CRM Flashcards
Student Sit ins
Began in 1960 when Eisenhower was president and started with four black students from North Carolina staged a sit in in Woolworths
This encouraged others and they became a big part of Kennedy’s presidency
500,000 students replicated the first sit in- this drew in media attention but also violence from angry white protestors
A new group emerged called the SNCC which was organised by Ella Baker
This focused on student sit ins as the key to civil right success
Kennedy took advantage of the sit ins by getting King released from prison when he participated in a sit in in 1960
key CR movements
The Freedom Rides
Albany Campaign
James Meredith and Ole Miss
Birmingham
March of Washington
freedom rides
in 1961 CORE sought to push the movement further by repeating their 1947 Journey of Reconciliation which had attempted to integrate interstate bus travel. The bus service in the south remained segregated despite the SC rulings or Morgan v Virginia 1946 and Boynton v Virginia 1960. 13 riders, 7 black and 6 whites led by James Farmer set out from Washington to New Orleans to test the success of the courts decision. The ride prompted violence and intimidation
Freedom Rides and Soviet Relations
Images of violence and badly beaten riders like Jim Zwerg and James Peck were broadcast globally and the Soviets took particular glee at them
This forced Robert Kennedy to confront the issue and he forced the governor of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to protect the riders
aftermath of the freedom rides
Robert Kennedy forced the Interstate commission to desegregate the terminals
The CORE campaign encouraged further campaigns
It showed how the power of the media could change civil rights and how the
Kennedy administration delivered its promises to the black voters
the role of MLK
King and his SCLC achieved little of note. He his involvement in the Albany campaign was unproductive because -
- SNCC rejected SCLC involvement
- Some members of the black community were paid informants of Albany’s white city leadership
- Local black leaders resented outsiders
- Violence by some members of Albany black community achieved bad publicity while local police Laurie Pritchett carefully avoided violence and unfavourable media attention
albany campaign
Three leaders of the SNCC went to Albany in Georgia to challenge segregation by creating sit ins on a mass scale
They targeted restaurants, libraries, parks and buses used marches and boycotts too
The police chief of Albany, Laurie Pritchett, realised that provoking violence led to media attention so
he instructed the police force to;
Police the marches fairly and protect the demonstrators
If King arrived, treat him respectfully
If arrests were made, make sure that they wouldn’t be in small single cells
This annoyed the SNCC and they invited King to the demonstrations to get more media attention
King was arrested but Pritchett agreed to let King off with little fuss
The campaign was not organised and some resented King’s involvement- it did end segregation laws
in Albany
Meredith march
Meredith wanted to enrol as a student at the University of Mississippi but they rejected him
He won a supreme court decision to allow him to enrol
Bobby Kennedy sent 500 marshals to help
They clashed with the racist mob and two people were
shot as well as marshals being injured
Kennedy then sent in the Mississippi national guard in to help
He also sent in the national guard to implement
desegregation at the University of Alabama
Meredith successfully enrolled in 1962
date of Birmingham
1963
Birmingham - why did King choose Birmingham
king choose Birmingham for a big SCLC campaign against segregation and unequal opportunities for several reasons :
SCLC needed a success and rival black organisations were relatively inactive there
King said Birmingham was ‘by far’ America’s ‘worst big-city’ for racism and he was impatient with Kennedy’s administration’s inactivity
Bull Connor was a determined segregationist with a short fuse. King felt this would bring media attention
events in Birmingham
Connors behaviour attracted media attention. His police and dogs turned on the few black demonstrators and King defied an injunction and marched, knowing his arrest would gain national attention. Kept in solitary confinement and refused private meetings with his lawyer, King used prison toilet paper on which to write an inspirational and widely published ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’. Coretta called JFK who secured King’s release.
how did King change the protest at Birmingham
King used black children. It proved a highly successful strategy. Birmingham hit national headlines as Connors high-pressure water hoses tore clothes off the kids back. Whites and Blacks resorted to violence, and Birmingham degenerated into chaos which JFK said was ‘damaging the reputation’ of America. Race relations in Birmingham deteriorated but the campaign had national significance
significance of Birmingham
It was a media triumph for SCLC as one leading staffer said ‘there was never any more skilful manipulation of the news media than there was in Birmingham’. SCLC had exposed the evils of Southern segregation to the nation and the world. The Kennedy administration admitted that B was crucial in persuading it to push the bill that eventually became the 1964 CRA, Birmingham inspired protests in the south in 1963
date of the march on washington
1963
the march on Washington
The March on Washington aimed to encourage the passage of Kennedy’s civil rights bill and executive action to increase black employment. On Tuesday 27th August 1963 over 200,000 marched on Washington DC. This was the largest rally for civil rights in American history
This was arranged by the leaders of the civil rights groups including King, Roy Wilkins,
Randolph and Young
Kennedy was initially wary of the march would end in violence but it was clear that the
organisers would go ahead anyway so he provided 19,000 troops in the event of trouble
No marchers were arrested and a quarter of the crowd were white
The high point of the march was King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech. As a result King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964
the opponents of civil rights factors
Congress
Public Opinion
Southern politicians and law enforcement officials
George Wallace
kennedy’s attitude to civil rights
Kennedy had no strategy on civil rights when he became president
For much of his time as president, Kennedy displayed a reluctance to get involved in civil rights which was similar to Eisenhower
He was forced to act because of the actions of African Americans
He only won a small majority in the 1960 election and had to deal with a number of reluctant republicans and Dixiecrats to prevent him passing civil rights legislation
His 1963 legislation to end legal segregation was blocked by congress- Filibustering by Dixiecrats
congress and public opinion
Most Southern whites remained vehemently opposed to black equality. Many belonged to the WCC and the KKK. Southern whites who supported CR were likely to be ostracized by the rest of the white community. For example, Mississippi News Paper owner Hazel Brannon Smith said her papers were boycotted, bombed and burned because of pro-CR editorials. General Population- Could turn into a mob when provoked by the media. Hazel Massery was seen hurling abuse at one of the children at little Rock.
They were depended on by racist politicians to form mobs.
White people who actively supported civil rights were
intimidated and threatened
White juries were reluctant to find white people guilty of crime against African Americans- Medgar Evers murder
Opinion polls showed that for the majority of Americans, civil rights was at the bottom of their concerns
how did congress respond to white opinion
Naturally, Congress responded to the wishes of the electorate and Republicans combined with Southern Democrats to block of weaken civil rights legislation - Congress diluted Ike’s CRBs in 57 and 60 and blocked JFK’s CRB in 1963
southern politicians and law enforcement officials
Discrimination against AA by Northern law enforcement officials played an important part in provoking the black ghetto riots of 1964-8. However, Southern law enforcement officials were far worse. Many, such as Bull Connor were both willing and determined to maintain segregation. Southern politicians from both major parties responded to a predominantly white electorate that sought to retain Jim Crow laws, as a politician who failed to support segregation might not get elected - Faubus and George Wallace
George Wallace
In 1958 Wallace had been a moderate and had been supported by the NAACP because he condemned the KKK
He lost his election campaign which was won by KKK supported John Patterson
In 1962, Wallace ran for governor again but this time he did so as a racist
He won his election by the biggest margin ever
He called for ‘segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.’
kennedy’s policies in response to the pressures for change
as a senator he opposed Ike’s Civil RIghts Bill. Despite his campaign assurances, JFK did not attempt to get civil rights legislation from Congress during 1961-62, because -
his electoral victory had been very narrow
polls showed voters were unenthusiastic about civil rights
alienating the Southerners in Congress would damage the rest of his legislative programme
other actions by Kennedy
Employment
Voting Rights
Symbolic Gestures
employment
Only 48 of FBI’s 13,649 employees were black and most of them were chauffers. JFK made an unprecedented number of black appointments to the FBI and appointed 40 AA to top posts in the white house. He appointed 5 black federal judges including Thurgood Marshall. However, 20% of his Deep South judicial appointments were segregationists. JFK created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which aimed to ensure equal employment opp for federal employees and in companies with contracts with the federal government. EEOC integrated and promoted AA at the Lockheed aircraft plant in Georgia. However, employers were still complying with demands from their workers for segregated facilities
date of kennedy’s creation of the EEOC
On March 6, 1961, shortly after JFK took office, he signed Executive Order 10925,
voting rights
The Kennedy Justice Department brought 57 legal cases against illegal violations of black voting rights in the south. When bobby kennedy threatened Louisiana officials with contempt of court sentences for denying funds to newly segregated schools in New Orleans, it hastened deseg in New Orleans, Atlanta and Memphis. However, in 1963 the administration retreated on voting rights in Mississippi when influential Democrat senators protested.
symbolic gestures
They were an easy and politically painless way for JFK to suggest commitment to racial equality. For example, he invited more black guests to the white house than any previous president Although he rejected their requests for legislation.
NAACP member remark about JFK’s symbolic gestures
NAACP leader Roy Wilkins said, “Everyone went out of there absolutely charmed by the manner in which they had been turned down”. The Kennedys were not keen to respond to activism. They refused to help SNCC workers attacked by whites in Mississippi, However, civil rights activists frequently forced a response.
reacting to protests
Freedom Riders
James Meredith and Ole Miss
Birmingham
March on Washington
Reacting to protests - Freedom Riders
JFK did not want to respond to the Freedom Riders, he said they were unpatriotic in exposing American domestic problems during the Cold War. However, the freedom riders persistent pressure forced AG Robert Kennedy to get an interstate commerce commission ruling supporting the SCs ruling that terminals and interstate bus seating be integrated
James Meredith and the University of Mississippi
Bobby Kennedy sent 500 marshals to help him enrol. The ill-equipped marshals clashed with a white racist mob. JFK then sent in the national guard and Meredith enrolled
