The Quest for Civil Rights - Topic 2.2 Flashcards
Fighting for Civil Rights - 1954-1980
What happened during the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
1955
- Rosa Parks - a 42-year-old woman and NAACP member was told to give up her seat for a white man; she refused and was arrested. As a result, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed to organise the boycott, with MLK Jr appointed as the leader.
- 75% of Bus users were black and 90% of those bus users participated in the boycott with the boycott lasting for 380 days
- MLK and E.D. Nixon’s homes were firebombed, but the boycott continued
- 13th November 1956, segregation of Buses was ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. 3 days later, snipers shot at black passengers on the bus - it took several years for the violence to calm down
Who were the ‘Little Rock Nine’ and what happened to them?
1957
- 9 students were selected to attend the previously all-white Central High School. Orval Faubus (racist Gov. of Ar.) tried stopping the children from getting in
- 8 of the students were driven to school on their first day with the leader of the NAACP, while 1 still needed the memo.
- Elizabeth Eckford marched through a crowd of white racists mostly shouting “Lynch her!” to get to the bus stop to get home after she had been turned away by the National Guard Faubus had sent.
- Martin Luther King Jr. made Eisenhower send the federal guard to protect the children going to and from school and in school corridors. In the classroom, canteen and at home, the children faced years of taunting and violence.
- The homes of local NAACP had their homes firebombed but Central High School remained integrated. Faubus, however, closed the school the next year “to let things cool off”, but it reopened, and remained integrated.
- All but 1 of the students are still alive with them being in their 80s (Jefferson Thomas: 1942-2010)
What were the Greensboro Sit-ins?
1960
- On the 1st February 1960, four black college students took a stand against the segregation of lunch counters and refused to leave a segregated Woolworth’s Lunch counter without being served
- The Greensboro Four were inspired by the peaceful protest actions of Mahatma Gandhi
- The next day after that, 30 students joined them and the day after that, all the seats were taken up by black students
- Over the next 6 months, various sit-ins and boycotts would occur as a result of this protest
- By the end of March 1960, the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 states
- White youths who heckled them and poured food over them were contrasted with images of calm and collected black people in the media
- The shop shut down after a bomb scare, but the issue of inequality for black Americans in their daily lives was now on full display
- The Greensboro lunch counter was quietly integrated and it showed the nonviolence present in many of the protests
Who were the SNCC and what did they do?
1960-70
- The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was set up on 15th April 1960. It was a racially integrated organisation of young people who believed in nonviolent direct action and students took training sessions in how to cope with abuse and violence from whites during demonstrations.
- They sent out ‘field-secretaries’ to live and work in dangerous parts of the South; with one task to encourage voter registration — who knew that black people needed the political power to push for government action. They attempted to do this in 1965-6 in Atlanta
- They took nonviolent protests to places where there would be violence on purpose
What were the ‘Freedom Rides’ and what happened?
1961
- In 1961, CORE and SNCC carried out the freedom ride in the South. It was used to test whether bus restroom facilities were desegregated, as the 1961 Supreme Court ruling desegregated buses
- The rides were planned to cause as much controversy as possible, as well as a crisis, for the USA to look bad
- The first two buses were beaten up, one in Anniston, Alabama was firebombed and chased by 50 cars, some of which were police cars
- All the riders escaped the bus but were badly beaten
- 3 freedom riders were killed but others kept on riding
- As a result of the Freedom Rides, the Kennedy Administration, and the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in interstate transit terminals
What happened to give Birmingham the nickname “Bombingham”?
1963
- Black homes, businesses and churches were firebombed regularly
- King and the SCLC led a push to desegregate the whole city. King knew it would provoke violence, but he had seen, from CORE and SNCC protests, that it worked
- The campaign began on 3rd April
- Protesters’ leaflets made specific reference to the American Dream
- Tactics included getting arrested and filling jails; jails were full by the end of the month
- Children were trained in protest tactics and marched as well
- “Bull” Connor (the racist chief of the police) ordered his men to use high-pressure fire hoses and dogs on them
- President Kennedy saw pictures of what was happening and he admitted he was ashamed. He sent in Federal Troops to restore calm on 12th May.
- Birmingham was desegregated after that
- Afterwards, at the March on Washington (Aug. 1963), King made his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech
What happened during ‘Freedom Summer’ and what resulted from the trip?
1964
- SNCC decided to push for voter registration sending large no. of voters to the south. Although it was slow, they had to send volunteers to the southern states to encourage black people to register to vote.
- 45 white, mostly young volunteers were sent
- SNCC volunteers teamed up with local organisations for the task, with most of them being black.
- After the first day, 3 volunteers (2 White and 1 Black) went missing. Six weeks later, they were found dead.
- By the end of the summer, there had been 3 more murders, 35 shooting incidents and countless beatings
- 17,000 black Americans tried to register to vote, with 1,600 being accepted
What made Martin Luther King Jr such a good figurehead for the movement?
What about his personality and background made him notable?
- Southern
- Christian denomination, preacher
- Married, with children
- Good speaker and well-educated
- Non-violent
- It didn’t play into the stereotypes of black people, especially black men
- Was “whiter than white” and needed to be better than everybody else
What was the main idea of the Black Power movement?
And who were the Black Panthers?
- The Black Power movement is based on the idea of having pride in their race. Equal rights didn’t mean equality because of social attitudes and norms. The Black Power movement is about taking back control of economically deprived areas
- UNIA was the first to coin the phrase based on the belief that they don’t believe there will be equality in America - take pride in where they come from.
- “You shouldn’t have to change yourself to be accepted” philosophy
Black Panthers were labelled more violent as they came about to protect their communities
- Black militancy
- Faced with violence and a lack of progress, things are acted upon differently
What was the Nation of Islam and what did they believe in?
Who was Malcom X?
- Nation of Islam comes to prominence in conjunction with the Black Power movement
- Elijah Muhammad - Leader of the Nation of Islam
- The main belief of The Nation of Islam and its followers is that there is only one god, whom they claim “came in the person” of Wallace Fard Muhammad, and that Elijah Muhammad is a messenger of God.
Malcom X
- A strong voice in the Nation of Islam
- Appealed to the Northern, radical, disassociated young black Americans
- Went on pilgrimage to Mecca - Found out his teachings of Islam were wrong
- Not about exclusion and dominance but inclusivity and collectivism
- Went to Ghana (the first black republic for black people) and saw that black people could be well off and be great
- He was assassinated in 1965 (most probably by the NOI)
What was MLK Jr’s ‘Northern Crusade’?
1966
32% of ghetto children completed their high school diploma
- Limits further education, limits the choice of jobs and therefore improves their economic position
Black people made up 10% of the population, but 40% of the unemployed
- More prominent among the youth
Lack of progress and therefore the Black Panthers take hold
- In their communities, black people set up nurseries, welfare stores, charities, medical clinics etc. to help black people finding it difficult to survive
What did the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act do for the movement?
What entailed in their legislation?
1964-5
Civil Rights Act - 1964:
- Bans the discrimination for sex or race in hiring, firing and promoting
Equal Opportunities Commission is set up to enforce this
Voting Rights Act - 1965:
- Bans any attempts to stop people from voting because of their race
- Provisions are put in place for five years for federal enforcement
- Pre-clearance clause: Has to go through Congress to change voting laws in a state if the state has a history of discrimination.
What did other Post-Civil Rights legislation do for the movement?
What does this suggest about the first landmark pieces of legislation?
1968-74
- 1968 Fair Housing Act:
Banned discrimination for buying, renting or financing a house based on race, religion or creed
1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act:
- To further promote equal working opportunities for all Americans
1974 Equal Educational Opportunity Act:
- Prohibited racial segregation of students in schools
Suggests that the first two acts in 64 and 65 did not completely eradicate all issues that plagued black Americans and more legislation was needed to complete the fight for civil rights.
What progress was made past Brown v BofE (II)?
Political progress and limitations?
1955-80
Blacks in the House:
- in 1959 - 4,
- in 1969 - 10
- in 1980 - 18
Senators between 1973-80 - 1
During the 1970s, mayors in Detroit, LA and Washington DC were black; in Atlanta, black voting was 7% below that of whites.
In Georgia, 27% of registered voters were black, and 3.7% of elected officials were (in the US overall, just 1% of elected officials from 10% of pop.)
There was an improvement in representation for black Americans as there were more representatives in Congress who were black. However, this growth in representatives and senators was still not representative of the entire population as there was only 1 black senator out of 100 and 18 out of 435 representatives by 1980.
What progress was made past Brown v BofE (II)?
Legislative progress and limitations?
1955-80
The Voting Act of 1965 meant the redrawing of districts had to go through Congress.
- But the City of Mobile v Bolden (1980) ruled that any challenge of discriminatory voting needed to show discriminatory intent
It made it far harder to take any of these cases to court, worsening the standards of mostly black Americans, because of limiting the voting power of black Americans both in the state and nationally
