The methods employed by civil rights movements in the United States across the period: Flashcards
local and national boycotts
- Taking finacial power away from White americans
- force change on a local issue
- Desegregation of the buses in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Form of protest which involves refusing to do business with, or have involvement with, a target in order to force them to change.
In the context of the civil rights movement, that target is usually a business or organisation.
An effective way of forcing change by making situations difficult, untenable or unbearable, effectively threatening the economic survival of the target.
Boycotts used a weapon that white Americans understood: Financial power
Boycotts were often enacted to force change on a local issue
EG - Desegregation of the buses in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
local and National boycotts
- Sometimes local grew into national
- Montgomery Bus Boycott = Dallas, Little Rock and Tallahassee
- SCLC’s Easter Boycott, New Orleans in 1960.
- Birmingham Campaign, Easter in 1963
Boycotts of white businesses as a result of the assassination of MLK
Sometimes, local boycotts grew into more national boycotts.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott had national influence as other bus boycotts developed (Dallas, Little Rock and Tallahassee).
Boycotts of shops were common, particularly around peak shopping times where the impact was particularly dramatic
(SCLC’s) Easter Boycott in New Orleans in 1960 and their Birmingham Campaign, also at Easter in 1963
While boycotts were usually protesting a particular issue, sometimes boycotts were a reaction to something that had happened.
An example of this were the boycotts of white businesses as a result of the assassination of MLK
Direct action
- Peaceful protests
- Examples are peaceful demonstrations, strikes, sit-ins.
- Mahatma Gandhi
As opposed to boycotts, ‘Direct action’ was about participating - About action. Focused on the use of ‘Non-violent resistance’ and ‘Civil disobedience’
Non-violent resistance is when a person peacefully protests against something they believe is unjust by taking actions that resist these policies. Protesters are often willing to suffer for their cause.
Examples are peaceful demonstrations, strikes, sit-ins. The aim was to display love and goodwill towards your ‘opponent’ at all times in order to, idealistically, ‘win over the heart and mind of your opponent’ through demonstrating the force of ‘the truth’.
Mahatma Gandhi had employed this approach in his leadership of India towards independence from Britain in the 1940s.
Direct action
- Civil disobedience
- Creating a crisis
- Creating an economic impact on the target
Civil disobedience is when people deliberately break an unjust law.
Usually civil disobedience is stage-managed to ensure the media will broadcast it so the ‘disobedience’ draws the attention of the authorities who have the power to change the law.
Direct action was most effective when it involved creating a crisis and having that crisis publicised. MLK ‘The purpose of direct, non- violent action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will open the door for negotiation.’
It was clear that the nonviolent action would be met with violent opposition which further highlighted the discrimination
Like boycotts, the hope was that direct action had an economic impact on the target, as well as an impact on their image
Direct action
- Woolworths sit ins starting with Greensboros
- Marches
Woolworth’s sit-ins (beginning with Greensboro sit-in) is an eg. Many White patrons refused to dine in an establishment which was being ‘sat-in’ by Black people. Created an image problem for whoolies.
The media attention of direct action ensured the participants would be safe from lynching and other forms of violence.
Another common ‘direct action’ was marches
Marches were a commonly implemented and high-profile example of direct action.
- March on Washington for Jobs and Freedoms in 1963
- March from Selma to Montgomery in 1965
- March against Fear in 1966
It was also hoped that strong media attention would have an impact on White Americans.
Political agitation
Political agitation is stirring up the political establishment to force action, be it policy change, structural change or attitudinal change.
Placing pressure on the federal government to enforce their authority over the State governments (State governments in Deep South) who were flagrantly disregarding the Constitutional Amendments and Supreme Court rulings.
The nature of the US Constitution is such that the southern states could openly defy federal rulings, even using force as they felt necessary
(Gov Orval Faubus using the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine entering Central High School or Gov George Wallace’s Stand in the Schoolhouse Door, blocking Black students from entering the university of Alabama).
Political agitation
The civil rights movements’ placed pressure on the federal government by:
Creating fear that the federal govt would be tied to the crises created by the civil rights movement
Forcing the federal government’s hand in providing direct support
(Paratroopers from the 101 st Airborne Division to support the Little Rock 9 and 600 Federal Marshals to support the Freedom Rides)
Winning over White moderates by publicising the violent opposition with which the States were responding to the movement
Political agitation
CRM also used political agitation to confront the federal govt for their lack of action more directly. For example:
Publicising well-delivered and well-publicised arguments.
- March on Washington took the people’s voice directly to the Lincoln Memorial and Capitol Hill
- Using the Cold War as a weapon to embarrass the ‘democracy’ of the US in front of the Soviets
- Promoting, educating and registering Black voters for political change (eg Freedom Summer)
- The formation of the Freedom Democratic Party which challenged the structural foundations of the Democrats
However, the federal government was always hamstrung by their need to retain the support of southern politicians in order to retain power.
Political agitation
This need to retain power in the US Congress nearly always proved more urgent than the need to ensure African Americans’ civil rights and the long-term threat that the CRM posed to the political establishment
(keep in mind 85% of the population was White and the government tended to side with the majority in order to stay in power)
