Post Civil Rights Act Flashcards
What were Nixon’s two big policies?
Affirmative Action
Bussing
What was the Supreme Court’s position on Affirmative Action?
Their position was mixed - in Giggs v Duke Power Company (1971) they ruled it was constitutional, but after California v Bakke (1978) they ruled that it was only acceptable in certain cases.
When was California v Bakke and what was it about?
1978
Bakke argued he was being discriminated against because he was white. He was rejected by his university of choice, whilst African American students with lower grades were accepted.
What percentage of African American children attended all-black schools in 1969 and what did this drop to by 1974?
68% in 1969, which had dropped to 8% by 1974
What did Alexander v Holmes County Board of Education (1969) rule?
That desegregation of schools much happen immediately.
What ruling overturned Brown II and when was this ruling?
Alexander v Holmes County Board of Education in 1969 - it ruled desegregation of schools must happen immediately
Write everything you know about bussing
- Nixon’s policy
- Intended to improve integration, children were taken on busses to schools in different districts.
- This was very controversial - a bus of African American children in Boston ended up being stoned.
- It was deemed unconstitutional in the 1974 Milliken v Bradley Supreme Court case.
What was the Milliken v Bradley (1974) and why was it significant?
It deemed cross-district bussing to be unconstitutional and was the first NAACP backed case that was lost in 20 years.
Write everything you know about ‘The New South’
- As northern industry declined and southern industry boomed, many African Americans moved to the South.
- After the destruction of Jim Crow, the South became a better place for many African Americans to live than the North.
- Proportionately more African Americans were elected to high political office in the South, compared to the North
Who coined the term “Black Power”, when, and why was this a turning point?
Stokely Carmichael coined the term in 1966.
- This acted as a turning point as the Civil Rights Movement became more militant.
- There was a breakdown in relations between King, the SCLC and the SNCC
- The SNCC expelled all white members and CORE followed in 1968.
How many members did the Nation of Islam have by 1964 and what was their main demographic?
100,000 members, 75% of which were young and urban.
Who was the leader of the Nation of Islam?
Malcom X
Write everything you know about the Black Panthers
- Small but influential militant group
- Had 5,000 members at their peak
- Marxist leanings
- Taken down by the FBI by 1970 - Nixon took a hard line against them.
Write down everything you know about Reagan and civil rights
- Reagan was hostile to civil rights. He had opposed both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act
- Reduced funding for the EEOC and medicare (which disproportionately affected black Americans)
- Appointed fewer African Americans to government positions than any other president since Eisenhower.
- Appointed conservative chief justices to the Supreme Court which slowed the pace of change
- Vetoed a civil rights act in 1988, but congress overrode him
How many African Americans were under the poverty line by 1990 and what was unemployment like compared with white Americans?
9 million out of 31 million African Americans were under the poverty line.
Unemployment was 5% higher amongst black Americans than white Americans.
