Reasons For The Development Of Civil Rights Post '45 Flashcards
Prejudice and discrimination (45’) KU
Emmet Till was a boy form the north who visited his cousins mississipi. While there he wolf-whistled a white woman, afterwards the woman’s husband brutally murdered Emmet and dumped his body in the tallahatchie river.
Emmets death shocked and angered the nation and brought international media attention to the issue of civil rights
Brown vs Topeka board of education case happened when a black man wanted his daughter to go to a white school because it was closer to where they lived. The case led to the supreme Court declaring that separate but equal shouldn’t apply to education. Dispite this by the end of 1965 there was still not one black child in a white school in the south because when schools tried to desegragate they were attacked by the KKK
Prejudice and discrimination (‘45) Analysis
A+ raised international awareness to the cause of civil rights in America and exposed the true extent of the injustice In the south
A+ The ignoring of the Brown vs Topeka ruling caused many Americans to join the Civil Rights Movement because people were angry
A- while this sparked outrage it was the organisations that used the outrage to campaign for better civil rights and without the organisations nothing would’ve been done
Experience of Black Servicemen KU
Black people in the army were segregated from white people in where they slept, ate and in all the parades and marches
The president said the “war against Germany was a war against Hitler’s racial policies” and “war to support democratic freedoms” which made it difficult to justify the segregation at home
Many in the army were stationed in countries like Britain where they experiences far more freedom than they had in america because they were not racially segregated
The war made black Americans open their eyes to what they could achieve at home which led to the Double V campaign which stood for victory in war and victory over racism at home
Back in the US Philip A. Randolph the founder of the brotherhood of the sleeping car porters threatened to march on Washington unless segregation in the armed forces was ended, since Roosevelt knew it would be embarrassing to have a march in Washington reminding people of the racism in America he heeded Randolphs wishes
Experience of Black servicemen Analysis
A+ gave black people newfound confidence that they could make things as good in the US as they were in other countries and encouraged them to join black organisations
A+ Showed the Government could be pressured into acting
A- Still needed black organisations to be able to continue civil rights as they needed to make a cohesive effort to get anything done
Effective Black organisations KU
NAACP
Founded in 1909
Sought to make white people aware of the need for racial equality and legally challenge obsticals to equality
Won the supreme Court desicion against the grandfather clause
Organised the Montgomery Bus Boycotts
SNCC
Founded in 1960 at show uni
Aimed to use non violent action to attain civil rights
Organised freedom rides, diner sit-ins and voter registration drives
Effective Black organisations Analysis
A+ inspired the Black community to be more Involved in CRM as it showed tbe government would listen if pressured
A+ Allowed young people to engage more with the civil rights movement
A- only got members because of the outrage caused by prejudice and racism
Effective Black leaders KU
Martin Luther King
Put in charge of the bus Boycotts and organised it for a year
Travelled the South making speeches and encouraging black Americans to stand up for their rights
Used methods of non-violence and studied Ghandi
Won the Nobel peace prize in 1964
Malcom X
Dropped out of school and became involved in crime, in 1946 he went to prison
While in prison he converted to Islam and joined an extremist group called the nation of Islam who believed whites were Devils who should be separated from the black race
He became a minister and an important spokesperson in the nation of Islam
X later split with the nation of Islam due to fear of alienation of support
Brought attention to problems in the northern Ghettos
Believed black people should take their civil rights rather than wait for them to be given
Effective Black Leaders Analysis
A+ MLK inspired people and his non violent tactics earned him the respect of white Americans, he could also accurately articulate the feelings of black people
A- Many thought his progress was too slow and he needed to be more aggressive
A+ Malcom X appealed to those who thought MLK progress was too slow and he had support in the north because before him they had been ignored by the civil rights campaign
A- he turned many against the cause because he was too violent and broke the law frequently
