'I have a dream' 1954-68 Key terms

NAACP

The National Association for the Advancements of Coloured Peoples. A civil rights group aiming to increase justice especially for those of African American descent. It had a strong presence in Harlem at the beginning of the 20th Century

CORE

Congress Of Racial Equality. Believed passive resistance would enact change. They organised war-time sit-ins in segregated Chicago restaurants and tested interstate transport laws in ‘Freedom Rides’ and were joined SNCC when attacked. Publicised racism and lawlessness but black divisions continued

Malcolm X

A radical activist. During his time in prison, he joined the NOI and became the second most popular speaker as well as being popular on TV and Radio. In 1964 X splits from NOI and Established OAAU. Assassinated in 1965 by NOI gunmen.

OAAU

The Organisation of Afro American Unity. Established by Malcolm X following his journey to Mecca. Held similar views but acceptive of white muslims. Had limited affect due to Malcolm’s assassination shortly afterwards

NOI

Nation of Islam. Established in Detroit in 1930. After Wallace Ford’s disappearance, Elijah Muhammad led the NOI and claimed to be a prophet of Allah. Appealed to northerners as it was more radical however the popularity was unknown. Potentially grew from 100 000 to 250 000 members between 1960-1969

Rosa Parks

She joined the NAACP in the 1950s and was chosen to test racial segregation on buses as a respectable citizen. After her arrest the NAACP organised a bus boycott

Brown V Board of Education

This was passed because the NAACP was persistent and effective, Harry Truman supported black equality, Supreme Court Justices between 1952-54 were generally more liberal, and Chief Justice Earl Warren persuaded conservative justices over 5 months that a unanimous decision was essential. It seemed to remove constitutional sanctions for racial segregation, overturned Plessy V Ferguson, desegregation was introduced quickly in the Urban and peripheral South and 70% of school districts in Washington DC and the border states desegregated in a year. However the NAACP had to obtain Brown II to desegregate with ‘all deliberate speed’ but no date was set for compliance.

Vietnam War

A major conflict with US involvement which took money and attention away from the Civil rights movement. MLK spoke out against the war and faced criticism because of it

Montgomery bus boycott

NAACP organised a bus boycott after Rosa Parks arrest with students and teachers as well as working with the church and MLK. This resulted in the Montgomery Federal court ruling racially segregated seating on buses violated the 14th amendment eventually being supported by the US supreme court

MIA

Montgomery Improvement Association. Organised transport for black workers during the montgomery bus boycott to ensure its success

Browder V Gale

The Montgomery Federal court ruling that stated racially segregated seating on buses violated the 14th Amendment. When this was appealed by the City of Montgomery, the Supreme Court upheld the decision

SCLC

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Wanted to involve white activists and wanted everyone to seek justice, use of nonviolent protest was encouraged and was headed by MLK and it was designed to focus on the South, very little was achieved, poor organisation with few salaried staff and little support, increased divisions.

1957 March on Washington

Attracted 20 000 participants and was one of the few SCLC achievements

SNCC

Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee.wanted rapid progress to equality and used peacful protests such as sit ins. Initially supported cooperation between black and White community however when radical Stokely Carmichael took over in 1966 he supported the exclusion of white Americans and the black power movement

Albany, Georgia

The SCLCs biggest failure. A peaceful protest was effectively handled by police non-violently. This drew limited media attention and very little change. Called off in 1962

March on Washington

Masterminded by Phillip Randolph to encourage the civil rights bill and promote black employment. around 25% of the 250 000 where white. MLK delivered a powerful speech referencing the bible and the declaration of independence. The only example of total civil rights group leader collaboration. extent of emotional effect on helping the passage of the civil rights bill is debated. Malcolm X argued that nothing changed.

Freedom Summer

the SNCCs biggest success. The organisation worked at community level to educate would-be voters and to combat problems faced by the black community in Mississippi. Northern volunteers poured into Mississippi to help. The nation took particular notice when three activists, one of which was black, were murdered by segregationists. SNCC helped to politicise many poor black Americans, particularly women, develop new grassroots leaders, and bring black Mississippi suffering to national attention.

Civil Rights act

JFK dedicated himself to ending segregation so upon his assassination, Johnson took advantage of sympathy, alongside overcoming a 57 day filibuster, to pass the act. It ended legal segregation in public and federal facilities and was a major triumph for bothe the civil rights movement and gender equality campaigners.

Voting Rights act

The violence seen in the Freedom Summer horrified Johnson and provided pressure for the act to be passed. It outlawed literacy tests and any other attempts to prevent eligible voters from voting.

Watts riot

Gained attention when black mobs set fire to several blocks of shops where 34 died, 1000 were injured, and 3500 were arrested. MLK was shocked by the devastation and redefined freedom from ending segregation to gaining economic equality.

Black Panthers

A radical civil rights group who were willing to use more violent tactics. they carried weaponry which made them a target for the police however they also helped set of medical care for poor black Americans

Meredith March

Black student James Meredith started on a 220 mile walk to encourage the black vote but he was shot and immobilised on the second day. Civil rights groups continued it with MLK and over 400 marchers joined. The NAACP wanted media attention and MLK invited white supporters however SNCC had become increasingly militant and rejected them. The NAACP no longer wanted to cooperate with SNCC or SCLC and Meredith felt excluded so started his own march

Chicago Campaign

700 000 of 3million in Chicago where black and suffered from unemployment, and housing and educational difficulties. The Northern cities were effectively shut off to MLK but he attempted anyway. Only 30 000 attended and was 38•C. The police shut off water used to cool off and arrested youths. 500 CORE member ignored MLK and were met with violence which encouraged police protection for marchers. MLK was invited to leave Chicago

‘Beyond Vietnam’ speech

Delivered by MLK, it called the Vietnam war uncivilised and wicked. He questioned how the US could spend millions to protect soldiers from communism really far away but couldn’t protect its own black citizens

Fair Housing Act

This act was passed the day after MLKs funeral following his assassination. It outlawed discrimination in the sale of housing and in jury selections.

disillusionment with non-violent tactics

Fuelled by a lack of progress in the North, many radical and militant figures of the movement including Malcolm X rejected integration and often the help of white Americans. For many, very little had changed and their peaceful methods had only been met with violence and destruction so they turned away from nonviolent tactics. There was also growing disillusionment with the Federal Government as their attention turned away from Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ and towards the Vietnam war

continued poverty

Lack of attainment in schools affected black employment. Their pay was often lower and one in three black teenagers were unemployed. In the 1960s a black male worker earned 55% of what a white American owned and 50% of young black Americans had a criminal record. Non violence had not provided them with education or employment

Differences in the North

Northern black Americans had more concern over the social and economic problems they faced rather than voting rights. They shared MLKs Christian faith much less and he was not familiar with northern issues so lacked a coherent strategy. Violence and rioting became the answer for many

Little Social and Economic reform

Many black Americans were trapped in ghettos. Johnson began his ‘great society’ reforms to try and combat this by increasing school funding, subsidising college scholarships, and introducing medical care for the elderly and to those that can’t afford it. These reforms were too little too late and attention was eventually focused on Vietnam

Education difference

Many technical roles required formal education which many black Americans did not receive. De facto segregated housing meant education was affected and caused students to be caught in a poverty cycle and being ill equipped for the job market.

White racism

White racism was seen in a lot of employment where black people were often rejected on the grounds of lack of experience or education. Major trades including paper, tobacco, and oil often used the ‘G-plan technique’ where many black applications were binned. Only 3% of building apprenticeships were held by black Americans and Ford only hired 74 workers out of 7665

black power movement

Nonviolent activities such as marches have people an outlet but in the North no non violent leader appeared. The outlet for northern black Americans was violence. As the civil rights movement began to breakdown, leaders like Floyd McKissick (CORE) were much more militant and many saw black power as the solution to their problems