The quest for civil rights, 1917-80

Question 1

In 1917, what percentage of black Americans lived in the South?

Answer 1

Over 80%

Question 2

How did Southern white people stop black people from voting? (3 ways)

Answer 2

Making them pay an expensive tax, pass a literacy test or prove their grandfathers had voted

Question 3

Why did many black people migrate north after 1910? (3 reasons)

Answer 3

Found better jobs (particularly after 1914 when manufacturing took off), they could vote and they were unlikely to be lynched

Question 4

What were the poorer parts of northern and western cities also known as, where many black Americans lived?

Answer 4

Ghettos

Question 5

Marcus Garvey founded which Association in 1914?

Answer 5

The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) to inspire pride in black people and culture. He was deported in 1927 and UNIA collapsed.

Question 6

How many members did the KKK have by 1925?

Answer 6

Around 5 million, but a series of scandals led to its decline by the late 1920s (the KKK originally started in the South after the Civil War,1861-65)

Question 7

What did W.E.B Du Bois establish in 1909?

Answer 7

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) aimed at legal and political equality for black people

Question 8

What was the aim of Executive Order 8802 issued by Roosevelt in 1941?

Answer 8

End discrimination because of race, creed, colour or national origin in the defence industries and in government

Question 9

How did Roosevelt help further the cause of black Americans? (3 ways)

Answer 9

One million obtained jobs through the New Deal, appointing black Americans to senior roles in government and his wife Eleanor spoke in favour of civil rights. By 1936, black Americans overwhelmingly voted Democrat (Roosevelt’s party) when the reverse was true in 1932 (Republican).

Question 10

Was Harry Truman openly racist in his youth?

Answer 10

Yes, though as president he realised that racial discrimination was bad for the USA - if the USA was to stand for freedom, democracy and equality. Many of his actions aimed at addressing these issues.

Question 11

Which Supreme Court decision ruled that schools should be desegregated?

Answer 11

Brown v Board of Education, in 1954. It was a landmark ruling and the starting point for civil rights movements in the 20th century.

Question 12

What organisation did James Farmer create in 1942?

Answer 12

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) - it was more militant than NAACP

Question 13

How did Rosa Parks end segregation on Montgomery buses in Alabama?

Answer 13

She sat on a ‘whites only’ seat in 1955. She was arrested and tried. With the help of the NAACP and Martin Luther King Jr, it led to a boycott of Montgomery’s buses and, having nearly bankrupted the bus companies, segregation ended in 1956.

Question 14

What happened in 1957 at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas?

Answer 14

9 black students tried to attend and when white students supported by the State Governor tried to stop them, Eisenhower sent federal troops to effectively take over.

Question 15

What did the 1964 Civil Rights Bill do? (4 things)

Answer 15

Set up and Equal Employment Commission, ensured desegregation of schools, outlawed segregation in public facilities and strengthened black American voting rights. It was JFK’s Bill, but he died before it became law.

Question 16

Members of which group assassinated Malcolm X in 1965?

Answer 16

Nation of Islam, a group he had previously joined and helped grow, but from whom he split in 1964

Question 17

Who founded the Black Panther Party in California in 1966?

Answer 17

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale

Question 18

When and where was Martin Luther King assassinated?

Answer 18

April 1968 in Memphis. His murder led to riots in 100 cities

Question 19

By 1980, what proportion of black American people were considered middle class?

Answer 19

More than one-third

Question 20

What role did television play in helping civil rights?

Answer 20

It showed people things they might not otherwise have heard about and visually showed the horror of certain events e.g. riots, racist attitudes.

Question 21

What was bussing?

Answer 21

The practice of transporting students to schools within or outside their local school districts as a means of reducing racial segregation

Question 22

In 1960, in what ways was the plight of Native Americans worse than many other minority groups? (5 things)

Answer 22

Many lived on reservations, unemployment 10 times the average, life expectancy 20 years below average, suicide rate 100 times that of white people, alcoholism was widespread

Question 23

Who occupied Alcatraz Island in 1969?

Answer 23

American Indian Movement (AIM), it lasted 19 months and involved more than 400 people from 50 tribes

Question 24

In 1960 there were 3 million Hispanic people in the USA. How many were there by 1980?

Answer 24

20 million, the largest group being Mexican Americans

Question 25

In the 1930s, what were the possible consequences of being found to be homosexual?

Answer 25

Could be fired from your job, expelled from university, imprisoned and generally discriminated against

Question 26

What gay society was founded in 1950 in Los Angeles?

Answer 26

The Mattachine Society

Question 27

What happened at NY’s Stonewall Inn bar in June 1969?

Answer 27

Gay patrons refused to leave after a police raid and, when joined by 100s of other gay people, it resulted in rioting which lasted several days - the Stonewall riot.

Question 28

By 1973, how many gay rights organisations were there in the USA?

Answer 28

Around 800

Question 29

What did the American Psychiatric Association classify as a disease?

Answer 29

Homosexuality

Question 30

What was initially considered a gay man’s disease in 1981?

Answer 30

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)

Question 31

What prize did Martin Luther King win in 1964?

Answer 31

Nobel Peace Prize (the same year as the Civil Rights Act was passed)

Question 32

What did the 1965 Voting Act do?

Answer 32

Stopped restrictive practices aimed at keeping black people from voting

Question 33

When and where did Martin Luther King give his “I have a dream speech”?

Answer 33

1963 in Washington D.C. (Lincoln Memorial) at the end of a 250,000 strong march

Question 34

Was Martin Luther King the leader of the civil rights movement?

Answer 34

Not really, it was too big and diverse for one person to lead, but he was certainly influential, helped by his ability as a public speaker and in supporting peaceful protests

Question 35

What organisation did King found in 1957?

Answer 35

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)