The quest for civil rights 1917-1980

Black American civil rights 1917-1980

What percentage of black Americans lived in the south?

1917- 80%

What segregation and discrimination did black people face in the south? (5)

• Impoverished sharecroppers

• All aspects of life (schools, restaurants, prisons) were segregated (Jim Crow laws)

• ‘Separate but equal’- but black facilities inferior

• Black people had to pay expensive poll taxes and pass literacy tests to vote

• Fear of being lynched

Who was Booker T. Washington?

Regarded economic imporvement and education as the first necessary step for blacks- until this was achieved he believed they should accept segregation

Who was W.E.B. Du Bois?

Aimed at legal and political equality- established the NAACP which promoted black equality and desegregation through the law courts

When was the NAACP created? (2)

1909

1945- 450,000 members

What was the Great Migration?

1910- 2 million AAs migrated to northern cities

What caused the Great Migration? (3)

• Better paid jobs in the north

• Would be able to vote

• Unlikely to be lynched

Where did black Americans live in the north?

Ghettos- hard to get out due to discrimination and limited education

What was the impact of the great depression on black Americans?

Last hired, first fired- white Americans moved into jobs previously dominated by black Americans

What riots happened in Chicago?

Race riots after WW1 (1919)- 40 killed

Who was Marcus Garvey?

Founded the UNIA in 1914 to make blacks proud of themselves- established in Harlem. He supported separatism

How did the KKK recruit?

Increased recruitment after 1915- helped by Birth of a nation. By 1925- they had 5 million members

In what ways did the New Deal fail to help black Americans? (3)

• Roosevelt was reliant on southern Democrats, so failed to support anti-lynching bills

• AAA removed black tenants from land

• Social Security Act didn’t apply to farm or domestic work

In what ways did the New Deal succeed in helping black Americans? (4)

• Disproportionate number of poor kids were black so New Deal programmes helped greatly

• 1 million black Americans obtained jobs

• Promoted black Americans to senior positions in government (black cabinet)

• 1/3 of black Americans received FERA aid

What were the positive effects of WW2? (4)

• Many black servicemen were based in Britain where they experienced less prejudice

• The fight against Nazi Germany inspired more black Americans to campaign against their own lack of freedom and equality

• 1942- CORE established

• Able to take advantage of GI Bill

What were the negative effects of WW2? (3)

• American forces remained segregated

• Trade unions continued to exclude black Americans

• Many white workers resented black workers- race riots

What committee did Truman set up?

1946 To Secure These Rights- called for an end to segregation

When were the armed forces desegregated?

1948

What methods did Walter White use in the NAACP? (3)

• Worked with trade unionists, churches and white liberals to promote anti-lynching bills

• Mobilised southern blacks for the abolition of the poll tax

• Thurgood Marshall

What was Smith v Allwright?

1944- easier for black Americans to vote in the south

What was Brown v Board?

1954- schools should be desegregated, reversing Plessy v Ferguson, but no time limit was given

What did CORE organise?

• Sit-ins at segregated Chicago restaurants

• ‘Freedom Rides’ 1961

What was the Montgomery bus boycott? (4)

• 1955

• Rosa Parks refused to give up her ‘white’ seat

• Boycott lasted over a year

• 75% of bus users were black- 90% stayed away from buses

SOUTHERN

Who was murdered in 1955?

Emmett Till- his murderers were acquitted, so his mother held an open casket funeral

SOUTHERN

How did urbanisation help the civil rights movement?

• Increased black consciousness

• Harlem Renaissance

How quickly did states react to Brown v Board?

• 70% of northern states had desegregated within a year

• 1% of black children in integrated schools in the deep south

What happened in Little Rock? (4)

• 1957

• 9 black children sent to attend Central High

• Governor of Arkansas stopped this

• Eisenhower sent in federal troops

SOUTHERN

When were civil rights acts passed?

1957 (voting) and 1964 (discrimination)

What was Martin Luther King’s organisation?

1957- Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), influenced by Gandhi

What were sit-ins? (5)

• 1960

• Greensboro

• Sat in at Woolworths lunch counter in North Carolina

• Copied across the South

• SNCC created shortly after

SOUTHERN

What was the march on Washington?

• 1963

• 250,000 people

• ‘I have a dream’ speech

• Good publicity

What was in the 1964 civil rights act? (4)

• Equal Employment Commission

• Desegregation of schools

• Outlawed segregation in public facilities

• Strengthened black American voting rights

What was in the 1968 civil rights act?

Banned discrimination in housing

What were the Northern Riots? (3)

• 1964-68

• Riots in ghettos over poverty and de facto segregation

• 1965 LA- 34 killed and 900 injured

Who was Malcom X? (2)

• Important voice in black power movement

• Nation of Islam

  • Stressed the evil nature of white people

How many people were in the NOI?

40,000

When was Malcom X assassinated?

1965 by members of the NOI

Who was Stokely Carmichael? (3)

• Leader of SNCC

• Popularised slogans such as ‘Black Power’ and ‘Black is beautiful’

• Didn’t think that non-violence was working

Who were the Black Panthers? (5)

• Founded by ex-criminals in 1966

• Sought confrontation with the police

• Only had around 5,000 members

• Emphasised self-help

• Established clinics to advise on health, welfare and legal rights

How did King stress economic justice?

Demanded a fairer distribution of wealth

Why did white Americans oppose King’s northern strategy?

• Didn’t want to pay more taxes

• Didn’t want to live next door to black Americans

When was King assassinated?

1968

What were the consequences of King’s assassination 1968? (4)

• 125 ghettos erupted in rage

• 70,000 troops were needed to end the riots

• $70 million of property damage

• 20,000 arrested

What did the Civil Rights movement manage to achieve? (6)

• Segregation and most forms of discrimination came to an end

• Most white supremacists were removed from office

• Increase in their political power

• Affirmative action programmes

• Bussing introduced

• 1980- 1/3 of black Americans categorised as middle class

Why was the Civil Rights campaign successful? (5)

• US presidents (like Johnson) helped a lot

• Supreme Court verdicts were crucial

• Media coverage

• NAACP, CORE, SNCC, SCLC

• Individuals

How did the Civil Rights movement face white backlash? (3)

• Lost white sympathy following the Northern riots

• Whites disliked affirmative action programmes and bussing

• Nixon cut back on Johnson’s Poverty programmes