issue 5: development of crm Flashcards
introduction
The civil rights movement was very unpopular before the second world war started. In 1865 slaves had been freed but blacks in the US were still treated unfairly.These african americans would face problems like racism, segregation and lack of political influence. In the 1950s the civil rights movements grew and so did the demands for African American civil rights. However, Black servicemen after WWII were seen as unfairly treated and second class citizens, which led many of demobilised men to march and protest with civil rights movements which helped them grow rapidly, which is my main argument. It can be argued that other factors like Martin Luther King, civil rights movement,other leaders and prejudice and racism also had a big impact. This essay tends to argue that Black servicemen after WWII were the most important reason for the development of civil rights.
MLK
K-Martin Luther King was the leader of the SCLC which was a civil rights organisation which was known for their non-violence protests and marches in the south. One of the most famous protests was in Washington D.C in 1963 where he had the ‘I have a dream’ speech.
A-This had a great impact as the MLK way of non-violence created an outcry to the public and gained national attention to pass the civil right act of 1964. Martin Luther King was also in charge of the protests and was the voice of the organisation.
K-He held marches in Selma to achieve the political equality of black Americans and end segregation in the south.
A-This had an impact as the protests helped the government pass the voting rights act of 1965.
A+-However,this led to people being frustrated with white violence and no black response
Blackservice men in WW2
K-Over one million servicemen who were african american were transferred to european countries such as Britain and France where they were not segregated cities. These men would stay in white households and feel segregated.
A-This was important as African American soldiers were fighting for another countries freedom and not in the US, this started the double v campaign which means victory in war and victory at home .
K-After the second world war, white demobilised men were united back in the country as black servicemen were disproportionate and still had to come home to racist issues of segregation and freedom.
A-This was effective as many of these soldiers turned to civil rights organisations such as the NAACP which grew in a major population of 50,000 members to 200,000 members.
Civil rights movements
K-The NAACP was a civil rights organisation which was founded by Du Bois, but was led by Walter White. This was an organisation which focused on challenging the social barrier of black inequality and degradation. They wanted to fight for anti- lynching laws and had alot of members in there organisation.
A-This is important as the NAACP were such a great success that helped put pressure on the supreme court for the Brown vs Board of education and tried tackling anti-lynching laws.
A+-However, the NAACP were successful in winning cases such as the Brown vs Board of education, but they struggled to pass anti-lynching laws.
K-The SCLC were a civil rights organisation run by Martin Luther King. This movement primarily focused on ending the Jim Crow laws and segregation in the south. They were an non-violence movement which held mass protests and marches which created national attention and challenged civil rights and equality.
A-This is important as the SCLC were successful as they started by the influence of the Montgomery bus boycott and achieved political factors in the south and the organisation was nationally known.
Effective leaders
K-Malcolm X was involved in crime until he was sent to jail,where he transitioned into islam after studying about it. He came out of jail and joined the nation of Islam where he used violent tactics.
A- This is effective as X spread attention in northern cities where there was still crime, drugs and unemployment in the ghettos.
K-Stokely Carmichel was the leader of the SNCC and who promoted famous black pride slogans as “Black is Beautiful” and wrote a book called Black power, describing his view on his role on Blacks in America.
A- His vision and idea showed many Black Americans how truly powerless they were to force them to join civil rights movements.
A+-However, the black panther group members would decrease as many members would attend shootouts with the police.
Prejudice & Racism
K-The Brown vs Topeka board of education resulted in the NAACP taking the case to court which eventually reached the supreme court, who reversed the separate but equal voting.
A-This case was incredibly important as it was the first stab in the armour of the jim crow laws showing that segregation could be beaten and this encouraged further action to end segregation everywhere.
A+-However, this was a slow process as black still felt segregated in schools.
K-An example of southern justice was the brutal murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955 while visiting his uncle.
A-The case highlighted the extreme levels of prejudice in the south & brought it to national attention. This shocked the north & could not be ignored- change needed to happen.
Conclusion
In conclusion, MLK had a great impact on the development of the civil rights movement as he managed to pass the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965 which made him an icon and nationally looked at as an important leader of the development of civil rights. However, black servicemen were the spark to the civil rights movement as they encouraged and supported MLK and helped him rise to power which made a bigger impact on the development of the civil rights movement.
Furthermore, Blackservice men after the second world war had a greater impact on the civil rights movement as they were men who wanted more from their country and wanted an equal and unsegregated country. They support and helped these leaders and organisations become as big as they are because of the amount of African American servicemen who wanted civil rights which means this is the most important impact of the civil rights movement.
In addition, The civil rights movement had a huge impact as they gained a massive amount of support and members and helped states become legally equal and fighted for black people’s civil rights and helped with court cases and marches. However, the black servicemen were more impactful as they helped their movements come to fame and helped raise their members and followers to support black segregated states to challenge and fight for their civil rights, that is why Black servicemen was the most important argument.
