e role of African Americans in gaining civil rights

Question 1

What did some African Americans do to fight against discrimination?

Answer 1

Challenged its legality - in courts

Question 2

What did some African Americans prioritize above gaining the vote?

Answer 2

Social and economic improvement

Question 3

What were some African Americans’ goals regarding integration or segregation?

Answer 3

Some aimed for integration, while others aimed for segregation

Question 4

Who was Booker T. Washington?

Answer 4

• A civil rights leader who stressed the importance of African Americans relying on their efforts to make progress, become educated, and become prosperous.
• He founded the Tuskegee Institute in 1881 to train teachers
• founded National Business League in 1901 to encourage African American economic enterprise.

Question 5

Who was W.E.B. Du Bois?

Answer 5

• A civil rights leader who believed that an African American elite - the ‘talented tenth’ - would spearhead a movement for radical political change.
• He cooperated with white reformers in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• led marches and campaigns for equal civil and political rights

Question 6

Who was Marcus Garvey?

Answer 6

• A civil rights leader who saw a separate African American community, aware of its African roots and part of a wider Pan-African movement, as the goal.
• His Universal Negro Improvement Association was the first large civil rights organisation in the USA and was said to have 4 million members by 1920.

Question 7

Who was Philip Randolph?

Answer 7

• A civil rights leader who rallied black organised labour to the cause of civil rights
• believed in mass non-violent protest
• pressured the government to end discrimination in war production industries in 1941 by threatening a mass march.

Question 8

Who was Martin Luther King?

Answer 8

• A civil rights leader who took up the tactics of marches and mass protests begun by Du Bois and Randolph
• co-operated with white liberals, and used the tactic of non-violence.
• He brought a new passion to the movement and an ability to use publicity and image effectively.
• He was assassinated in Memphis in April 1968.

Question 9

Who was Malcolm X?

Answer 9

• A civil rights leader of the separatist tradition who worked with the Nation of Islam to promote the African heritage
• was a powerful and influential leader.
• He softened his approach in later years but was assassinated in Manhattan in 1965.

Question 10

Who founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and what did they call for?

Answer 10

Huey Newton and Bobby Seal founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in 1966 with a radical social programme, calling for equality and armed resistance to authority and white hostility.

Question 11

What were the main differences between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois in their approach to achieving civil rights for African Americans?

Answer 11

• Booker T. Washington believed in self-help and economic progress through education and training.
• W.E.B. Du Bois advocated for political and social equality for African Americans through a more radical approach.

Question 12

How did Marcus Garvey’s approach to civil rights differ from Martin Luther King’s?

Answer 12

• Marcus Garvey believed in a separate African American community and rejected integration
• Martin Luther King advocated for integration and non-violent direct action.

Question 13

What did Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers have in common in their approach to civil rights?

Answer 13

• Both Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers believed in fighting for equal rights and opposed discrimination and racism
• but they differed in their tactics and goals.
• King advocated for non-violent direct action
• the Black Panthers called for armed resistance and a more radical social program

Question 14

What were some key actions of Booker T. Washington?

Answer 14

• In 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Institute to train teachers.
• In 1895, he delivered the “Atlanta Compromise” speech, advocating for economic progress rather than political and social equality.
• In 1901, he founded the National Business League to encourage African American economic enterprise.
• He advised multiple US presidents on racial issues.

Question 15

What were some key actions of W.E.B. Du Bois?

Answer 15

• 1905, he helped found the Niagara Movement, which demanded full civil rights for African Americans.
• In 1909, he co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which aimed to end racial discrimination.
• In 1910, he edited the NAACP’s magazine, The Crisis, which became an important platform for African American literature
• He wrote several influential books, including “The Souls of Black Folk” (1903) and “Black Reconstruction in America” (1935).

Question 16

What were some key actions of Marcus Garvey?

Answer 16

• In 1914, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), which aimed to promote African American economic independence and pride in African heritage.
• In 1916, he began publishing the UNIA’s newspaper, Negro World, which had a circulation of over 200,000 at its peak.
• He organised the “Back to Africa” movement to establish a separate African American homeland in Africa.
• He was convicted of mail fraud in 1923 and deported from the US in 1927.

Question 17

What were some key actions of Martin Luther King Jr.?

Answer 17

• In 1955, he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which successfully ended racial segregation on city buses.
• In 1957, he helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which aimed to coordinate nonviolent civil rights protests across the South.
• In 1963, he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
• In 1965, he led the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, which helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year.