civil rights 2

membership of KKK in 1925

3 to 8 million

impact of jim crow laws

• 1.5 million Black Americans left the south

• segregate Black communities 

• literacy test/poll tests to ensure Black people couldn't vote

in what ways did the new deal improve the position of Black Americans

• under roosevelt, the number of black americans in federal beaurocracy rose from 50,000 to 150,000 by 1945

• Works Progress Administration employed over 5000 Black teachers and taught over 250,000 Black americans to read and write

• Executive order 7027, The Resettlement Administration, may 1935, resettling low income families in new housing and lend money

in what ways did the new deal not improve the position of Black americans

• many Black americans were excluded from the pension and unemployment provisions of the social security act

• agricultural adjustment administration paid southern white landowners to remove land from production which often removed black tenants and sharecroppers, between 1933-40, around 200,000 sharecroppers were evicted

• the NAACP and 3,000 black american communists in northern cities championed the causes of workers however the association with communists gave opponents another stick with which to beat the civil rights movement with

how did the second world war improve the position of black americans

• 1941, roosevelt established the Fair Employment Practice Committee, a federal agency that banned discrimination in defence industries in which 2 million black workers were employed

• roughly 2 million Black americans moved to cities such as Detroit and Los Angeles to work in well paid defence industries & urban life increased black voting power and race conciousness

• the war greatly aided future black economic opportunities through the GI Bill of Rights (1944), which gave veterans government aid for a college education or to set up businesses

how ww2 didnt improve the position of black americans

• 1943 saw outbreaks of racist violence and strikes by white people over having to work with them

• Black soldiers in uniform were refused lunch in Salina, Kansas while German prisoners of war were served

• many Black americans did not demand civil rights, either because they feared appearing unpatriotic in wartime or because they feared violence

how did Truman improve the position of Black Americans

• proposed anti-lynching, anti-segregation and fair employment laws in 1954

• 1946, Truman set up the President's Committee on Civil Rights, calling for equal opportunities in work and housing and urged strong federal support for civil rights

• 1948, Truman issued executive orders desegregating the military and all work done by businesses for the government

how did Truman not improve the situation for Black Americans

• civil rights measures were always difficult to get through congress; always blocked by opposition from Southern delegates and lukewarm support from many northern ones

• racist violent attacks against returning Black soldiers

suburban life for black americans

1950s - 90% of suburban whites lived in communities with non-white populations of less than 1%

Mendez v. Westminster 

1946, California, All Orange County schools desegregated by Supreme Court

Brown v. Board of Education

• doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place in education; separate education facilities are inherently unequal

• education should be 'colour blind' Earl Warren, Chief Justice of US Supreme Court

Southern whites rejected and called it 'Black Monday'

cautious and slow approach to implementing did not set a deadline

by 1960, less than 1% of South's Black students went to intergrated schools"

1964 Civil Rights Act

ended legal segregation and prohibited discrimination in federally funded programs and established Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

1964 Major riots

in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, set off by police brutalitu and long term problems with city life

1965 Voting Rights Act

dramatically increases Southern Black voting by prohibitng literacy tests and other barriers that had been used to prevent Black americans from voting

1966 James Meredith

is shot during a march in Mississippi. Under Carmichael's leadership, SNCC members start chanting 'Black Power' during the march 

what did the SNCC do in 1966

expel White members

Black American poverty

More Black Americans were falling below the poverty line than in 1959. Whilst more Black children were in school, they were still in the poorest areas and some were still segregated. Poor living conditions impacted every aspect of life and gang culture began to rise. LA - 1980; 75% of Black high school dropouts, aged 25-34, had criminal records

1962 Executive Order

Hiring practices were free from discrimination based on race, colour, religion or national origion (President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity)

1971 Swan v Charlotte

Supreme Court ruled that federal courts had the authority to oversee and enforce desegregation plans and intergrated buses to achieve racial intergration

Gains for Native Americans

• Nixon brought in bills to Congress for Indian autonamy. By 1980, Congress had passed the 1972 Indian Education (funds for tribal schools), the 1974 Indian Financing Act (lent tribes funding) and the 1975 Indian self determination act (which kept BIA but contracted out services like health and education)

• Voting Rights Act extended to N.A. and provide language assistance when voting

limitations for N.A

• Nixon's administration didn't reform the BIA nor renegotiate about N.A sacred sites

• Hawaii in 1971 evicted Indians from land if the state wanted it for building or other use 

1978 Indian Child Welfare 

gave N.A more control over the adoption of N.A children

what did congress do for n.a in 1970

returned land at Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo tribe

1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

transferred 40 million acres of land and $462,500,000 to Native Alaskans

conservative n.a

long emulated NAACP litigation stratergy, suing state and federal govts over discrimination and broken treaties

• 1973 the Nothern Cheyenne of Montana won a federal court victory enabling a favourable renegotiation of mineral rights on their land

younger n.a activism

inspired by the Black student sit - ins, the National Indian Youth Council staged a 'fish - in' in Washington state to remind White Americans of N.A fishing rights - a supreme court ruling in favour of N.A fishing rights was ignored by state authorities and protests continued into the 1970's

1978 - the longest hour

• highlight issues of poverty, land theft, discrimination and loss of cultural heritage
• walked 3,200 miles - public attention, delivered a manifesto to congress, outlining demands for protection of tribal sovereignty, land and cultural heritage 

bracero programme

1942 - 64. Mexicans signed contracts to work for a set period of time in return for a guaranteed level of housing and working conditions. 4.6 Million contracts were signed

operation wetback

1953-58, 3.8 million, including US citiznes who were active in protest, deportations

Cesar Chavez

• non violent, campaigning for the rights of farm workers and working conditions
• Set up farm worker's union (organised a national grape boycott (1975 California passed labour friendly legislation))
• organised strikes, marches, protests, fastings

Reies Lopez Tijerina

• began with legal protests, held marches, mass demonstrations and camp ins on national forest land
• He and Black Power leaders signed an agreement 1967, Lopez Tijerina and others went into a county court house - make a citizens arrest of an abusive district attorney - took hostages, gun battle

rodolfo gonzales

• Hispanic rights within system e.g. director of the Denver War on Poverty campaign 
• Crusade for Justice, importance of racial equality
• influenced student walk outs in LA in 1966

La Raza Unida

• encourage Hispanic people to register to vote and provide party candidates they could vote for who would support their interests if elected
• Campaigned for better work, housing and education

Brown Berets

• young militant organisation set up in 1967 in East LA
• Members wore a uniform, campaigned against police brutality and led school walk outs

Herman Badillo 

1971, NYC, first Puerto Rican elected to US Congress

LULAC

"League of United Latin American Citizens lobbied federal govt for improvements. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had been established under 1964 Civil Rights Act

1966, LULAC walked out of the EEOC conference in New Mexico in protest at the absence of Mexican American representation

President Johnson appointed Vicente Ximenez to the EEOC

"

the chicano movement

militant young mexicans

• put mexican american needs more firmly on political agenda
• national and local government responded with greater aid
• encouraged pride in Hispanic culture and educations

MAYO

Mexican American Youth Organisation, 1967. 
MAYO campaigned against segregation, police brutality and inferior education and encouraged voter registration and school walk outs
1968, 10,000 Mexican Americans walked out of school. Demanding more bilingual and bicultural lessons, more Mexican staff and more Mexican food

Puerto Rican activism

1960's, increased traditional Puerto Rican activism

Union involvement increased and organisations established

Young Lords Party - Chicago gang but after 1968, provided free breakfasts and encouraging racial pride and puerto rican independence

gay rights movement

28 June 1969
Stonewall Inn riots, fights involving 400 people

gay pride marches

held in several cities on 28th August 1970; NYC march alone had about 10,000 marchers

how many people believed in equal rights for gays in 1977

polls suggested over 50%

who was the first openly gay candidate elected to public office

1974, Kathy Kozachenko

Proposition 6

move at state level that proposed firing teachers and teachers who spoke out in favour of gay rights

when was Harvey Milk elected/shot

1977/November 1979

gains for gays

• between 1979 and 81, the govenor of California appointed 4 openly gay state judges
• 1980, a gay teenage boy sued his high school for the right to bring a male date to the school prom, he won.

Anita Bryan

set up Save Our Children (SOC) and collected petitions against the law, saying that gay intergration meant 'normal' children would become corrupted