Unit 1.2 - The Quest for Civil Rights (COMPLETE) Flashcards
1
Q
What was the 1954 Brown V Board of Education of Topeka case?
A
- Desegregates schools.
First use of evidence that, as well as unequal provision, segregation is psychologically harmful to Black schoolchildren.
2
Q
Why did the NAACP and other organisations step up direct actions in the 1940s and 1950s?
A
- Saw their membership grow.
- Saw that legal rulings alone were not enough.
- Influenced by Mahatma Ghandi’s peaceful protest methods.
3
Q
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
A
- December 1st 1955, NAACP Member, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested.
- Boycott began on December 5th and lasted for 380 days.
- Black people made up over 75% of bus users.
- 90% of black people avoided all busses.
- Gained mass publicity and the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional on 13th November 1956.
4
Q
What was Little Rock, Arkansas?
A
- In 1957, 9 children were selected to attend the previously all-white Central High School.
- On the 4th of December Faubus sent in the National Guard to prevent the children attending school for their ‘safety’.
- MLK met with Eisenhower and urged federal intervention which Eisenhower reluctantly agreed to.
- Federal troops were sent in to guard the children.
- Central High School became integrated.
5
Q
What were the Greensboro Sit-ins?
A
- February 1st 1960.
- 4 Black college students went to Woolworth’s and waited until closing to be served at the lunch counter.
- The movement spread across America and the first national sit-in was on February 13th.
- By March the sit-ins had spread to 55 cities in 13 different states.
- Lunch counters were eventually desegregated
6
Q
What was the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)
A
- Set up on 15th April 1960.
- Racially integrated organisation of young people.
- Believe in non-violent direct action.
- Trained in how to deal with violent reactions.
- Sent field secretaries in to dangerous areas in the south.
- Looking to see an increase in voter registration in the south.
7
Q
What were the Freedom Rides?
A
- Organised by CORE and James Farmer.
- Wanted to test the weight of the legislation regarding the desegregation of transport on busses.
- Experienced no trouble in the North but as they moved deeper south they were met with violence.
- Incident involving the KKK: set a bus alight and barricaded the doors shut in an attempt to kill the riders inside.
8
Q
What happened in Birmingham?
A
- Most segregated city in America.
- MLK and the SCLC planned to desegregate the whole town.
- Plan was to get arrested and fill up all the jails.
- Children trained in protest tactics.
- Police used severe violence against peaceful protestors. Chief ‘Bull’ Connor used high pressure fire hoses and dogs against the protestors.
- Shocked global media and JFK was ashamed.
- Federal troops were sent in and Birmingham was successfully desegregated.
9
Q
What was the Freedom Summer?
A
- SNCC pushed for voter registration. Sent 45 white and black volunteers to the South.
- 6 volunteers found dead 39 shooting incidents and countless beatings.
- 17,000 Black people tried to register to vote. Only 1600 accepted.
10
Q
What was Black Power?
A
- A mixed movement set up in 1965.
- Worked in black communities keeping order and organising community projects.
- BP 10 point programme included decent housing and black history being taught at university.
- BP uniform and carrying guns attracted government attention not the work they did for the community.
- Most Black Power groups worked and received better results on a local level.
- Black Power Students pressed for more black staff and black history courses.
- Black Power Workers set up radical trade unions to push for black jobs, equal pay and equal job opportunities.
- Black Power radicalised many well established organisations (NAACP) in the long term.
- If these groups didn’t radicalise then they became more pragmatic instead. Atlantic Leader of NAACP accepted slowing of segregation in 1973 for more control over black schooling.
11
Q
What happened to interstate busses on the 25th November 1955?
A
- Segregation on interstate busses banned all over USA.
12
Q
What did the Southern Congressmen sign on the 12th of March 1956?
A
- 102 Southern congressmen sign the Southern Manifesto condemning Brown v Board.
13
Q
What did James Meredith do on the 30th September 1962?
A
- James Meredith integrated the University of Mississippi.
- Only with the help of 3000 federal troops.
14
Q
What happened on the 28th August 1963?
A
- March on Washington.
- Biggest civil rights protest to date.
- Numbers involved range from 200,000-500,000.
15
Q
When was MLK awarded a Nobel Peace Prize?
A
- 10th of December 1964.
16
Q
What was the Northern Crusade?
A
- In the summer there were 20 major riots nationally.
- King announced a ‘Northern Crusade’ to improve slums.
- Set up tenant unions, improving working conditions and teaching young people about non-violent protest.
- Campaign mainly focussed on Chicago.
- Crusade petered out. King claimed success but many disagreed.
- Brought no permanent change and it became clear it was harder to get political support for social issues than segregation.
- King’s relationship with the media began turning sour.
17
Q
When was the Civil Rights Act passed?
A
1964
18
Q
When was the Voting rights Act passed?
A
1965
19
Q
What was the negative impact of the implementation of Civil Rights legislation on the lives of African Americans?
A
- Lots of extensions were put into place in attempt to make the laws work in practice.
- Legal changes came after decades of struggle and protest.
- After 1955 it became more likely that Civil Rights campaigners would be arrested, beaten up or killed.
- Even places that were forced to desegregate didn’t make Blacks any more welcome.
- Civil rights campaigners in the deep south could expect to have their homes, churches and workplaces fire bombed.
- Black children and workers faced such violence and hatred that they didn’t receive a ‘normal’ experience.
20
Q
What were the achievements of Civil Rights legislation?
A
- In 1980 there was more federal pressure to ensure equality actually happened.
- Since 1961 there had been a series of presidential executive orders to introduce ‘affirmative action’ giving preference to black interviewee for jobs in government and business.
- Black American middle & upper class developed modelling themselves on white society. Radicals believed this to be a sell out: they had to act like whites in to fit in.
- Black professionals had if not equal, significant access to higher level jobs.
- Black home ownership increased.
- Black graduates increased.
- Significant number of black politicians at local, state and federal level.
- Featured more in media (cinema, books, magazines etc..)
- In 1980 60% of Black Americans were registered to vote.
21
Q
What were the limitations of Civil Rights legislation for African Americans?
A
- Passing of Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act made many people think that the problem had been dealt with.
- Affirmative action and positive segregation resulted in a ‘minority quota’ mentality making black workers feel as though they were not employed on merit.
- Death of MLK made some people turn away from Black Civil Rights to focus on other issues.
- Poor were getting poorer and many of them fell under the poverty line in 1959.
- Black babies were more likely to die and black children were more likely to drop out of school.
- In 1980 75% of black high school drop-outs aged 25-34 had a criminal record.
22
Q
What were the reasons for Native Americans to fight for Civil Rights?
A
- Tribal Homelands
- Self-determination
- The land issues raised by protests have still not been settled.
23
Q
What were the Key individuals/groups for the Native American Civil Rights Movement?
A
- Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) part of American Federal Government.
- American Indian Movement (AIM)
- Red Power
- National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
24
Q
What were the Key protests of the Native American Civil Rights Movement?
A
- 1972 AIM Trail of Broken Treaties.
- Feb 1973 AIM occupies village of the Wounded Knee and declares independence as the Oglala Sioux Nation.
- Feb-July 1978 the Longest Walk from San Francisco to Washington.
25
What was the 1972 AIM Trail of Broken Treaties?
- A protest drive to Washington to protest outside the BIA.
- They were protesting about the BIA's mismanagement of many issues, including it not renegotiating the many government treaties that originally took over Native American Land.
- BIA building occupied.
26
What did AIM do in February 1973?
- Occupies village of the Wounded Knee.
- Declares independence as the Oglala Sioux Nation.
- The government send in US Marshalls and state police.
27
What was the 1978 Longest Walk campaign?
- February to July 1978.
- Native Americans walked from San Francisco to Washington to protest about:
forced removal of American Indians from their homelands.
unwillingness of Congress to renegotiate treaties.
28
What was the 1972 Indian Education Act?
- Gives funds for tribal schools.
29
What was the 1974 Indian Financing Act?
- Lent tribes funding.
30
What was the 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act ?
- Gave tribes much more control.
| - Kept the BIA but contracted out services such as health and education.
31
What were the gains of the Native American Civil Rights Movement?
- In 1971 AIM membership reached 4500.
- 1975 Voting Rights extension included Native Americans and offered language assistance when voting.
- In 1970 Congress returned land at Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo Tribe.
- 1972 Indian Education Act.
- 1974 Indian Financing Act.
- 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act.
32
What were the limitations of the Native American Civil Rights Movement?
- Nixon's administration didn't reform the BIA.
- Nixon didn't renegotiate about Native American Sacred Sites.
- No overall solution to land issues.
- Various states continued to evict Native Americans if they required the land for building or other uses such as Hawaii in 1971.
33
What were the reasons for Hispanic Americans to fight for Civil Rights?
- Deportation (Operation Wetback)
- Worker's Rights.
- Discrimination.
- Land.
34
What were the Key individuals/groups for the Hispanic American Civil Rights Movement?
- 1967 Brown Berets was a young militant organisation in East LA.
- Ceaser Chavez was a non-violent campaigner for the rights of farm workers.
- Jose Angel Gutierrez led the La Raza Unida party encouraging Hispanics to register to vote.
- National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) Set up by Caeser Chavez.
35
What were the Key protests of the Hispanic American Civil Rights Movement?
- 1968 Chavez goes on a 25 day hunger fast; Robert Kennedy joins him for the end of the fast.
- 1st June 1968. Over 10,000 students walk out of mainly Mexican schools in east LA protesting conditions. 13 arrested.
- In 1973 the 1970 Farm worker contracts are not renewed. Widespread strikes, demonstrations. Thousands arrested and 2 killed.
36
What were the gains of the Hispanic American Civil Rights Movement?
- 1954 Supreme Court rules Hispanic people equal citizens.
- 1966 Congress' Cuban American Adjustment Act said all Cubans who had lived in the USA for a year were permanent residents.
- 1968 American Legal Defence and Education set up to pursue civil rights in courts.
- 1975 Voting Rights Act extension provided language assistance to Hispanic groups.
37
What were the limitations of the Hispanic American Civil Rights Movement?
- Like with the Black Civil Rights Movement changes were put into place but without a time frame and implementation varied across states.
38
What were the reasons for Gay Americans to fight for Civil Rights?
- 'Lavender Scare' ran parallel to the Red Scare to root out homosexuals. Thousands lost jobs.
- Homosexuality was not decriminalised in the USA till 2003.
- In the 1950s congress said homosexuality was a mental illness.
- Faced discrimination (some restaurants and bars wouldn't serve them and hotels wouldn't put them up.)
39
What were the Key individuals/groups for the Gay American Civil Rights Movement?
- Gay Liberation Front
- 1974 Kathy Kozachenko became the first openly gay elected candidate to public office.
- Harvey Milk.
- Gay Rights Movement formed after 1969 Stonewall Inn incident in New York.
40
What were the Key protests of the Gay American Civil Rights Movement?
- Gay Pride marches were held in several cities on the 28th August 1970. New York March had around 10,000 marchers.
- Over 5000 protestors march in San Francisco against Dan White's (Harvey Milk's assassinator) lenient sentence. Rioting breaks out and over 120 injured.
41
What were the gains of the Gay American Civil Rights Movement?
- 1962 Illinois repealed its anti-gay laws (homosexuality was otherwise illegal in every other state).
- Predominantly liberal climate of the 1960s and 70s meant that the gay rights movement expanded very rapidly.
- 1977, polls suggested that over 50% of people believed in equal rights for gays.
- 1977 Harvey Milk was elected to office in San Francisco (openly gay and also supported minority rights)
- Between 1979-81 governor of California appoints 4 openly gay state judges.
- August 1980 Democratic Party says it will not discriminate against gays and campaign for their rights.
- 1980 a gay teenage boy sues his high school for the right to bring a male date to prom. he won.
42
What were the limitations of the Gay American Civil Rights Movement?
- KKK still very anti-gay and there was a lot of hostility towards gays in rural parts of the country.
- Religious Right opposed gay rights and gained support from conservatives and some republicans including Ronald Reagan.
- 1978 Proposition 6: Californian Law Preposition 6 bans gays, lesbians and supporters from working in state-funded schools in California.
- Milk and the pro-gay mayor of San Francisco were both assassinated in November 1979.
- Harvey Milk's assassinator only received 7 years.
