Racism in the USA

Question 1

Why was there the American Civil War 1861 - 65?

Answer 1

After the American Civil War 1861-65, fought between the Northern States (Union) and the Southern States (Confederacy), the victorious North punished the South by changing the constitution to make it even clearer that black people were:  Freed from slavery,  Equal, Allowed to vote.

Question 2

Why did the American Southerners want to keep slavery?

Answer 2

Slavery was vital to the southern economy, they were needed to work on the plantations to work the cotton, tobacco, and sugar plantations.

Question 3

What were the Jim Crow laws?

Answer 3

The Jim Crow laws were a set of laws implemented in the southern states as response to the abolition of slavery, ensuring that although free from slavery, they would never be equal to the whites. These laws included segregation, and took away black people’s suffrage.

Question 4

How were black people in the south prevented from voting?

Answer 4

Black people were prevented from voting by having to pay, pass a literacy test, and if that didn’t stop them, fear and intimidation were used.

Question 5

What were the beliefs of the KKK?

Answer 5

The KKK believed in the ideology of white supremacy. This meant that the KKK did everything necessary to ensure that black people were unable to succeed in furthering and bettering their lives and social standings.

Question 6

Why was it so difficult to stop the practice of lynching?

Answer 6

It was specifically difficult to cease the practice of lynching because the KKK were not open about it, and often had much bigger numbers than law enforcement, in some cases they even beat up the police when they tried to intervene.

Question 7

What different groups were the KKK against?

Answer 7

The KKK is against black people, immigrants, Jews, Catholics, communists and socialists.

Question 8

What did the NAACP campaign for?

Answer 8

The NAACP campaigned to abolish segregation, end lynchings, get black people the right to vote (in practise) and get equal education opportunities for black people.

Question 9

What was the practice of sharecropping?

Answer 9

Sharecropping is referred to as the practice used by white landowners to practically use black labour as slaves after abolishment. Black sharecroppers paid for use of land, supplies, seeds, and when they received their pay, they only received a quarter in most circumstances.

Question 10

Why did so many black Americans migrate to the North?

Answer 10

Most black Americans migrated North for better living, working and social conditions. The North was free of the KKK, jim crow laws, sharecropping, and allowed better education. Although still given the worst jobs, and lived in the worst housing there was more safety.

Question 11

Why were black Americans so badly affected by the depression?

Answer 11

Black Americans were so badly affected by the depression because most of the black people worked in factories, which were the hardest hit. Also, in the southern states the money allocated to help, was mostly given to the whites.

Question 12

Why didn’t the new deal in the 1930’s help black Americans?

Answer 12

The new deal didn’t help black Americans because there was still private discrimination, and individual states still had the ability to practically do what they pleased.

Question 13

How successful was Truman in helping black Americans after the Second World War?

Answer 13

Truman’s policies made a large impact in the civil rights movement, as his policies actually worked, and he was the first president to state that segregation was wrong and that black people deserved equal rights.

Question 14

Why was the end of segregation in the army such an important step towards gaining equality?

Answer 14

The end of segregation in the army was such an important step towards equality, as it made black soldiers aware of the possibilities, exposed the irony in the American system, and helped raise awareness of the social issues at the time.

Question 15

Who was Linda Brown?

Answer 15

They challenged the school laws about where you can go to school. They won the court case and the law was changed to have ‘desegregated’ school. This gave publicity to what was happening and led to the laws officially being changed.

Question 16

Who was Emmet Till?

Answer 16

Went against the considered etiquette when speaking to white girls. He was brutally murdered after beig kidnapped the day after. No consequences for the murderers. Led to public attention and also exposed the violence in the southern states.

Question 17

Who was Rosa Parks?

Answer 17

Went against the rules on public transportation, local community bus boycotted and then the company had to relent on the law. She went to prison briefly. Was a springboard for MLK.

Question 18

Who was Elizabeth Eckford?

Answer 18

She went against the school laws about where she could be educated. The state had to protect the black students with military forces. Was closer to the start of the Civil Rights movement as we know it.

Question 19

What was MLK’s background?

Answer 19

He was inspired by Mahatma Ghandi, and followed his father’s footsteps into becoming a preacher. He was a good student in school, and received a scholarship to receive a higher education.

Question 20

What were MLK’s aims and beliefs?

Answer 20

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in the racial and ethnic equality of all people, nonviolent protest and the beloved community. King was a pacifist who patterned his protests after Mahatma Gandhi, who worked for social change without using violence.

Question 21

What actions did MLK take?

Answer 21

He was an advocate for nonviolent protests in the Memphis santitation worker strike, provided leadership in the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, deliverd his famous “I Have A Dream” speech, and was instrumental in establishing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was a civil rights organization that supported the philosophy of non-violence.

Question 22

What were the impacts of MLK’s actions?

Answer 22

He brought publicity to major civil rights activites and efforts, emphasized and encouraged the importance of non-violent protest and resistance, and provided leadership to the African-American civil rights movement.

Question 23

What was the Memphis Sanitation Worker Strike?

Answer 23

In 1968 1,300 black sanitation workers in Memphis were protesting their terrible working conditions, discrimination, and low pay. It was obvious they were discriminated against when they were sent home without pay while white workers stayed on the job.They started a strike on February 12, 1968. Martin Luther King came to Memphis to speak and support the second march of the sanitation workers.The strike lasted for 64 days and grew into one of the major civil rights events. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the sanitation workers demanded an end to discrimination, higher wages, and union recognition. This attracted the national news media as well as others who joined the cause, like community leaders and members of the clergy. The strike finally ended on April 12, 1968, and the city of Memphis agreed to the workers’ demands, even though more strikes had to be threatened to make them honor the agreement.

Question 24

What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

Answer 24

In Montgomery, Alabama, King led a boycott against city buses that refused to let blacks sit in the front seats of the bus. The protest gained followers rapidly, and it led to a citywide boycott of the bus system until the rules were changed; ultimately, after King and his followers were sent to jail, the boycott did succeed, and the unfair, racist law allowing the segregation aboard the buses was changed. This was a straight-out success for the civil rights movement of the time, and gained national attention.

Question 25

Why was MLK’s “I Have A Dream” Speech so famous?

Answer 25

In 1963, King and other leaders of the civil rights movement organized a huge march for equal rights in Washington, DC. With a massive crowd of over 200,000 followers, the march was protesting racial discrimination in employment, racial separatism in schools, and they demanded minimum wage for all workers. It was the largest gathering in Washington, DC’s history, and the site of King’s most famous speech, “I Have a Dream.”

As a result of the march and the speech, the citizens of the nation began to put growing pressure on the presidential administration of John F. Kennedy, encouraging the president to push for civil rights laws to pass through Congress and become recognized on a national level.

Question 26

Why did MLK use non-violence?

Answer 26

Because of his commitment to peace, non-violence and equality for all, King’s protests on behalf of civil rights were able to make genuine headway in American society and allowed Martin Luther King to contribute a great deal to the success of the civil rights movement.

Even as his oppressors exercised force and brutality, King’s insistence on avoiding violence, which he also taught his followers to practice, was a major factor in the respect and acknowledgment given to the civil rights movement during a time of unrest and unease in the country. His genuine desire for the country to come together was ultimately recognized as a great contribution to America; his untimely death was a loss to everyone and started an era of great potential for the nation.

Question 27

What was the Selma march?

Answer 27

On Feb. 18, 1965, an Alabama state trooper shot and killed Jimmie Lee Jackson, an African-American peaceful demonstrator, in the town of Marion. In response to the tragedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., organized a protest march that would travel from Selma to Montgomery, a 54-mile walk. The first attempt on March 7 proved unsuccessful, as state troopers tear gassed the 600 marchers, forcing them to turn around. Television news outlets gave national audiences a view of the violence by the state troopers, which galvanized King and other leaders to try again. The second attempt on March 9 also failed, as state troopers once again blocked the road.
Following the marchers’ arrival in Montgomery, approximately 50,000 black and white supporters turned out to lend their voices. After the march, President Johnson urged Congress to take steps to protect the voting rights of African-Americans, and that summer, Congress passed Voting Rights Act. The law banned many suspicious attempts to suppress the African-American vote.

Question 28

What decisions were made after the Brown Case, Kansas 1954 by Chief Justice Earl Warren?

Answer 28

The decision of the Supreme Court of 1896, that said ‘separate, but equal facilities’ were fine as long as they were equal was to be changed because separate facilities usually weren’t equal.Therefore, all schools were to be DESEGREGATED

Question 29

What happened at Little Rock Central High School in 1957?

Answer 29

In Setember1957, at LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, 9 black students tried to take their places at the all white high school.
The GOVERNOR of the state used the NATIONAL GUARD (reserve soldiers under the control of the state) to stop them taking their places, even though it was their legal right.

Question 30

What were the freedom rides?

Answer 30

Although buses now had to be desegregated, the bus stations and railway stations were still segregated in the South. This time another peaceful black pressure group, the CONGRESS OF RACIAL EQUALITY (CORE), organised a series of freedom rides in which black protesters deliberately sat in ‘ whites only ‘ sections of bus and railway stations to try and get them desegregated.

Question 31

What were the lunch-counter sit-ins?

Answer 31

CORE and the SNCC (STUDENT NON-VIOLENT CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE) organised a series of sit-ins at Woolworth’s lunch counters throughout the South in order to get them desegregated.

Question 32

What were the freedom marches?

Answer 32

By the early 1960’s many black people, even in the South, had become much more politically aware. Increasing numbers of white people were beginning to support the call for equal Civil Rights for black people. President KENNEDY was proposing to pass laws to give black people greater rights and huge demonstrations took place to try to SUPPORT him.

Question 33

What happened in August, 1963?

Answer 33

In August 1963 over 250,000 people, including 50,000 white Americans, marched to the LINCOLN MEMORIAL in the capital city, Washington DC to demand civil rights for all and made his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech.

Question 34

What were the civil rights laws that made black people legally equal?

Answer 34

a) Civil Rights Act 1964: banned segregation in public places e.g. bus stations.
b) Voting Rights Act 1965: black people’s right to vote was protected.
c) Civil Rights Act 1968: made it illegal to discriminate in jobs, housing etc. Since these laws were passed, black people have been LEGALLY EQUAL to whites.

Question 35

What were the aims and objectives of the black power movement?

Answer 35

The black power movement emphasised pride in being black, the building up of black institutions/organisations and ultimately a separate black country within the USA.

Question 36

Why was the symbol of black power a clenched fist?

Answer 36

A clenched fist is the symbol because it stands for resistance and self-defense.

Question 37

What was the nation of Islam?

Answer 37

The nation of islam was an organisation that rejected Christianity as a white man’s religion and insted chose to follow islam, it was led by Elijah Muhammed. ,

Question 38

Why was Malcom X prepared to use violence?

Answer 38

They were not prepared to let white policemen or white racists attak them and do nothing, and were prepared to use violence if violence was used against the, .

Question 39

Why did Malcom X disagree with Martin Luther King?

Answer 39

They saw MLK as begging the white man to be equal, and also thought that he was actually suppressing the black community.

Question 40

What were the black panthers and what were their beliefs?

Answer 40

The black panthers were a group of black power enthusiasts who were involved in several bloody battles with the police when their leaders were killed or imprisoned.

Question 41

What were Malcom X’s beliefs?

Answer 41

They believed in the idea of ‘BLACK POWER’ : The black community should be segregated from the white community and should not beg the white man for equality. The black community should educate itself, develop its own businesses, and build up its own community without the white man’s help. Black people should be proud to be black – ‘BLACK is BEAUTIFUL’
He appealed more to the urban Black people of the Northern cities who could vote and were not segregated, but still were very poor and discriminated against.

Question 42

What were the differences between Martin Luther King and Malcom X?

Answer 42

They were much more aggressive in defence of black rights that Martin Luther King and the wider peace movement.They believed MLK’s soft approach was not working i.e. there were violent attacks on Black people who protested for equality. Black people should defend themselves i.e. Violence should be met with violence.

Question 43

What were Malcom X’s actions?

Answer 43

As a key spokesman for the Nation of Islam, epitomized the “Black Power” philosophy. By the early 1960s, he had grown frustrated with the non-violent, integrated struggle for civil rights and worried that blacks would ultimately lose control of their own movement.

Question 44

What impacts did Malcom X make?

Answer 44

Raised awareness and shared self-love.

Question 45

What was Mahatma Ghandi’s background?

Answer 45

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, more commonly known as ‘Mahatma’ (meaning ‘Great Soul’) was born in Porbandar, Gujarat, in North West India, on 2nd October 1869, into a Hindu Modh family. His father was the Chief Minister of Porbandar, and his mother’s religious devotion meant that his upbringing was infused with the Jain pacifist teachings of mutual tolerance, non-injury to living beings and vegetarianism.

Question 46

What were Mahatma Ghandi’s aims and beliefs?

Answer 46

Mahatma Gandhi, led the independence movement of India against the British, working against racial and socioeconomic repression. He used nonviolent tactics, inspiring civil rights movements across the world.

Question 47

What were the successes of the civil rights movement?

Answer 47

1. Supreme Court Success:
   After the Brown case of 1954 in which the Supreme Court ordered desegregation of schools, the Court supported desegregation in both public facilities like bus stations and in privately owned things like hotels and cafes.
2. Laws passed to Make black people LEGALLY EQUAL to white people.
   In the Presidency of Lyndon Johnson, Crucial laws/legislation was passed to protect black civil rights.

a) Civil Rights Act 1964: banned segregation in public places e.g. bus stations.
b) Voting Rights Act 1965: black people’s right to vote was protected,
c) Civil Rights Act 1968: made it illegal to discriminate in jobs, housing etc.
Since these laws were passed, black people have been LEGALLY EQUAL to whites.

3. Positive discrimination: for much of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s the US Government followed a policy of AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. This involved reserving a certain percentage of jobs; university places etc. for black people/ethnic minorities. It covered all public sector jobs, or jobs in any company with a public sector contract.

Question 48

What were the failures of the civil rights movement?

Answer 48

Despite the huge success of some black people who have become stars and the many more successful members of the black middle class; despite the fact that the Supreme Court and Civil Rights Laws make black people equal; MOST BLACK PEOPLE ARE STILL IN THE POOREST THIRD OF US SOCIETY. IN 1990 THE AVERAGE INCOME OF A BLACK FAMILY WAS LESS THAN HALF THAT OF THE AVERAGE WHITE FAMILY THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT STOP PRIVATE DISCRIMINATION e.g. a white person finding an excuse not to give a black person a job. DESPITE THE LAWS TO PROTECT THEM, BLACK PEOPLE STILL FACE DISCRIMINATION WHEN TRYING TO RENT OR BUY A HOUSE AND EDUCATION STANDARDS ARE NOT EQUAL.

NB In fact the REPUBLICAN PARTY which has been in power for much of the 1980’s and 1990’s STOPPED AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, arguing it was reverse discrimination against white people.