T2: The Quest for Civil Rights, 1917-80 Flashcards
What was life in the South, 1917-32, like for BA?
- 90% lived in the South; over half were impoverished sharecroppers working on white-owned land. Shows economic dependency and limited political freedom
- Jim Crow Laws: state and local laws enforcing racial segregation and Black inferiority; lasted from post-Reconstruction period in the 1870s until being fully abolished in 1965. This included segregation in diners, schools, public transport, healthcare.
- Racial stereotypes through minstrel shows, “Sambo” cartoons, and “coon” caricatures portrayed Black people as idle, subservient, or foolish, justifying segregation.
- The KKK used violence and intimidation (e.g. lynching, cross burning) to suppress Black voting and to assert white superiority. Deemed unconstitutional in 1882, but the “Birth of a Nation” film prompted their resurgence.
What were the key legislation regarding BA civil rights, 1917-32?
13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery
14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship and rights to all races
15th Amendment (1870): Gave voting rights regardless of race
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): legitimised and legalised segregation under “separate but equal,” although facilities were not at all equal.
Wilson facilitated segregation by allowing his Cabinet to control their own department procedures ; Harding spoke against lynching but took no action; limited federal enforcement of civil rights due to laissez-fair attitudes.
What was the impact of the Great Migration, 1917-32?
Social: Racial violence in the South, crop failures, and Northern demand for labour during WW1 prompted the mass migration of millions of BA.
Economic impacts: BA left the south after crop failures led to mass unemployment. The north promised job opportunities which had better chances of social mobility in industrial jobs in steel mills and automobile factories. They did have greater economic freedoms to some extent, as they escaped economic dependency on white landowners as sharecroppers, yet they still were working in low-paying positions and in dangerous conditions. Whilst there was a rise in black-owned businesses, such as the Chicago Defender publication, BA still remained economically worse-off compared to white people and 5X more likely to be in poverty. They would be the firt fired, last hired. poor housing, job discrimination, and being first fired during the Depression.
Social impact: BA moved to escappe KKK lynching and segreagation to the promised land of the North, the migration led to the resurgence of black culutre notably durig the Halrem Renaissance which celrbated their culture and artists (Bessie Smith Loius Amstrong). However, there was a white conserrvative backlash to the growing presence of BA in the North nonetheless. The Harlem Renaissance – celebration of Black art, music (e.g. jazz), and literature. Race riots (e.g. Chicago, 1919), redlining, and ghettoisation in urban housing. The cooton club showed the contraditioction of Black music was celebrated but Black people were often excluded from the audience. Chruches become a key place for rallying balck voices and a forum for civil rights justice.
Political: Black Americans gained greater ability to vote, influencing politicians like FDR to adopt more inclusive policies. It laid the groundwork for the urban Black political voice and future civil rights activism. colirhblind social polcieis, the black vote was instrumenetal to FDRs sucess. In the north, the BA were mabel to more freely execrise their consitititional right to vote. BA were also able to turn fro office, with oscar Dwepriset becoming the first BA to emter contfress in … The legal vicotries of the NAACP un the case of Dr Ossia Seweet also promoted legislative changes and precendents.
What was the impact of the early civil rights movement?
NOT REALLY NECESSARY NOW iI need to finsih off later.
What was the impact of the FDR presidencty New Deal for BA, 1933-45?
- Under FDR, the number of BA working in the federal bureacracy tripled to 150k in 1941
- A: FDR’s New Deal agencies were mostly race-blind to gain Black votes in Northern cities, marking a shift in political engagement.
As Black Americans gained the right to vote in the North, their political influence grew, prompting some Democrats to seek their support.
Although the New deal provided some jobs and aid, Black Americans often received less support, were excluded from some programmes, and continued to face discrimination.
The AAA meant that sourthrn white landowners were ;aid to removef land from production, and in turne 200,000 black sgharevroppers were unemeplyedm from 1933-40,
The NRA meant that comapirnies often caterogrised BA jobs incorrectly to avoid paying them the same wages as whites. There wa sa lack of legal efnrocement over the federal agendies. This eas the case for many of the federal agencies, as the local state implementation of the New deal often meant that BA were exploited and not paid their prorer share of benefits or opportunities.
Social secuity: Some BA were exlcuude form SS beenfits, as a high prorportion of BA ewere in temeporary r seasonal work as farmers or domestic workers,m which was not covered under theact.
However, the WPA did employ 350k BA each year, 76% of BA supproted FDR.
Impact of the Second World War (SWW)
Q: How did WW2 impact Black employment?
A: Demand for wartime labour increased Black employment in industry, leading to economic gains and migration to urban centres.
Q: What was the Double V Campaign?
A: A campaign launched by Black Americans for victory against fascism abroad and racism at home, highlighting civil rights hypocrisy.
Q: What impact did WW2 have on civil rights momentum?
A: It sparked increased activism, including civil rights groups pressuring the government for change, and laid the groundwork for the post-war movement.
Q: How did the war affect public perception of segregation?
A: Fighting for democracy abroad made the contradiction of segregation at home more obvious, fuelling civil rights demands.
A.Randolph pushed for E08802 for non-dsictimination in the wdefence work. Millions of BA moved to the ubran areas for work in the defence insidutiey, and race relations had became sobad that committees had to be set up to ensure that the racism did not impact the productivity.
NaAACP memebership rose to 450k during the war.
FDR’s FEPC led to the numebr of black peopel working in defece from 3% to 8%.
GI Bill of Rights 1944 gave black soldiers aid to go to college or set up their own business’
What was the impact of the Truman presidency on Cvil rights, 1945-53?
Turman had been a KKK memeber but felth sympathy and was disgusted for black people when foingding out that a black soldeir had been beaten up hwhen he returned from the war. He undertsood that something was radicall;y wrortng with the system.
He set up the Preisdents committee on civil rights, creating the To secutre these rights report which called for anti-lynching civil rights legislation and the abolition of the poll tacx
He was the first president yo publicly ackenowledge the NAACP
Truamn’s overall ahcehivenments in civl rights was xontrsined by congress
E09981 desgereated the miltiary
The NAACP (1917-45)
Founded in 1909 by a group of Black and white activists including W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and white liberals like Mary White Ovington. Its primary aim was to fight racial discrimination and injustice through legal, educational, and lobbying efforts.
* One of the NAACP’s earliest and most urgent priorities was combating lynching, segregation and voting rights in the courtd. Under the leadership of journalist and activist Ida B. Wells and others, the NAACP publicised lynchings and pressured Congress to pass federal anti-lynching legislation.
* One of the NAACP’s most significant early victories came in the case of Dr. Ossian Sweet, a Black physician who bought a house in a white neighbourhood in Detroit. In 1925, a white mob gathered outside Sweet’s home, and in the ensuing violence, a white man was killed. Sweet and his family were arrested and charged with murder. The NAACP provided legal support and won the case for SQweet.
* Thurgood Marshall took over as head of the NAACP Legal Defence Fund. Marshall was dynamic and relentless in his pursuit of justice and would eventually go on to become the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Under his leadership, the NAACP continued its strategic assault on segregation in education and public life, laying the groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
* By the end of World War II, the NAACP had grown in both size and influence. Membership surged during the war years, from around 50,000 in 1940 to over 400,000 by 1946. The war itself, along with campaigns like the Double V movement, heightened awareness of racial injustice and gave further urgency to civil rights activism.
What were the changing patterns, organisations and approaches to cvil rights?
CORE: Established in 1942 in Chicago by a group of both Black and white activists, including James Farmer, and was inspired by the principles of nonviolent civil disobedience advocated by Mahatma Gandhi. Initially a small, interracial organisation, CORE sought to challenge segregation in the North and South through direct action. In its early years, CORE focused on desegregating public spaces, particularly in the North, and organised sit-ins, such as the successful 1947 Journey of Reconciliation — a precursor to the Freedom Rides — which tested Supreme Court rulings against segregation in interstate travel. CORE operated with limited national influence in the 1940s but was significant for introducing and refining nonviolent protest tactics that would become central to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Its emphasis on interracial cooperation and grassroots activism marked it as a key early player in the broader struggle for Black civil rights.
What was the Montogomery bus boycott 1955?
The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56) was a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement, sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest on 1 December 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. In response, the Black community, under the coordination of the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) led by a young pastor, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, launched a city-wide boycott of the bus system. The boycott lasted over a year, with Black residents — who made up the majority of bus passengers — organising carpools, walking long distances, and refusing to use public transport to protest segregation. Despite intimidation, arrests, and economic retaliation, the boycott held firm.
It ended successfully on 20 December 1956 after the Supreme Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. The boycott marked the rise of King as a national civil rights leader and demonstrated the power of nonviolent mass protest and collective action, setting the tone for future civil rights campaigns across the South. Hiowever, black people werwe still subject to racist attacks on buses, for example they wouyld shoot snipers at the buses and at people.
Over 75% bus users were BA and 90% of them boycotted the busiesn.
Claudette Colvin had refused to give up her seat a week earlier, but had been refused to thbe the figurehead of the movement, on the basis of her teen preganancy. The CRM were keen to only promoted “respectable” figures.
MLK became the fgurehead of the movement, and used the movement and his pastor background , to preach about equality.
King was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), the organization that spearheaded the boycott. He led the MIA in organizing the boycott, which lasted for 381 days and ultimately led to the desegregation of Montgomery’s bus system.
What was the case of the little rock 9 1957?
The case of the Little Rock Nine in 1957 was a landmark moment in the struggle to enforce school desegregation following the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision. In Little Rock, Arkansas, nine academically strong Black students were selected to integrate the all-white Central High School. Their attempt to attend the school was met with fierce resistance from white mobs (Go back to the jungle) and defiance from Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who deployed the National Guard to block their entry, claiming it was to maintain public order. In response, President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened directly, sending federal troops to escort and protect the students. The Little Rock Nine endured a year of harassment, violence, and intimidation but ultimately succeeded in attending the school under military protection. The event became a powerful symbol of federal authority overriding state resistance and highlighted both the deep hostility to desegregation in the South and the federal government’s willingness — though reluctant — to enforce civil rights law when directly challenged. Esiehower still sypathetic to white sourtherners.
What were the greensoboro sit ins?
The Greensboro sit-ins began on 1 February 1960, when four Black college students sat at a “whites-only” lunch counter at a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked to be served. When they were refused service, they remained seated in peaceful protest. This act of nonviolent civil disobedience quickly gained momentum, as hundreds of students joined the movement across the South in similar sit-ins, challenging segregation in public spaces. The protestors endured verbal abuse, physical assaults, and arrests, yet remained nonviolent. Within months, the sit-ins had spread to over 50 cities and helped prompt the desegregation of many lunch counters. The movement also inspired the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) 1960, a key organisation in the civil rights struggle. The Greensboro sit-ins demonstrated the power of youth-led, grassroots activism and nonviolent resistance, revitalising the civil rights movement and applying economic pressure to dismantle segregation in public accommodations.
Sit ins took place in acorss 30 other cities, 70k emulated them oin the sotuh. It led to 150 cities introducing a form of desegration in their cities in order to prvent fruther loss to business, and due to wooleothes ebing a maintstearm chain sotre.
Whta was SNCC 1960?
SNCC differed from their tactics to the SCLC of MLK ion which they were more direct and sought pout violnet confrontati0on,. onwwo ing would be a highly powerful publicity and media tool. Founded by Ella Barker.
They sestablished freedom schools to educate black children of their rights
They pushed for voting rights and for fireld secretatries sent to work and live in the sourth and encourage greater voter regisatration, they were met with firedrce violence and policie brutality.
What were the freedom rides, 1961?
The Freedom Rides of 1961 were a bold campaign organised by the CORE and joined by SNCC, l to test the SC rulings which declared segregation in interstate bus travel unconstitutional. Integrated groups of Black and white activists boarded buses in Washington, D.C., intending to travel through the Deep South, using “whites-only” and “coloured-only” facilities to challenge the lack of enforcement of these rulings. The Freedom Riders were met with escalating violence — buses were firebombed, and riders were beaten by white mobs, often with the complicity or outright cooperation of local authorities. In Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, the violence reached national headlines, prompting federal intervention. Eventually, under pressure, the Interstate Commerce Commission, with backing from the Kennedy administration, issued regulations in late 1961 to enforce desegregation in interstate travel facilities. The Freedom Rides exposed the federal government’s reluctance to confront Southern resistance but ultimately forced it to act. Wa s apowerful display of CR activism,.
What was the birmingham canapgin 1963?
The Birmingham Campaign of 1963 was a strategic movement led by MLK and SCLC and local activists aimed at challenging the entrenched system of segregation in Birmingham, Alabama — one of the most racially divided and violently resistant cities in the South (Bombinghmae, for the frwuenrcy in which balck hoems were firebombed) The campaign focused on nonviolent direct action, including boycotts, marches, and sit-ins, targeting segregated public facilities and discriminatory employment practices.
A turning point came with the decision to involve children in what became known as the “Children’s Crusade” in May 1963. Hundreds of school students marched peacefully but were met with brutal police tactics under the command of Public Safety Commissioner “Bull” Connor. The use of police dogs and high-pressure fire hoses on young demonstrators was broadcast across the nation, shocking the public and garnering widespread sympathy for the civil rights cause.
The media coverage and growing national outrage pressured JFK to publicly support civil rights legislation. The campaign ultimately led to a negotiated agreement to desegregate Birmingham’s public facilities and improve employment opportunities for Black citizens. It was a key victory for the movement, demonstrating the effectiveness of coordinated, nonviolent protest and marking a pivotal moment in the push for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
MLK was jailed, but used this publcitiy to write “A letter on birmingham jail” on the themes of eaulity, justice and legitimacy of the law.
hat was the amrch on washington for jobs and freedom 1963?
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place on August 1963 and was one of the largest and most significant civil rights demonstrations in American history. Organised by a coalition of civil rights, labour, and religious organisations — including the NAACP, SCLC, CORE, and SNCC — it drew over 250,k people to the Lincoln memorial at DC. The march aimed to pressure the federal government to pass meaningful civil rights legislation, particularly in the wake of the Birmingham Campaign’s violence and to demand an end to racial segregation, economic injustice, and discrimination in employment.
It was here that MLK delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, calling for racial harmony, equal opportunity, and justice. The peaceful nature and sheer scale of the march demonstrated to the nation — and the world — the strength, unity, and resolve of the civil rights movement. The march played a crucial role in building momentum for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
What was the freedom summer 1964?
Freedom Summer was a major civil rights campaign launched in Mississippi in 1964, aimed at increasing Black voter registration in one of the most violently segregated and politically repressive states in the U.S. Organised by civil rights groups including the SNCC CORE, and the NAACP, the campaign brought together thousands of Black Mississippians and over 1,000 mostly white college volunteers from the North. They worked to register Black voters, run Freedom Schools, and set up the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) to challenge the all-white delegation at the Democratic National Convention.
The campaign faced extreme resistance. Activists were met with threats, beatings, arrests, and arson. Most notoriously, three volunteers were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan with the complicity of local law enforcement. Their deaths drew national attention to the violent suppression of Black civil rights in the South. Despite limited success in voter registration, Freedom Summer was crucial in exposing the depth of racial injustice in America and laid groundwork for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
6 volunteers were murded altogether, 35 shootign incidents,
17k black peiople tried to resigter to vote, but only 1600 were successful, due to the racism of the all white resigtrars of polling stations. SHowed the consitunation in the sturggle for voting rights.
What was the key leigslation passed under LBJ on civil rights?
Civil Rights Act (1964)
The Civil Rights Act was a landmark piece of legislation that outlawed segregation and discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin. It banned segregation in public places such as schools, restaurants, and theatres, and prohibited employment discrimination through Title VII, which also established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Act also empowered the federal government to enforce desegregation, especially in Southern states, and marked the most significant federal civil rights intervention since Reconstruction. Its passage was heavily influenced by the Birmingham Campaign and the March on Washington, and it demonstrated Johnson’s political skill in overcoming fierce Southern opposition in Congress.
Voting Rights Act (1965)
This Act was passed in direct response to the Selma marches and the violent suppression of Black voting rights in the South. It banned the use of literacy tests and other discriminatory practices that had been used to disenfranchise Black voters. It also authorised federal oversight and monitoring of elections in states with a history of voting discrimination, it replaced souther state resgistrars, whowere often racist whites, to federally approved government ones. The Act led to a dramatic increase in Black voter registration and participation, especially in the Deep South, and was a major step toward political equality.
Fair Housing Act (1968)
Passed shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the Fair Housing Act aimed to end discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. It banned practices like redlining, blockbusting, and racially restrictive covenants that had maintained residential segregation. The Act was the final major civil rights law of the 1960s and helped address the structural inequalities that kept Black Americans in poor housing and underfunded neighbourhoods. While enforcement was initially weak, it was a crucial symbolic and legislative step in the broader civil rights movement.
What was the selma march 1965?
The Selma to Montgomery marches were a series of civil rights protests in Alabama focused on voting rights. Organised by the SCLC and SNCC, the marches aimed to highlight the persistent barriers Black citizens faced in registering to vote, despite their legal rights under the 15th Amendment. The first march on 7 March 1965, known as “Bloody Sunday,” saw over 600 peaceful demonstrators attacked by state troopers with clubs and tear gas on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. The images of brutality shocked the nation and led to widespread outrage.
Following a court injunction, a second march took place, but it was halted. A third and final march, led by Martin Luther King Jr. and protected by federal troops, successfully reached Montgomery on 25 March. The Selma campaign was instrumental in building public and political pressure for voting reform and directly led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory practices like literacy tests and enabled greater federal oversight of voter registration in the South
MLK’s switch in focus and tghe northern cursuda. ()1965-68)
MLKs shift in focus form the de jure segreagtion in the sorth to the de facto segreagtion of the north, espcially in places of Chicago ater the great migration. Issues of overcorwign, ghettoisation, poor education and living conditions. Media became fickle and they no longer braodcasted or publicised his effrots. The cycle of proverty was not an issue that could be easily corrected by a protest or a marhc, as it reuired greater federal funds and deep systemic chagne. Taxes were aleady and high and funds used for the Great society and the vietnam war. THe crusade could nto be resolved by a stroke of the pen leigslation, and tailed off due to tlack of media and defderal ettention.
Media braodcasted the miltiatn black power movement rather than the civbil rights camapigns of the peaceful and socntititional balck movement.
The Northern Crusade, also known as the Chicago Campaign, was launched by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1966 to address systemic racism in the urban North, particularly in housing, education, and economic inequality. While the Civil Rights Movement had achieved significant victories in the South, King believed the struggle must also tackle the subtler, yet equally damaging, racism present in northern cities.
Focusing on Chicago, one of the most segregated cities in the U.S., the campaign targeted discriminatory housing practices, such as redlining, blockbusting, and restrictive covenants, which confined Black residents to overcrowded and under-resourced ghettos. King and the SCLC partnered with local groups like the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) and led marches into all-white neighbourhoods to protest housing segregation and demand open housing policies.
However, the campaign met fierce resistance. In contrast to the South, where racist violence was state-enforced, northern opposition was often more hostile at a community level. Marchers were pelted with bottles and rocks, and there was a sense that the sysmpathy offered to he Black CRM was condititional, and that the CRm was too close to their territory.
The campaign culminated in an agreement with city officials to promote fair housing, but it lacked strong enforcement mechanisms and produced limited immediate results. Despite this, the Northern Crusade was significant in broadening the civil rights agenda beyond legal segregation to include economic justice, housing, and urban inequality. It highlighted that racism was not confined to the South and exposed the deep-rooted structural inequalities that persisted across the country.
MLK was assassinated in memphis, and this effectively ended tyhe non violenct statrgey of the crm, in 1968
Malcolm X and NOI and the rise fothe Black pwoer novement
Malcolm X was a powerful and controversial African American civil rights leader, known for his uncompromising advocacy for Black empowerment, self-determination, and resistance to white supremacy. His background with his father murded by the KK, mother with poor mental health and hus involvement in crime. He rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s as a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam (NOI), a religious and political movement that promoted Black separatism, self-reliance, and a rejection of integration with white society.
Malcolm X offered a stark contrast to the nonviolent, integrationist approach of Martin Luther King Jr. While King preached love, nonviolence, and peaceful protest, Malcolm X famously advocated for “any means necessary” to achieve justice and self-defence in the face of white violence and oppression. He criticised the civil rights movement for being too passive and for relying on white allies or government intervention.
However, his philosophy evolved significantly after he left the Nation of Islam in 1964, disillusioned with its leadership. He founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) and began promoting a more inclusive form of Pan-Africanism and human rights activism. After a pilgrimage to Mecca, he adopted more global, anti-imperialist views and began to see the civil rights struggle as part of a broader fight against injustice worldwide. He also began to soften his stance on integration and interracial solidarity. However, he was assassinated by NOI memebers.
His emphasis on Black pride, cultural identity, and economic independence, which laid the groundwork for the Black Power movement. His influence on younger activists who became disillusioned with gradual change and looked for more radical solutions.
Stokely Carmichael was a prominent and transformative figure in the American civil rights movement, particularly known for his leadership in SNCC during the mid-1960s. He quickly rose through the ranks due to his charisma, intellect, and organising skills.
Initially committed to nonviolent direct action, Carmichael played a leading role in Freedom Rides and voter registration drives in the Deep South. He faced repeated arrests and violence but remained committed to grassroots organising. However, by the mid-1960s, he grew frustrated with the slow pace of change, continued white violence, and what he saw as the limitations of nonviolence and interracial cooperation.
In 1966, Carmichael became chairman of SNCC and fundamentally reshaped its direction. He popularised the slogan “Black Power”, calling for Black autonomy, self-determination, pride, and control over their own political and economic institutions. This marked a sharp break from the integrationist, nonviolent approach of leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and signalled a broader shift in the civil rights movement toward a more radical and assertive phase. He shifted black pwoer in the new direction of the movement after MLKs death, raidcalising SNCC to becomea more miltiant organisation tht eventually rejected white membership, aligning more with revolutionary ideas and Pan-Africanism.
Laying the groundwork for Black Power and Black Panther movements: His ideas strongly influenced groups like the Black Panther Party, which embraced armed self-defence, community control, and socialist principles.
Significance o fht eblCK peowrr movement and the BPP
The Black Power Movement emerged in the mid-1960s as a radical response to blsck inequslity. Focus toward self-determination, racial pride, and militant self-defense. Influenced by leaders such as Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael (who popularized the term “Black Power”), and organizations like the Black Panther Party, the movement sought to redefine Black identity outside of white-dominated structures.
Cultural nationalism: encouraging African Americans to embrace their African heritage through art, fashion, music, and education. The slogan “Black is Beautiful” became a rallying cry.
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP), founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California, became one of the most iconic and controversial organizations of the Black Power era. Unlike mainstream groups, the Panthers adopted a Marxist-Leninist ideology, advocating for armed self-defense against police brutality while also implementing community-based social programs. The Panthers’ Ten-Point Program outlined their demands, including an end to police violence, full employment, decent housing, and education reform. They famously practiced open-carry patrols to monitor police activity, which brought them into direct conflict with law enforcement. However, their most enduring contributions were their survival programs, such as the Free Breakfast for Children Program, which fed thousands of impoverished Black youth, and free health clinics, offering medical care to underserved communities. These initiatives demonstrated the Panthers’ commitment to revolutionary socialism and grassroots activism.
Despite their positive community impact, the Panthers were vilified by the media and targeted by the government. The FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, labeled them a “black nationalist hate group” and used COINTELPRO to sabotage the party, leading to arrests, assassinations (such as Fred Hampton’s murder in 1969), and internal divisions. By the mid-1970s, the Panthers had largely dissolved, but their influence persisted in later movements for prison abolition, food justice, and anti-police brutality activism.
Whta were the reasons behind the native american rights camapign?
Problems:
* Long-standing struggle for sovereignty and self-determination; living in resrvations but under BIA control, and theiur civil liberites were hampered
* cultural preservation: policy of termination they saw as cultural geenocirde, a forced erasoure of their traditional identity to assmiilaite into the hegemonc amercian ideology.
* Justice against centuries of colonization, forced assimilation, and systemic oppression: deeply tied to treaty rights, land reclamation, and federal recognition of tribal autonomy. issue of tribal homelands being taken away. High rates iof suicied and alcoholism than nay other social group,
* US violations of treaties and governance: Forced removals (e.g., the Trail of Tears, 1830s) Massacres and military campaigns (e.g., Wounded Knee, 1890) Assimilation policies (e.g., boarding schools that banned Native languages and traditions) Termination Era (1950s-60s), where the U.S. dissolved tribal recognition to seize land
