Economic status Flashcards
Topic sentence
The black Civil Rights Movement aimed to improve the economic status of black people during the 1950s and 60s.
Background
Historians argue that during the early 20th century the inequality faced by black people was mostly evidenced through their lack of economic status. Even after the Great Migration, blacks were the ones who were excluded from the industrial boom of the North. It is also argued that the non - violent civil rights movement did little to address inequalities in work and pay however the radical black power movement grew in an effort to address these problems.
Knowledge 1
From 1966 onwards the idea of Black power has started to infiltrate the main civil rights organisation. Black power emerged from a belief and pride in being black and it sought for black solidarity and the development of a distinct proud black identity.
Analysis 1
This did not significantly improve the economic status of black Americans however because the black power movement lost valuable federal support and the FBI set out to eliminate it as the government feared that leaders in the movement were building up hatred which could result in national riots and revolutions. This meant that the government was less inclined to improve the economic status of black Americans.
Counter Analysis 1
However, the black power movement can be credited with persuading schools and colleges to offer an increased number of courses on black history which did improve black peoples economic status.
Knowledge 2
Furthermore, Malcom X was an important voice of black power, he gained support in the North due to him being an articulate speaker. He was also a huge influence on other black activists such as Stokley Carmichael.
Analysis 2
However, he did not have a significant impact on improving the economic status of black peoples because he did not address the economic problems faced by black Americans as he failed to remedy the social and economic problems in the North.
Evaluation
To evaluate, during the 1950s and 1960s the economic status of black Americans had not been improved because leaders such as Malcom X failed to remedy the economic problems in the North and the government was less inclined to improve the economic status of black people as they feared that leaders of the black power movement were building up hatred which would result in national riots and revolutions. Additionally, Historian Sitkoff argues that the militant methods of black power brought about a white backlash. Therefore, the economic status of black people wasn’t as improved as their social status during this time period because there was a lack of progress made.
