U1 - Civil Rights up to 1968 Flashcards
Factors for the growth of civil rights after 1945
- The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
- Effective Black leaders
- Effective Black organisation
- Serviceman from WW2
Jim Crow laws
- Still take place after 1945
What happened after WW1 with Black Americans
- Challenged segregation as they felt they had earned the right to be treated as full citizens because of their military service and sacrifices
What did Rosa Parks say about Jim Crow laws
“Everyday in the early 1950s we were looking for way to challenge Jim Crow laws”
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Brown vs Topeka Board of Education 1954
- An all-white school was just 5 blocks from the home of Oliver Brown in Topeka, Kansas
- Linda Brown (daughter) had to attend an all-black school over 20 blacks away
- NAACP failed to get legal authority for her to go to her local school so they took it to the supreme court
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Brown vs Topeka Board of Education 1954 - Supreme Court
- With the help of the NAACP her father took the case to the Supreme Court
- This time the court decided that the separate but equal was wrong
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Brown vs Topeka Board of Education 1954 - The decision
- To separate them (black children) from others of similar age or qualification just because of their colour makes black children feel inferior
- Decided that education the idea of separate but equal has no place
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Brown vs Topeka Board of Education 1954 - Result
- By 1957, less than 12% of 6300 school districts in the south had desegregated
- By the end of 1965, not one black child regularly attended a white school in the south
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
What did President Eisenhower say about segregation?
“I don’t believe you can change the hearts of men by laws and decisions (1954)
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - School and how many applied
- Central High School was regarded as the best high school in the south
- 1957, after the Brown verdict, 75 black children applied to go to the school:
50 rejected
16 changed their minds
9 children were left
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - Day and Black children arriving
- 3rd September 1957
- Hostile crowd of parents and students gathered to watch the children enter the school
- Black children arrived together on the principle of safety in numbers
- Elizabeth Eckford didn’t get the message (arrived alone)
- Clear they weren’t getting into school
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - What did people shout at them?
- “Niggers, get back to the jungle”
- “lynch her”
- “tie her to a tree”
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - What did President Eisenhower decide?
- Felt compelled to intervene
- Couldn’t let the individual states to ignore federal law anymore
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - What did President Eisenhower do?
- Put 10,000 of the Arkansas National Guard under federal control to protect the black children
- Soldiers who barred the black children from the school now protest them
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - How long did the soldiers stay?
- For a year and even patrolled corridors to make sure children were safe
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - The governor of Arkansas said:
- “If black pupils get into the school then blood will run in the street”
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - Analysis Point
- Helped gain momentum against the racism
- Event drew national television crews
- Helped bring support from both black and white
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
Little Rock, 1957 - Analysis +
- Showed blacks that they probably needed to do more than rely on court decisions to change their circumstances
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
The Montgomery Bus Boycott - Segregation on public transport
- Public transport was segregated
- Buses in Montgomery whites would sit at the front and blacks at the back
- No black could sit parallel to a white person
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
The Montgomery Bus Boycott - Rosa Park incident
- 1st December 1955
- Mrs Rosa Parks and three other black woman were ordered to stand when a white man got on bus
- Rosa refused to give up her seat
- Gets arrested at Montgomery police station
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
The Montgomery Bus Boycott - Who is Rosa Parks
- A secretary for the Montgomery branch of the NAACP
- Worked as a seamstress in a near by department store
- Black American leaders and civil rights campaigners decided to use her case to end segregation on buses in Montgomery
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
The Montgomery Bus Boycott - NAACP
- National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
The Montgomery Bus Boycott - The day of Rosa Parks trial
- NAACP demanded that the bus companies use a first come, first served system
- That drivers should be polite to blacks and black drivers to be employed
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
The Montgomery Bus Boycott - City Commissioners
- Rejected the proposal and one-day boycott became a year long one and 40,000 blacks refused to travel on the buses
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
The Montgomery Bus Boycott - 20 Black American church leaders
- Formed the Montgomery improvement Association (MIA) to organise and co-ordinate the boycott Martin Luther was elected as leader of (MIA)
The continuation of Prejudice and Racism
The Montgomery Bus Boycott - Outcome
- Federal district court decides that segregation on buses was against the constitution
- Buses were segregated in December 1956
- Bus companies began to segregate anyway as they could afford to lose business
- White downtown business where blacks couldn’t go lost over $1 million
The formation of effective Black Organisations
The Sit-Ins - When/where and organisation
- SNCC and CORE
- First “Sit-In” was at Woolworth’s lunch counter Greensboro North Carolina: 1st February 1960
- Ended many discrimination in public places
The formation of effective Black Organisations
The Sit-Ins - What happened
- 4 boys sit in white area and ask for food. Employer says no
- The boys returned the next day with 23 people
- Third day with over 80 people
- By April 1969 nearly 70,00 are involved
The formation of effective Black Organisations
The Sit-Ins - Outcome
- Sales dropped by a third in the boycotted stores
- Owners abandoned their segregation policies
- Black employees were the first of Greensboro’s Woolworth stores to be served (July 25, 1960)
- Next day the whole of Woolworth was desegregated serving blacks and whites alike
The formation of effective Black Organisation
The Freedom Rides - Organisations
- CORE, SCLC, SNCC
- Non-violent protest to bring about federal intervention
The formation of effective Black Organisation
The Freedom Rides - What happened
- Two buses were stopped and burned
- People tried to get off were savagely beaten
- One student James Peck had to have 50 stiches in his head
The formation of effective Black Organisation
The Freedom Rides - President Kennedy
- “This has to stop”
- Kenny sent an advisor
- He was beaten unconscious
- Many middle class Northern Americans were outraged
The formation of effective Black Organisation
March on Washington 1963 - Organisations
- NAACP, SCLC, CORE, SNCC
- Drew national attention through publicity
The formation of effective Black Organisation
March on Washington 1963 - What happened
- Led be 250,000 marches and it was one of the biggest demonstrations in American history
- 28th August 1963 (biggest demonstrations in American)
- Gathered at Lincoln Memorial
The formation of effective Black Organisation
March on Washington 1963 - Lincoln
- President Lincoln freed the slaves 100 years before
- Ordered in 1863 that the slaves should be set free
- At Lincoln Memorial, King gave his most famous speech
- All 3 national TV networks carried his speech
- Many were moved by his dignity and his passion
The formation of effective Black Organisation
Birmingham, Alabama, 1963
- 1963: MLK and the SCLC decided to go to Birmingham, one of the most racist and segregated cities
- Nicknamed ‘Bombingham’ due to the amount of bombings on the large black population of the city be a very violent KKK
- Segregation was rigid and violence and very common here
Black Leaders
Malcolm X
- Born in Malcolm Little
- Father was killed in a suspected Ku Klux Klan lynching
- Dropped out of school and become involved in crime
- Sent to prison in 1946, which changed his life
Black Leaders
Malcolm X - The Nation of Islam
- Converted to Islam while in jail
- Joined extremist group called Nation of Islam
- Became a minister in the Nation
- In time he became the most important spokesman for the Nation
Black Leaders
Malcolm X - Quotes
- “We don’t go for desegregation. We go for separation”
- “You get freedom by letting your enemy know that you’ll do anything to get your freedom”
Black Leaders
Malcolm X - What was the Nation of Islam
- Followers of the Nation of Islam wanted nothing to do with ‘white devils’
- Started their own shops, businesses, schools and churches
- Wanted to separate black nation land given to them by the USA
- Many blacks were attracted to the idea of the black Muslims
Black Leaders
Malcolm X - Leaves the Black Muslims
- Had serious arguments with the leader of the Nation of Islam
- He was suspended from the movement in 1963
- The travelled to Africa and the middle east
- No longer thinks white people are devils after travelling to mecca
Black Leaders
Malcolm X - Quote about white people not being devils
- “I now know that some whites are truly sincere”
Black Leaders
Malcolm X - A threat to the USA
- Seen as a threat to Federal Government
- Followed everywhere by FBI
- Conservations recorded and phones bugged
- Government feared he was building up racial hatred and would start riots and a revolution
Black Leaders
Malcolm X - Assassination
- 21st Feb 1965 murdered in mysterious circumstances
- 14th Feb 1965 several of Muhammad’s followers firebombed Malcolm’s home
- His bodyguards usually present day and night were ‘absent’
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King
- Born on 15th January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia (south)
- Wife was discriminated while training to be a teacher
- Became a pastor of the baptist church in Montgomery (only 25 years old)
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King - Bus Boycott and just after
- He was put in charge and successfully organised it for a year with another minister, Ralph Abernathy
- After this he travelled all over the south making speeches and encouraging Black Americans to stand up for their rights
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King - SCLC
- In 1960, King became President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King - Mahatma Gandhi
- King met Gandhi when in India
- Gandhi used non-violent protest against British rulers of India in the 1940s
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King - Mahatma Gandhi beliefs
- The best way to protest against a system that used force to maintain its power was by non-violent civil disobedience
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King - Beliefs
- That Black Americans should “Love you enemies and pray for them”
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King - Assassination
- April 4th 1968
- Shot dead in the southern US city of Memphis, Tennessee (in the head)
- He was meant to lead a march of sanitation workers protesting against low wages and poor working conditions
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King - Killer
- James Earl Ray
- Shot king from across the road from where MLK was staying, balancing on bathtub
- Confessed to the police but later said he was forced to confess
- Bullets from Kings body do not match rifle that Ray supposedly used
Black Leaders
Martin Luther King - Why did King lead to the growth of the movement
- Speaking ability
- He was effective creating publicity
- His beliefs in discipline non-violent direct action inspired people
- His courage : received 30-40 threatening letters a day during the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Black Leaders
Stokley Carmichael
- Born in Trinidad in 1941
- Took part in Freedom Rides and was arrested and spent 49 days in Parchman Penitentiary
- 1966: Became Chairman of SNCC
- Arrested 27 times due to Marches
- 1967: Wrote Black Power outlining the vision of the role of Blacks in America
Black Leaders
Stokley Carmichael - Why did Carmichael lead to the growth of the movement
- His beliefs in Black supremacy and ‘Black Power’: Believed integration should be abandoned
- His call for Blacks to have pride in themselves: adopted the slogan - “Black is Beautiful
- Used extreme language to inspire people: famous for clenching fist
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Background
- 11 Dec 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the USA
- The war had been in Europe since 1939
- The experience was a major turning point for civil rights
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Background - Historian Quote
Historian Dr Stephen Tuck believes that the war was “absolutely key” in bringing about change for blacks
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Segregation in the army
- Seen as equal on the front line
- Higher enlistment rate than whites (over 1 million served)
- Red Cross segregated white and black blood
- Military parades, church services, transportation and canteens were all separate
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Segregation in the army - Quote
James McGill, the general surgeon to assistant secretary of war said it “was inadvisable to collect and mix Caucasian and negro blood”
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Segregation in the air force and navy
- Separate training for black pilots at separate training grounds
- At first in the navy, blacks were given the most menial jobs but the need for more sailors meant some began to gain promotion
- Segregation was harder to maintain in the navy
- Navy was the first branch to desegregate in 1946
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Black American soldiers became more politically active
- Blacks started to demand to be treated equals in service of ‘Uncle Sam’
- Philip A Randolph threatens a march to the white house
- Roosevelt issued Executive order 8802 and Fair Employment Practices
- NAACP membership increased from 50,000 to 450,00 during WW11 with 1500 branches across US
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Black American soldiers became more politically active - Executive Order 8802
- First government legislation that prohibited employment discrimination e.g. Army, Navy etc.
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Black American soldiers became more politically active - Fair Employment Practices Commitees
- Investigate incidents of discrimination
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Roosevelt statement about the war
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that the war was against Hitlers racial policies and a war to support democratic freedoms
- Therefore difficult to justify segregation at home
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - ‘Double V Campaign’
- Victory in the war and victory against racism at home
- WW2 was being fought for democracy, freedom and human rights
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Returning home
- Still discrimination at home
- Many found it difficult to find jobs and led to the greater mobilisation of black people for civil rights
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Returning home: Executive order 8802
- Had some effect
- 25% increase in those working in the iron and steel industry
- Number of black people in work increased from 50,000 to 200,000
- Jim Crow also remained in the south
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Civil Rights & President Kennedy
- Kennedy had many meeting with MLK
- Lyndon B Johnston became the 36th President of the USA
- Johnston introduced the Civil Rights Act
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - Civil Rights Act
- Johnston introduced it
- No racial discrimination allowed in public places such as restaurants, hotels and theatres
- No segregation in schools, museums, libraries and hospital
- No discrimination in employment
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - The Black Panther Party
- Started October 1966 in Oakland, California
- 6 members e.g. Elbert Howard, Huey Newton…
- One of the first organisations to want the members to carry guns at all times
The experience of Black service men in WWII
Experiences of Black soldiers - The Black Panther Party: 10 point plan
- Wanted full employment
- Decent Housing
- Decent Education
- Completely free health care for all blacks
- Immediate end to police brutality
- Got all except free health care
