Civil Rights

History Paper 3 USA- Civil Rights

how did black people contribute to the USA WW2 effort

• fought in segregated units

• worked in factories; making weapons or filling jobs of those fighting

how many black Americans fought in WW2

over 1 million

how many black Americans worked in factories

millions

what was the effect of WW2 on civil rights and racial equality

there were hopes for increased equality as if black people were fighting for the their country, their country should offer them equal rights as they were good and helpful

how did segregation look bad for the USA after WW2

• a political embarrassment- they had gone to war to defend democracy and freedom yet do not give this to all of their citizens

• Cold War- they were leaders of the free world but didn’t give freedom to their own citizens

• hypocritical

what was segregation produced by in the north

discrimination

what were the lives of black people like in the north

• worse paying jobs

• lived in ghettos, poorer parts of towns

• buildings not well maintained and they had poor facilities

what were attitudes in the south towards black people like

brought up to see black people as inferior

where did black people mainly work in the south

• farms

• servants

• few worked in factories but rare

what were black people in the south referred to as

boy/girl- no name

racist things that people in the south did towards black people

• white people wouldn’t shake hands with black people

• discriminated and attacked black people

• police and law courts racist

• many people members of the KKK

• black Americans couldn’t sit on juries

• if a black person killed another black person, it was rarely investigated

why was it harder for people in the south to accept changes around equality and desegregation

it was a taught way of life and everyone in the south grew up around people who told them that black people were inferior, making it harder to accept change as everywhere surrounding them tells them this

what were Jim Crow laws

racist laws in southern USA which enforced segregation

what did the Jim Crow laws cause

• less state money spent on black schools

• black and white people separated in all parts of life

what do the Jim Crow laws tell us about racial inequality in the south

• law is enforcing unfair treatment and segregation, showing that even those in power and the government support this

• also shows how it is much harder for the civil rights movement in the south as they have laws which say this is okay, making it harder for them to change

• goes against the US amendments about equality yet still believe this and do this

what are federal laws

cover the whole country

state laws

laws that affect one state

can states pass their own laws

yes but the supreme court can overrule them

what is a bill

a proposed law that can only be passed in the House of Representatives or Senate and must be approved by the president

what did the increase of black Americans voting in the north do to the politicians

put pressure on politicians to have policies black people want so they can get their support

when were black votes in the north increasing

1950’s

how many southern towns had black policemen in 1954

143

what percentage of black people were registered to vote in the south in 1956

20%

what percentage of black people in the south voted pre WW2

3%

how did white people in southern states stop black people from voting

• threatened to sack black employees

• beaten up outside voting stations

• some states have state election laws making it harder for black people to vote

• literacy qualifications; made passage harder for black Americans

what were the three key oppositions to the civil rights movement

• racist organisations

• murder of Emmett Till (and white violence against black people without punishment)

• political opposition- Dixiecrat’s

examples of racist organisations

• KKK

• White Southern Church Organisation

• WCC

• other violent white organisations

what did these racist organisations promote

they promoted segregation and white superiority, which they did through violence

why did these racist organisations believe this (how did they justify themselves)

they believe that the Bible teaches that integration is a sin and that white people are superior to black people

• say white people are descended from Adam and Eve and black people are descended from the snake that tempted them

how do violent, racist organisations show us that there was opposition to the CR Movement

• many were members of many- shows that they fully support this

• common social attitude

• found a need to create an official organisation, highlighting that it was popular to recruit members and saw the need to have to enforce segregation however possible

• people see violent organisations, and then are scared to support the CR Movement in fear of violence against them

• their religious beliefs were tied to this and so would find it hard to go against them because they believe they’re with God

examples of violence against black people in the south registering to vote

• Rev George Lee

• Lamar Smith

• both shot for campaigning for civil rights and voting

where and when were Smith and Lee killed

Mississippi 1955

when was the murder of Emmett Till

August 1955

how old was Till

14

where was Till from

Chicago- in the north

where was Till murdered

Mississippi

why was Till in Mississippi

he was visiting his cousins who lived there

what caused Till to be murdered

• he was dared by his cousins to go into a store and talk to his wife

• the wife said that Till grabbed her and made sexual suggestions and that she ran out for a gun for self defence and Till wolf whistled

• the husband then returned from his trip and went with his brother

• they killed Till, hauled him into a truck, beat him, and shot him

what is the store owners name

Rob Bryant

what is his wife’s name

Carolyn Bryant

what did the cousins say happened

admitted the wolf whistle but said nothing else could have happened as they were in there such a short time

what did Bryant do with Till’s body

threw it into a river with a weight attached to his neck with barbed wire

found three days later

what did Till’s mother do with the body when it was found and returned to her

she had an open casket funeral in Chicago

what were the impacts of this funeral

led to huge publicity and widespread shock among all races

what was the result of the trial against Bryant

they were found innocent- broadcast across the whole country

what did the defendants later do with their story

sold it to a newspaper and admitted the murder- caused further outrage

did Till and other black Americans get justice

no- black Americans still murdered and murderers went free

how did campaigners use publicity

to try to make it hard for people to ignore justice

who were the Dixiecrats

southern Democrats who had broken away from Truman rather than support a civil rights bill

when did the Dixiecrat’s split from Truman

1948

how were attempts to produce a civil rights act to enforce civil rights of black Americans stopped

southern members of the House of Representatives and Senate- did not support it and there was enough of them to make a difference in votes

why did Dixiecrat views have to be listened to

there were enough of them to make a difference

when did the Dixiecrats rejoin the Democrats

1954

what other political officials supported segregation

• southern governors

• local mayors

• state officials

• banned black judges and juries

organisations that support civil rights

• NAACP

• CORE

• RCNL

• SCLC

• MIA

• SNCC

what does NAACP stand for

National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People

when was the NAACP founded

1909

what were the NAACP’s methods of protest

• Legal Defence Fund

• prosecuted white people who murdered black people

• brought cases to enforce voter registration

• fought Plessy v Ferguson

• OVERALL used courts and law to help protest and enforce and change law

what did the Legal Defence Fund (LDF) do

helped wrongly convicted black people and their appeals

when was the LDF started

1940

what was the Plessy v Ferguson ruling

separate but equal- black people should be separated from white people as long as their facilities are the same as white people (they usually weren’t)

when was Plessy v Ferguson decision

1896

how could NAACP fight Plessy v Ferguson

by proving facilities weren’t equal and therefore the law wasn’t being followed

did NAACP win their cases

won nearly every case about unfair Plessy v Ferguson

what were the downsides of the NAACP’s fighting

• their rulings not enforced

• local officials often found loopholes or ways to block their victories

• technically the 14th and 15th amendments had already given black Americans equality

how effective were the NAACP in fighting segregation

• able to fight segregation laws and win

• but people didn’t follow this

• their work did move CR in the right direction and showed people in the law and congress disagreed and could fight for whats right

• overall not much change

what does CORE stand for

Congress of Racial Equality

when was CORE founded

1942

CORE’s methods of protest

• non-violent direct action e.g. protests, boycotts etc

• trained in non-violent methods

• trained members trained local groups

what was the membership size of CORE

not as big as NAACP

where was the majority of CORE’s influence

over smaller communities

what races and classes were there members

many white middle class members

why was it good to have lots of white middle class members

they had more influence over society and so could make a bigger difference

also shows that white people were against segregation and wasn’t totally white v black

how successful was CORE in helping civil rights

• had less members and helping in the north, which was much less affected by segregation

• had a big impact through their middle class white members

• peaceful showing they were the victims

• no major changes but progress in the right direction

how did church organisations help support civil rights

• used for meetings/gathering points before marches/protests

• black clergymen often leaders

why were black clergymen often leaders

• they couldn’t lose their job in the church for speaking out

• could negotiate with white community due to their status

• had own contact network

what did RCNL stand for

Regional Council of Negro Leadership

where was RCNL located

Mississippi

when was RCNL founded

1951

what methods of protest did RCNL use

• campaigned for black rights within segregation and voter registration

• anti-police brutality against black people

• annual civil rights rallies

how many people would attend RCNL rallies

10,000+ people

how did people in the north protest segregation

protests on desegregated university campuses

how did people in the south protest segregation

segregated universities as a focus point for protests from middle-class black people

the sequence of events in civil rights

• Brown v Topeka

• Little Rock

• Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Greensboro Sit-in

• Freedom Riders

• James Meredith Case

• Birmingham Alabama

• March on Washington

• Freedom Summer

• Selma

• Malcolm X and Black Power

• Black Panthers

• Riots

• Kerner Report

• Kings campaign in North

• MLK Assassination

what sector was the largest segregation in the south

education

when were segregated schools made more equal

1950s

why were segregated schools made more equal

hoped to stop segregation

example of a governor who said they would close schools rather than desegregate

James Byrne, governor of Southern California

how much did James Byrne to improve segregated schools

$100 million

who was Linda Brown and why did her parents protest

a child in Topeka, Kansas, and had to pass local ‘white’ school and travel further to closest ‘black’ school

when did Browns and 13 other parents go to court to fight for their childrens right to go to the nearest school to them

1952

why did their case lose

due to Plessy’s separate but equal ruling- so did four other cases in the south

what did the NAACP do to help Browns and the other parents

took all 5 segregation cases together and took them to Supreme Court as Brown v Board of Education of Topeka Kansas

when was Brown v Topeka

1952

what did NAACP lawyers argue was the reason for a need for desegregation of schools

• argued separate was not equal in education even with equal provisions as segregated schooling made black children feel inferior

• argued 14th amendment was broken as segregation made black children unequal

events of Brown v Topeka

• NAACP took the cases to supreme court

• Supreme Court made no ruling and voted to hear more legal advice and to try the case again

• before the retrial a pro-segregation judge died and his replacement wasn’t pro segregation

• supreme court ruled life had changed since the Plessy ruling

• second supreme court case ruled desegregation should be done as quickly as possible

when did the supreme court vote for a retrial

December 1952

who was the replacement judge after the first judge died

Earl Warren

what position did Warren get

Chief Justice; led the group of judges