Martin Luther King's last campaigns

Question 1

Why did King’s focus move to the North?

Answer 1

The 1964 civil rights acts outlawed segregation in the south, however it did little to address the problems faced by black americans in the North.

Question 2

when was the Moynihan report?

Answer 2

1965

Question 3

What was the Moynihan report?

Answer 3

It was a study of the economic position of black americans by Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Question 4

What did the Moynihan report find?

Answer 4

• Drew attention to the high levels of crime within the black community and the poor living conditions of black families.
• It also noted that ghettoisation in the north was leading to the de facto segregation of education and housing.

Question 5

What did president johnson hope to do with the Moynihan report and how did it backfire?

Answer 5

president Johnson hoped to use the report to promote economic equality. However it backfired because black leaders were horrified because the report blamed black people for their economic problems and suggested that they were incapable of helping themselves.

Question 6

How was the Moynihan report significant?

Answer 6

• It created more tensions between well meaning politicians and black radicals.
• It was used by some whites to argue against government help for black people.

Question 7

When was the Chicago freedom movement?

Answer 7

1966

Question 8

Which civil rights groups were involved with the Chicago freedom movement?

Answer 8

SCLC and CCCO

Question 9

What did King aim to target in the Chicago Freedom Movement and how?

Answer 9

King aimed to target the de facto segregation of Chicago’s education, housing and employment. He aimed to do this using the techniques of non-violent direct action.

Question 10

What happened with the first rally during the Chicago freedom Movement?

Answer 10

• The first rally on 10 june 1966 was dissapointing as 30,000 people attended rather than 100,000
• A heatwave led to black people using fire hydrants in the streets to cool themselves so the authorities decided to turn them off. When they came to turn it off a riot broke out.

Question 11

What happened with the second protest in the Chicago Freedom Movement?

Answer 11

Following the riots King tried to hold a peaceful protest targeting segregated housing by marching through all-white areas. White mobs fought back by bombarding King with rocks.

Question 12

What did the threat of increased violence force Mayor Daley to do during the Chicago Freedom movement?

Answer 12

It forced Mayor Daley to negotiate. However he also obtained a court injunction, severely restricting future marches.

Question 13

What did the Chicago Real Estate Board promise to do during the Chicago freedom summer?

Answer 13

Promised to respect the city’s fair housing laws.

Question 14

What was the significance of the Chicago Freedom summer to do with King’s apparent failiure?

Answer 14

• Local CORE activists claimed that King had made tactical mistakes in the campaign.
• Many of Chicago’s black citizens lost faith in the SCLC and turned to more radical leaders.

Question 15

What was the significance of the Chicago Freedom summer to do with the extent to which king misjudged the situation in the North?

Answer 15

• The campaign revealed a ‘white backlash’ against greater racial equality.
• White labour unions failed to support the campaign
• It failed to win the support of the churches
• President Johnson was no longer willing to involve Federal Government in the campaign because King had attacked the Vietnam War.

Question 16

What was the Significance of the Chicago Freedom Summer to do with the scale of the problems faced by black people in the North?

Answer 16

• Chicago was ten times bigger than Birmingham. Some of the ghettos were bigger than entire southern towns
• Segregation had ended in the south by changing the law. Social and Economic change required high levels of financial investment. Authorities were not willing to commit the money to address these problems.
• King admitted that urban regeneration could not be solved quickly and might take at least ten years

Question 17

When was the Poor people’s campaign?

Answer 17

1968

Question 18

What was the Poor people’s campaign?

Answer 18

King aimed to create a coalition big enough to tackle the social, economic problems identified by the Chicago campaign. The coalition would include: black people, puerto ricans, mexicans, american indians and poor white people.

Question 19

What would the campaign strategy be for the Poor people’s campaign?

Answer 19

Nationwide civil disobedience like occupying government buildings, boycotting businesses and finally, a march on washington.

Question 20

What were the demands of the campaigners of the Poor people’s campaign?

Answer 20

• A federal budget of $30 billion a year to combat poverty.
• A government commitment to full employment.
• government initiatives to build half a million new houses a year.

Question 21

How was the Poor People’s campaign significant in the way that King changed his tactics?

Answer 21

In King’s early campaigns he had believed that he could work within the system, the chicago campaign taught him that he needed to be more radical.

Question 22

What problems did the Poor People’s Campaign face?

Answer 22

-President Johnson made it clear that he did not support the plan.
-the vietnam war created a split between civil rights radicals and liberal politician.
The vietnam war diverted resources from social projects designed to promote social justice to the war.

Question 23

How did the PPC (poor people’s campaign) raise the money necessary to run the campaign?

Answer 23

SCLC organisers had won the support of many labour unions and religious groups and had begun to raise the money necessary to run the campaign.

Question 24

When was the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ strike?

Answer 24

1968

Question 25

Why did the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ strike take place?

Answer 25

Because the memphis city authorities refused to recognise the workers’ union and used tear gas to break up their marchers.

Question 26

Why did King get involved with the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ strike?

Answer 26

Their goals were economic and their protests were non-violent.

Question 27

Why was the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ strike not a success?

Answer 27

• the peaceful march lasted for less than an hour. Marchers themselves began attacking shops and looting and the police responded with tear gas.
• It damaged King’s reputation because some newspapers said that he led the violent march and some called him a chicken for running away as soon as it got violent.

Question 28

When was King assassinated?

Answer 28

4th April 1968

Question 29

Who assassinated King?

Answer 29

James Earl Ray

Question 30

Where did King die?

Answer 30

Standing on the balcony of his Memphis hotel room

Question 31

What was the Significance of King’s death?

Answer 31

• It became a symbol of the civil rights movement
• The authorities in memphis gave into the demands of the Memphis sanitation workers.
• Black americans reacted violently and racial violence broke out in 140 cities across 29 states.