Issue 6: Assessment of Civil Rights up to 1968 Flashcards
Introduction
Before 1945, black Americans had few civil rights, they lacked political influence, they were divided on how to achieve civil rights and suffered great discrimination as a result of the Jim Crow laws and the KKK. However, with the support of the black servicemen they were determined for a change and to confront racial prejudice and return home. This led to the strengthening of the NAACP and birth of the CORE which were major organisations that protested in the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, other effective things like the civil rights organisation, Martin Luther King and Black radical movements were also effective in meeting the needs of black Americans up to 1968. Thus, this essay intends to collectively address the failure of economic obstacles such as unemployment, housing and more.
Civil rights organisations
K-Linda Brown from Topeka, Kansas went to a all-black school 20 blocks from home where there was an all black 5 blocks away.her father tried to get legal authorities for her to go to that school, so the NAACP took action to the supreme court.
A-This is important as it was the first victory for the NAACP and 2 years later not one black child went to an all white school in the deep south.
A+-However, when other schools tried to desegregate they were attacked by the KKK or white supremists.
K-In 1955, Mrs Rosa Parks was sitting in the white stand and was asked to move along with 3 other black people she refused and was arrested, this caused an outrage as parks was secutary of the NAACP Branch in montgomery.
A-This is important as this one-day boycott turned into a one-year boycott and 40,000 blacks refused to go on buses.
MLK
K-Mlk and the SCLC led marches in Birmingham, Alabama to pretest segregation in 1963, were birgham was known for being racist and a segregated town.
A-This was effective as the king’s speech highlighted the moral and peaceful nature of the campaign and effectively targeted people’s emotions.
K-MLK and 250,000 protestors marched to Washington ‘for jobs and freedom’, this is where the king delivered his ‘i have a dream speech’.
A-This was effective as the king gained national attention to where his speeches’ success helped pass the civil rights act of 1964.
A+-However, people were frustrated with white violence and no black response.
Other effective black 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 was as effective as X spread attention in northern cities where there was still crime, drugs and unemployment in the ghettos.
K-The black panther party was a radical black group who supported Carmichael’s black power ideas.
A-This was important as they set up many self-help schemes in the ghettos such as breakfast clubs and free health care clubs.
A+- However, they weren’t for achieving black people’s needs in the northern cities and had only 2000 members and many were killed in shootouts with the police.
Changes in federal policy
K-The 1964 civil rights act passed by president Johnson and stated that discrimination on the basis of race in public places in the USA was banned, that employers could no longer discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion or sex.
A-This was important as segregation was now banned and the movement had achieved a landmark target.
A+-However, the act failed to address political issues in regards to voting restrictions, which remained throughout the southern states.
K-The 1965 voting rights act abolished literacy tests and checks on poll tax payment of black people, which in the past had been used as restrictions to stop them from voting.
A- This was important as this was a huge victory for the civil rights movement and the numbers of black voters in the south increased drastically.
Conclusion
Nevertheless, MLK was effective in ending southern jim crow laws and achieving the civil rights act of 1964 and 1965 but failed to address economic problems in the northern cities and was killed and didn’t meet blacks needs up to 1968.
Overall, the black radical movement tried to help the northern cities by setting up many self-help schemes in the ghettos such as breakfast clubs and free health care clubs.
However, they failed to tackle the problem as they had only very few followers in their groups meaning they failed to meet the needs of black Americans in 1968.
