70s, 80s + black power movement

why did black protest become more radical?

- assassinations of jkf, mlk, malcolm x

- grinding poverty

- vietnam war- 12% of population AA but 23% of soldiers= AA

- pace of change of MLK and NAACP was too slow for many

- religious factors some were muslim some wanted black alternative to christianity

black panthers

- 1966 founded by bobby seale and huey newton

- aims= economic equality, end capitalist exploitation, better land and housing, separate juries for AAs and protection from police violence.

- openly carried weapons and formed 'defence groups' against police brutality- often led to fighting in the streets.

- promoted community programs to tackle poverty in the ghettoes.

- main achievement was persuading chicago gangs to stop fighting each other

- 5k members late 60s- but failed to attract the huge membership of the NOI

- led to an increased pride in being black and the sense that white values could be challenged rather than accepted.

- salute used by 2 AA athletes in 1968 olympics.

impact of malcolm x

- joined nation of islam after being imprisoned changed his last name to X due to slavery connotations

- openly criticised CRM, whites and america- disagreed w/ elijah muhammad about non-involvement in politics and criticised MLK for hindering AA radicalism w/ nonviolence suspended from NOI and formed organisation of AA unity 1964

- adapted views on black separatism and urged AAs to work with sympathetic whites to achieve progress

- assassinated 1965

- intellectual impact- black pride, BPM esp for young AAs disillusioned by their treatment but he never led a mass movement/revered like MLK

nation of islam

- made by wallace fard muhammad, main leader Elijah Muhammad. became well known in 50s and grew out of Garvey's UNIA.

- prioritised tackling poverty and police violence ahead of voting and political rights.

- increased black pride and emotional appeal by linking with Islam and saying AAs were God's chosen people. didn't want support of white america.

- took support away from MLK's peaceful protests. said the CRAs were meaningless while there was no acknowledgement of the superiority and power of the black race

- saw the struggle of AAs as part of a broader struggle for blacks worldwide.

conclusion on BPM- black activism in this period

- alienated many sympathetic whites and meant AAs seen as aggressive/violent.

- CRM lost the support of middle America so politicians turned their backs on the socioeconomic plight of AAs

- arguably a negative TP- regressing the progress made by MLK's non violent tactics

- positives in the sense of black pride however a hindrance to furthering CRM

impact of nixon 69-74

limitations: didnt appear predisposed to furthering civil rights

- nominated conservative judges to SC who opposed deseg

- opposed to the idea of bussing children- affirmative action- to achieve integrated schools

- he opposed LBJ's voting rights act 1965

policies aimed at improving socioeconomic position of AAS:

- set up office of minority business enterprise to encourage black capitalism

- continued affirmative action policy to ensure greater employment provisions

- statistics suggest fed anti poverty efforts raised black living standards 1960 50% of AAs below poverty line 1974 30%

impact of carter 77-81

- showed more of a direct committment to civil rights

- appointed more AAs than any other president to the fed judiciary

- appointed andrew young as 1st AA US ambassador to the UN

- renewed voting rights act 1965

impact of reagan 81-89 and congress

- historically negative civil rights views and opposed 1960s laws

- took the line that his admin was 'colourblind' but few were fooled

- appointed fewer AAs to fed posts than any other president since eisenhower

- reduced welfare payments which impacted on the poorest (black) families

- congress proved more liberal- 1982 congress strengthened voting act provisions, 1983 made MLK's bday a national holiday, 1988 passed civil rights restoration act which forced any fed funded organisation to comply with all civil rights legislation before funding was released

impact of bush

continued to a degree reagan's negative approach

- only 6.9% of judicial appointments were from racial minorities

- appointed clarence thomas to SC- cynical getsure as he was a rare conservative black

impact of SC

- became more conservative

- composition altered by republican conservative appointments by nixon, reagan and bush- under chief justice burger and rehnquist- shifted to right wing

- university of california v bakke 1978- ruled certain aspects of affirmative action were in violation of the 14th amendment by favouring a group over another

- didnt end affirmative action programmes but limited their effectiveness

overall impact of fed gov 70-80s

- fed gov guilty of slowing down the pace of reform after 1968

- social policies and spending of 60s and militancy of BPM led to sustained conservative backlash that lasted til the 90s

- republican politicians quick to tap into the electoral benefits of antirights platform

- central state efforts to help minorities weren't favoured by republican admins that dominates 70s and 80s

position of AAs by 1992

progress

- seg had all disappeared

- voting rights act 1965- more democratic, number of AA voters increased from 1.5m 1960 to 4.3m 1980- so 2 main parties had to appeal to AAs

- 1980s the south had 2.6k AA elected officials and cities were electing black mayors like in tuskgee, birmingham and atlanta

- AA congresswoman barbara jordan one of lead investigators in watergate

- black middle class enormous gains and a black elite emerged as increased blacks in professional jobs due to more education opps

limitations

- major problems remained in 1992 majority of AAs remained poor and lived in ghettos of big cities

- unemployment higher for AAs

- gap between avg family income for whites and blacks increased in 80s

- 1995 16% of AA men in 20s who didnt attend college were in prison by 2004- 6/10 AA dropouts did prison time

- race relations remained tense in many inner cities 1992 race riots over rodney king verdict