blacks recieved a fair share of funds)
-WPW was colour blind and blacks in northern cities benefitted from its relief programs
In 1934, the PWA inserted a clause in all government construction contracts that established a quota for the hiring of black labourers based on the 1930 labour census. As a consequence a significant number of African-Americans received skilled employment on PWA projects.
The New Deal’s educational programmes taught over 1 million illiterate African-Americans to read and write.
-Harold Ickes-supporter of civil rights-poured funds into black schools and hospitals in the south
-some policies helped e.g 1/3 of low income housing built had black tenants
what was new deals attitude towards black people
-new deal was supposedly coulour blind and work projects were meant to be given on merit alone
-190s shift from republican to demnocrat (helped by increased black vote)
-Roosevelt appointed few black advisors but needed support from southern democrats so did little to advance civil rights (would even restrict the no. of black workers on a project if the donor requested0
disadvantages of the new deal on black people
-authorised and legalised lower pay for black people (NRA pay scale less for them)
-
Discriminatory practices among relief agencies often continued at the local level, especially in the South.
black people often moved off project to make room for whites
-black farm workers sacked in their thousands during agricultural reforms
-social security provisions (e.g social security act 1935) did not apply to farm workers or those eho workwed in other peoples homes which was a lot of the african american population
-FDR refuse/failed to adress anti lynching measurements ass part of his deal
-blacks kept out of white neighbourhoods (FHA had policies which made it difficult for african americans to buy homes in middle class areas)
-the CCC maintained segregation
-Agricultural adjustments administration hit black namericans hard. their policies forced more than 100,000 blacks off the land in 1933 and 1934
what did FDR fail to address
-FDR refuse/failed to adress anti lynching measurements ass part of his deal
He was hamstrung by his reliance on the support of Democrat Congressmen from the South: the so-called ‘Dixiecrats’, who opposed any attempt to improve civil rights.
He did not intervene to support Bills that would have made lynching a crime.
-1935 Robin stacey case. homeless black farmer in florida went to a white womans home for food, resulting in a brutal white-mobb Lynch. such events did not alter roosevelts mind
what was african american RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMUNISTS during new deal like
african americans protested about treatment but had more support from communists than black civil rights organisations
communist lawyers took the case of 9 black men suppossedly raping 2 whute womeb and won (NAACP refused this case)
In 1930s birmingham, alabama there were 3,000 comunist african americans compared to 6 black NAACP members
communists in norther cities also championed the cause of workers and demanded equal allocation of funds
-civil rights became associated with communism which increased hostility
how did roosevelt positively impact civil rights
issued executive order 8802 when war broke out, banning racial discrimination in defence industry
how did black officials react to discrimination within the new deals
-black officials in gov protested
persuaded national recovery administration to set minimum wage for black and white people at the same rate
-often ignored
issues with the national recovery act?
-didnt apply to domestic or agricultural work
-where black people did qualify they found themselves working for less pay at same tasks
what was the impact of the great depression on civil rights
By 1932, unemployment of African Americans reached 60% in some cities.
Average wages fell by 40% and immigrants and minorities suffered most.
-black church organisations set up support systems during depression
e.g father divine, Halem (set up resteraunts and shops that sold food at lower ratesthat white run stores)
-housewives league: ‘dont buy where you cant work’ boycotted stores who hired black employess
-second depression in 1937 hit black workers hard (little help, the resettlement administration only helped 3,400 of 200,000 farmers)
-by 1939 there were 2 million signatures asking for federal aid to move back to africa
positive impact of ww2 on civil rights
The number of black Americans in federal employment rose from about 50,000 in 1933 to about 200,000 by 1945. Obviously, the Second World War was a major factor in this increase.
-executive order 8802 banned discrimination in defence industry as randolph threatened march on Washington (due to threats of a march on washington by Philip Randolph)
Segregation in the armed forces, which was complete in 1941, was loosened during the war. In the navy, aboard ship, it was all but impossible. In 1946, the navy introduced complete integration.
Black Americans became senior officers for the first time.
-1942, 2% of defnce workers were black , by 1944 it was 7%. blacks and white worked side by side
-large scale migration to cities for industrial migration jobs gave blacks a better economic and political position (and greater safety from south) 2 million moved north and west
Unemployment of black Americans fell by 85% during the war.
-increased activism (NAACP membership rose from 50,000 to 450,000 during ww2
how did membership on NAACP change during WW2
membership rose from 50,000 to 450,000 during ww2
percentage of black defence workers ww2
1942, 2% of defnce workers were black , by 1944 it was 7%
executive order 8802
banned discrimination in defence industry
negative impact of ww2 on civil rights
-wartime migration resented and rivalry of housing resulted in harsh treatment of blacks
-rivalry for housing as 700,000 black Americans travelled north
-1943 outbreaks of racist violence and white people striked as they had to work with black people (e.g Race Riot in Detroit, 9 whiotes and 25 blacks died)
-POST WAR SURVEY- majority of whites still racist, supported housing segregation and thought jobs should be awarded to whites first
-industries treated black workers badly- e.g Dry dock introduced black workers but 50 of them were injured by violence
when and what was the detroit race riot
-1943
-white people striked as they had to work with black people (e.g Race Riot in Detroit, 9 whiotes and 25 blacks died)
truman positive impact civil rights
-1946 set up presidents comittee on civil rights (called for equl opportunity in work and housing)
He set up a commission in 1946 and proposed a Civil Rights Bill in 1947.
-appointed black people in high profile gov jobs)
-‘to secure these rights’ examined discrimination and made suggestions fro change ( report)
-1947 first presidential speech (spoke to NAACP and said all americans entitled to full civil rights)
-1950 desegregated canteen in washington airport DUE TO ARRIVAL OF FOREIGN OFFICIALS
In 1948, he ordered the integration of the US armed forces. This took effect in 1950.
-COMMITTE ON GOVERNMENT COMPLIANCE 1951- ensured government contracts didnt go to racist employers
-1948 executive orders to end discrimination in armed forces and garunteed fair service in civil service
1948 gov supported naacp case shelly vs crammer
1947 first presidential speech
truman spoke to NAACP and said all americans entitled to full civil rights
presidents comittee on civil rights
1946 set up presidents comittee on civil rights (called for equl opportunity in work and housing)
‘to secure thesse rights’
under truman
examined discrimination and made suggestions fro change ( report)
truman negative impact on civil rights
-never adressed and didnt pass anti lynching laws
was prevented from going further because of opposition from Southern Democrats.
-never adressed segregation in education and healthcare
-his fair employment board never properly funded and controlled by conservatives
-called black americans slurs post war and had been a KKK member and ancestors had owned slaves
-national guard remained segregated
-offivers resisted desegregation in armed forces, esp in Korean War
-fair deal programme- gov to build new homes but under funded and demolished more houses than built
fair deal programme
-under truman
-gov to build new homes but under funded and demolished more houses than built
trumans fair employment board
never properly funded
the UN and civil rights
-toned down support in face of opposition from countries like South Africa
-3 NAACP delegates initially showed support when it first met
did the cold war effect theb development of civil rights
Yes, because campaigners were seen as dangerous liberals at a time when the USA was under threat.
The siege mentality created by the Red Scare prevented real progress in the years from 1945 to 1954.
Several campaigners were arrested and accused of being communists.
Direct action
-variety of tactics
-non violent protests, picketing, boycotting and sit ins
-some groups used legal means e.g legal action taken by NAACP
-smaller local organisations were based. around church groups (e.g MLK jr)
-also a ‘seperatist’ movement saying blacks would never gain equalityand embrace segregation with equal rights so children wouldnt feel inferior e.g Marcus Garvery
Marcus Garvey seperatism
1920s
suggested ‘back to africa’ movement
NAACP legal challenges successes
set up in 1910 and aim was to achieve equal rights
-won some cases in 30s/40s and every case in 50s
-BUT supreme court weakened case rulings by not SETTING TIME LIMIT FOR SEGREGATION (E.G BROWN VS BOARD OF EDUCATION 1 IN 100 BLACK PEOPLE IN SOUTH IN INTEGRATED SCHOOL 10 YEARS LATER)
Brown vs board of education and how it was hindered
-1954
-desegregation of schools, seperation of white and black students harmful
-most famous NAACP case
-10 years later only 1 in 100 black children were in integrated schools in the south
SUMMARISED NAACP MAJOR CASES
-1926 sweet trial
-1936 Murray v maryland
-1938 Gaines Vs Canada
1946 morgan v virginia
-1948 shelly v kraemar
-1950 Sweatt Vs Painter & McLaurin Vs Virginia
-1954 brown vs board of education
-1926 sweet trial
Dr sweet and family moved to white area in detroit 1925- house surrounded by angry white mob for 2 nights
-2nd night sweets friend shot into crown and shot young man
-men in house put on trial for murder but NAACP won
1936 Murray v maryland
Uni of Maryland law school desegregated afted donald murray was refused admission due to race
-naacp case
1938 Gaines Vs Canada
supreme court orders university of missuri to take black students
NAACP case
1946 morgan v virginia
supreme court overturns virginia state law desegregating busses and trains that moved from one state to another
NAACP case
1950 Sweatt Vs Painter & McLaurin Vs Virginia
NAACP CASE
bans regulations that bar black people from buying houses in any area in any state
1948 shelly v kraemar
banned regulations that stopped black peoples from buying houses in an area in any state
direct action 40s and 50s
-stepped up and marches occurrig more
-CORE (series of sit ins in northern cities) chicago 1942, St Louis 1949, Baltimore 1952- to desegregate public facilities
-CORE and Fellowship for Reconciliation: rode interstate buses through southern states vurginia, north carolina, tenessee and Kentucky to desegregate them
-many blacks took it onto themselves to move into all white housing blocks etc
What was Brown V Board of Education
In Brown v Board of Education, Topeka (1954) the Supreme Court ruled that schools should be desegregated.
It reversed the Plessy v Ferguson decision (1896).
what was brown II
It amended Brown V Board of Education by saying schools had to be desegregated with ‘all deliberate speed’
CORE sit in 40s and 50
-northern cities sit ins to desegregate public facilities
-chicago 1942
-st louis 1949
-baltimore 1942
-CORE and Fellowship for Reconciliation
1947
rode interstate buses through southern states vurginia, north carolina, tenessee and Kentucky to desegregate them
when was core set up
1942 James Farmer established the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
rules for non violent protest
-dress to appear respectable
-not loud
-not allowed to fight back
Montgomery bus boycott
1955
-people saw brutality i media
brought a shift in civil rights in terms of public attention
EVENTS
-december 1st 1955 Rosa parks arrested for sitting front of a bus refusing to give her seat to a white male
-NAACP lawyers took her case
-next day MIA (montgomery improvement association) set up, MLK was leader
- MIA handed out leaflets, held meetings and organised other travel methods
-5th Dec bus boycott began (impactful as over 75% of bus users were black and 90% of them boycotted-lasted 380 days)
-meduia attention grey when king and NAACP leader ed nixons houses were bombed, and black protesters still stuck to non violent methods
-gov imprisoned MLK and others for conspirtacy boycott continued
-1556 bus segregation ruled unconstitutional
consequences of montgomery bus boycott
set up MIA, led birmingham campaigns and led washington marches
King imprisoned
did harden a sense of racial divide in a way
violence lasted several years and was slow
king propelled into limelight
percentage of black bus users before boycott in Montgomery
75% were black and 90% of them boycotted so impactful-lasted 380 days
what was MIA
MIA (montgomery improvement association) set up, MLK was leader
when was bus segregation ruled unconstitutional
1556
Martin Luther King Jr.
-became face of black civil rights
-very media conscious
1957- set up the southern christian leadership conference
He was a powerful and charismatic speaker who was able to put into words the hopes and aspirations of the millions of black Americans.
-refined non violent protest rules (arrested publically and going peacfully, accept as many whites as possible to protests, violent blacks harm the cause)
Despite intense provocation (his house was fire-bombed and he received constant threatening letters) he refused to back down and was therefore a source of inspiration to campaigners.
-1955 became leader of the montgomery bus boycott- his house got bombed and he was arrested
He was able to use the media very effectively to publicise the brutality of life in the South and to gain support from the white majority in the North.
-organised meeting with eisenhower during Little Rock
set up MIA, led birmingham campaigns and led washington marches
how did MLK influence the creation of othe groups
-other groups adoped his tactics of non- violence
-SNCC and SCLC set up by young people organised sit ins based off of his tactics
key campaigns MLK was apart of
montogomery bus boycott
Little Rock
birmigham campaign
selma
march on Washington
overall success of kings campaigns
-very successful, evidenced by the vfact that 2 major civil rights acts had been passed and had the support of 2 US presidents
-had wide support nationwide (apart from some states in the south), due to his influence southern states who previously oppossed civil rights became integrated racially (e.g birmigham, alabama, and North Carolina)
-montgomery bus boycott crucial victory was a turning point in civil rights
-set the tone for other campaigners and inspired tactics of SCLC, CORE AND SNCC
some failures of MLK
-didnt show inf=volvement in economic and social issues of black americans, was more focused on getting a constitution for equality- still economic and social inequalities by the end of his death (e.g unemployment of black amaericans was 2x the unemploymen of whites)
-seen as unpatrioticf in his criticism of american actions in vietnam war, causing him to lose support
-began to reconsider policy in 1964 after the failure of his tactics, he was in the process of increasing radicalisation when he was assasinated in 1968
-blamed for deaths of protesters at selma
-didnt play an active role in sit ins
Little Rock, Arkansas
-southern campaign to desegregate education
-1952
EVENTS
-racist governer Faubus didnt want integrated schools
-1957, nine black children selected by daisy bates NAACP leader to go to all white school
-on their first day ON 4TH SEPTEMBER
faubus sent national guard to stop them goiung ‘For their safety’
-8 children went by car with the NAACP organiser and 1 went on own (elizabeth eckford), surrounded by screaming mob, many taunted and shouted ‘lynch her’
-photographs of incident shocked world
and king organised a meeting with eisenhower
-eisenhower reluctantly sent federal troops to guard chilfren
-faubus maintained trying to prevent desegregation, closed the school after a year but this failed and the school became integrated
How did the campaigns for civil rights change in the early 1960s?
The successes of the 1950s led to increased support for action to achieve civil rights.
King’s charismatic leadership was particularly effective on young people: many of the campaigners in the early 1960s were students.
The election of John F Kennedy as president in November 1960 suggested that there would be new impetus to federal policy.
In February 1960, students began a sit-in at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina. It lasted for four days and Woolworth’s was forced to close.
The Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee was set up to organise the campaign.
Sit-ins soon spread to more than 100 cities and 2000 protestors were arrested by police. These actions were seen on television sets all over the USA.
In some areas, the sit-ins worked. Stores gave in when their profits fell. But in the Deep South, the opposite happened.
Freedom Riders tried to test segregation on transport which had been declared to be completely illegal by Boynton v Virginia in 1960.
birmigham desegregation
development of tensions in civil rights campaigns in 1960s
SNCC
-SET UP 1960
-Racially integrated organisation of young people
-took training sessions on how to cope with violence from whites during protests
-protested in areas that were expected to have a violent reaction, took kings ideas a step further
-encouraged voter registration by sending ‘field secretaries’ to live and work in violent parts of south, encouraging voter registration
Freedom rides
1961
-CORE and SNCC carried out freedom rides in south (organised by james farmer- CORE) to test if bus restroom facilities were actually desegregated after 1961 supreme court ruling
-7 blacks and 6 whites left washington on two public buses heading for Deep South
-first 2 buses were attacked
-in Alabama a bus was firebombed after being chased by 50 cars inc police
-imprisoned in Birmingham and beaten up in montgomery- 3 were killed but others kept on riding
Greensboro sit in (southern)
-1960
-4 black students went to all white resteraunt in woolworths and went to white segregated counter and waited there until store shut
-next day returned with 30 others and day after (nearly all seats occupied by black students)-screamed at and food thrown on them
-promptrd more people in south to copy Greensboro example (by february 7th there were 54 sit ins emerged in south in 15 cities and 9 states)
March on washington
-1963
-aimed to encourage civil rights bill and executive action to increase black employment
-SCLC, SNCC, CORE, NAACP worked all together
-250,000 marched (50,000 white)
Birmigham campaign
-1963
-nicknamed bombingham, due to extent at which black homes were bombed
-birmigham was a KKK STRONGHOLD, KNOWN AS AMERICAS WORST CITY FOR RACISM
-King AND SCLC led campaign to desegregate town (knew it would provopke violence)
-a tactic was to get as many arrested as possible to overrun jails (This was achieved by the end of the month)
-racist chief of police ‘bull’ connor ordered men to use high pressure hoses and dogs (on women and children also)
-may 1963 an agreement was announced: desegregation of lunch counters, restrooms, water fountains, store fitting rooms, hiring of black salesmen and clerks in 90 days- and everyone to be released from jail
aims of march on Washington
-campaign for a civil rights act
-aimed to encourage passage of a civil righta bill and executive action to increase employment
‘for jobs, for freedom’
-timing was right for a mass demonstration: tensions still arose from boycotts and Birmingham
-SLC, SNCC, CORE and NAACP all worked together
-symbolic march marked 100 years since emancipation proclamation
-250,000 marched, at least 50,000 were white
achievements of march on washington
-forced kennedy to start working on civil rights bill
-positive media coverage (sympathy gained, enhanced by observed white support)
-shown across world
-MLK ‘i have a dream’ speech
-civil rights leaders began working closely w gov
-demnstration of unity between whites and blacks
freedom summer
1964 (an election year)
SNCC and CORE pushed for voter registration, sent large numbers of volunteers to south (esp. Mississippi)
due to literacy tests only 6.2% were already registered
-500 protesters in this campaign who were black and white
-17,000 registered to vote but only 1600 accepted
-campaign for freedom schools resulted in KKK fireboming 20 african american homes and churches
-2 white 1 black volutneer found dead and beaten, by summer 3 more murders and 35 shooting incidents
1965 voting rights act
allowed all citizens to vote, outlawed any restrictions
impact of black militancy
-SNCC changed face of campaignand advocated black militancy
-malcom X
Malcom X
-born in Michigan
-family terrorised by KKK and father murdered
-moved to NYC in 1952 where he joined the nation of islam (Black muslim group)
-advocated self defence and thought white people shouldnt be involved
-first to stir up black militancy nationwide
-assassinated 1965 after having had meetings with king that started to shift his radicalisation
Black power movement
-1965 movement split, not a coherant force
-1965 stokely Carmichel set up Lowndes Country Freedom organisation as he didnt want to vote for white southerners
-wanted radicalisation and replaced ‘freedom’ slogan to black power
-notion of raised arm and clenched fist seen in 1968 olympics
stokely Carmichael
leader of SNCC
set up Lowndes Country Freedom organisation as he didnt want to vote for white southerners
-wanted radicalisation and replaced ‘freedom’ slogan to black power
BLACK PANTHERS 1966
-Identified by panther symbol
-worked in black communities keeping order and organising community projects, mostly worked on this local level
-wore uniform and carried guns
-10 point programme
-based on idea of black power (subsequentally radicalised many civil rights groups)
-push for qual jobs pay and opportunities
-ideas behind black power radicalised many of the long established civil rights groups
major riots and their impacts 1964
NYC, CHICAGO, PHILIDELPHIA
set off by police brutality
media coverage showed whites assulting blacks
Northern Crusade
1966
-King focused on north post 1964
-crusade to improve slums (and working conditions and teaching of non violent protests) after 20 slum riots in 1966 summer
-focus on chicago as 800,000 in ghettos
-arguable fail as brought no permenant change and damaged kings relationship with media as he accussed them of twisting non-violent wording
failures of northern crusade
Didn’t end slum-living and the legislation didn’t give equal opportunity to black people. MLK was assassinated here in 1968.
successes of northern crusade
How was the Northern Crusade successful?
LBJ signed the ‘Fair Housing Act’ on April 11th, 1968. It was able to raise awareness for civil rights issues in the North.
did kennedy have limited success regarding civil rights
LIMITED SUCCESS
There are differing views about Kennedy’s role in civil rights. There is no doubt that he personally deplored discrimination, but was he totally committed to its eradication.
His policy appeared to be pragmatic rather then principled. He was ready to compromise over the treatment of the Freedom Riders and protesters in Birmingham.
He needed to keep Southern Democrats ‘on-side’ rather than risk losing his chances of re-election.
Furthermore, civil rights was by no means the only major issue that Kennedy was having to tackle. The little matters of Cuba, Berlin and the build up in Vietnam were all demanding his attention.
SUCCESS
The Kennedys used federal marshals to protect campaigners and enforced the integration of interstate transport. e.g Federal marshals were sent in to protect James Meredith when he attempted to enrol at the University of Mississippi.
Robert Kennedy started the Voter Education Project in 1962 to encourage black Americans to register as voters in the South.
when and What two things were a significant factor in Kennedy’s committing to civil rights?
1962
Birmingham and the publicity it produced was a significant factor in Kennedy pressing forward on civil rights legislation, as was a poll that took place after Birmingham.
Why was the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964?
Lyndon Johnson was able to capitalise on the sympathy after the death of Kennedy. Many Congressmen came to support his ideals as a result of the nature of his death.
LBJ was an experienced politician, having been in the senate for twenty years, unlike Kennedy who was a relative newcomer.
LBJ was able to persuade Congressmen to support civil rights, including the majority of republicans in the House.
He was a Southerner who understood and was able to counter the point of view of Southern Democrats.
He had been a teacher and understood the impact that segregation could have on black Americans.
When all else failed, he was prepared to threaten and bully opponents and used his height and weight to good effect in interviews.
provisions of the 1964 civil rights act
Segregation in public places and facilities was banned. The desegregation of schools was to be speeded up by the intervention of the Attorney General.
Discrimination in the hiring, firing and paying of workers on the basis of racial, gender or religious discrimination was prohibited.
It was made more difficult to use devices such as literacy tests to exclude African-Americans from voting.
Any programme that received federal assistance was forbidden to discriminate against African-Americans.
What year did Johnson put into place another civil rights act which is one example of something Johnson did to promote black civil rights on top of pushing Kennedy’s bill through congress in 1964?
1968
It banned discrimination in housing.
what was the selma march and why did king organise it
King wanted to test the application of the Civil Rights Act and chose Selma, Alabama, in the Deep South.
Many black Americans had been prevented from registering to vote in Selma.
He used the same tactics as in Birmingham in 1963 and forced the local police chief to overreact and attack protesters.
King went on to organise a march from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital, to publicise the difficulty of registering.
The first attempt to hold the march failed when police attacked the marchers. King called off the second attempt, but the third attempt but was a great success.
LBJ was persuaded to introduce the Voting Rights Bill, which became law in 1965. Any attempt to prevent black Americans from voting was made illegal.
Further legislation included the Open Housing Law, which banned discrimination in the sale or rental of houses.
A second Civil Rights Act of 1968 which banned discrimination in housing and made it a Federal offence to injure civil rights workers, or even to cross a state boundary with the intention of committing such a crime.
malcom X
when was the meredith march and what was it
In 1966, James Meredith decided to march from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi in an attempt to encourage voter registration under the new Voting Rights Act.
Meredith was shot by an unknown assailant and unable to continue the march. A number of black organisations decided to complete the march. These included SCLC, SNCC, CORE, NAACP and the National Urban League.
As the march made its way through Tennessee and Mississippi, two rival sets of slogans began to be chanted: Followers of the SCLC maintained their call for ‘Freedom Now’, but increasingly, the shout of ‘Black Power’ could be heard from SNCC and CORE supporters.
The Meredith March therefore marked a shift from the non-violent tactics of Martin Luther King to a more radical phase of action.
Nixon positives
Despite Nixon’s conduct, the %age of black children still in segregated schools fell from 68% to 8% (1968-74).
He set up the Office of Minority Business Enterprise to encourage black entrepreneurship; he and the Supreme Court supported Affirmative Action, as he believed jobs would solve many of the problems.
This was best seen in the 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act, and in Grigg v Duke Power Company (1971).
He battled against both Congress and Unions to ensure companies with federal contracts employed a proportionate number of African-Americans.
nixon negatives
There has never in history been an adequate black nation and they are the only race of which this is true’ (Nixon)
He refused to meet black leaders or endorse a national holiday on MLK’s birthday; he crushed the Black Panthers.
He tried to revise the Voting Rights Act to get Southern votes.
He appointed a Southern racist to the Supreme Court.
He refused to back, in 1971, the Supreme Court which wanted to enforce fully school desegregation.
Carter
As a Southerner, whose earlier political career hardly suggested a civil rights sympathiser, Carter actually did a great deal for the black community.
As Governor of Georgia he employed many black Americans; as president he appointed more black Americans and Hispanics to the federal judiciary than any other president (%age rose from 4% (1977) to 8% (1981)).
He appointed black women to his cabinet; he made Andrew Young the US Ambassador to the UN.
He renewed the Voting Rights Acts; guaranteed that minority-owned companies got a fair share of government contracts.
He strengthened the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 1964).
He supported the Supreme Court in its support of Affirmative Action in Bakke v Regents of the University of California (1978)
overall successes of civil rights movement
LEGSILATIVE CHANGE
The combination of Supreme Court rulings such as Brown v the Board of Education Topeka, Browder v Gayle and Boynton v Virginia together with the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Voting Rights Act and 1968 Housing Act meant that de jure segregation and discrimination had largely been brought to an end in the south.
As a result of the 1964 Twenty-fourth Amendment and the 1965 Voting Rights Act the numbers of black Americans registered to vote had increased dramatically e.g. in Mississippi between 1964 and 1968.
The number registered to vote had risen from 6% to 59% of the black population. Across the south as a whole, the number of black voters rose from 1 million to 3.1 million.
The result of this increase in political participation was that the number of elected black officials also began to rise more than quadrupling between 1965 and 1970.
WHY
The tactics of Martin Luther King and the SCLC were significant in explaining the successes of the civil rights movement for a number of reasons:
King united for a time a large part of the black community, especially in the south, behind the policy of non-violence. This meant that mass demonstrations were possible, such as those in Montgomery, Birmingham and Selma.
The role of the media in relaying the brutality of southern white racists such Connor at Birmingham and Clark at Selma was important in modifying public opinion and bringing it behind the civil rights movement.
King’s belief in a policy of integration attracted the support of a large number of northern white liberals.
The actions of the civil rights movement convinced firstly Kennedy and later Johnson that federal intervention was necessary, whatever the political costs.
The role of Johnson was critical to the successes of the civil rights movement. His ability as a congressional manager was central to the passage of the legislation that put an end to de jure discrimination.
overall limitaions of civil rights
HOW
Although de jure segregation and discrimination had come to an end, de facto discrimination persisted.
By the late 1960s, about half of black children in the south attended integrated schools. This compared well to the north and west, where only about one-third attended integrated schools.
Despite the political advances that had been made, African-Americans remained under-represented both in voter registration and as elected officials.
The low socio-economic status of African-Americans persisted. Levels of poverty were higher and standards of living were lower among African-Americans than whites. Unemployment levels were higher and educational achievement levels were lower.
WHY
Divisions had increasingly emerged within the black civil rights movement between the integrationist views of King and the separatist views of Malcolm X. This meant that a united front could not be presented after the mid-1960s.
The violence in the northern cities between 1964 and 1968 alienated much of the hitherto sympathetic white support.
American involvement in the Vietnam War also hindered the further progress of civil rights in a number of ways:
Martin Luther King attacked American involvement in the Vietnam War and in the process damaged his relationship with Johnson.
The cost of the Vietnam War meant led Johnson to reduce expenditure in his ‘war on poverty’ and this meant that any improvements that were being made in the socio-economic position of black Americans were slowed down.
Many of those white liberals who had previously offered support to the civil rights movement began to withdraw in the face of the urban violence and offered instead their support to the anti-war movement.
In the 1968 Presidential election, Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate, was able to capitalise on the growing conservatism of the country to win the election from Hubert Humphrey, the Democratic candidate.
Nixon’s policy on civil rights as President was to be reactionary and to slow down as far as possible the implementation of civil rights rulings.
