Redefining Equality: From Black Power to Affirmative Action

The March Against Fear and the Shift to Black Power

• James Meredith's Campaign ($1966$): James Meredith, the first African American graduate of the University of Mississippi, initiated a campaign titled the "March Against Fear." His objective was to walk from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, to encourage African Americans to stand up for their rights by registering to vote.

• Assassination Attempt: Only $30$ miles outside of Memphis, Meredith was shot by a sniper. While he survived, his hospitalization prompted other civil rights leaders to step in and complete the march.

• Clash of Philosophies: Among the leaders were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael, the young leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). On the first day, an angry policeman knocked Dr. King down. Carmichael prepared to retaliate but was stopped by other marchers. King scolded Carmichael for straying from the strategy of nonviolence.

• Carmichael's Perspective: Carmichael viewed the incident not as a violation of nonviolence but as a matter of "self-defense." After being arrested in Greenwood, Mississippi, while attempting to set up a tent, Carmichael declared he was in "no mood to compromise with racist arrogance."

• The Birth of "Black Power": At a rally in Greenwood, Carmichael addressed the crowd: "We been saying freedom for six years and we ain't got nothin'. What we gonna start saying now is black power." The crowd responded with repeated roars of "Black power!"

• A Turning Point: This moment signaled a major shift in the civil rights movement. For over a decade, leaders had prioritized nonviolence and integration; Carmichael's call for black power indicated a change in goals and the methods used to achieve them.

Urban Unrest and the Explosion of Ethnic Ghettos

• James Baldwin's Warning ($1963$): In his essay The Fire Next Time, Baldwin warned that if the United States did not live up to its ideals and end the "racial nightmare," violence would erupt. He referenced a slave song derived from the Bible: "God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!"

• The Reality of the Ghetto: By the $1960$s, nearly $70\%$ of African Americans lived in large cities, mostly concentrated in ethnic ghettos. A ghetto is defined as a part of a city where people belonging to a single ethnic group live. While some lived there by choice to share culture, many were forced into these areas by social and economic conditions, such as job discrimination or the inability to purchase homes in white neighborhoods.

• The Watts Riot ($1965$): In August $1965$, a race riot exploded in the Watts ghetto of Los Angeles.

  • Immediate Cause: A charge of police brutality.

  • Long-term Causes: Frustrations over poverty, prejudice, and police mistreatment.

  • Scale of Destruction: The riot lasted $6$ days, resulting in $34$ deaths, nearly $900$ injuries, and almost $4,000$ arrests. Property damage totaled approximately $45$ million dollars. The National Guard sent $14,000$ members to restore order.

• Widespread Protests ($1967$): In $1967$ alone, more than $100$ cities experienced violent protests.

  • Detroit, Michigan: $43$ people died and over $1,000$ were wounded. The army used tanks and machine guns to quell the upheaval.

  • Newark, New Jersey: Riots lasted $6$ days, causing numerous deaths and injuries.

The Kerner Commission Report ($1968$)

• Establishment: President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) established the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, led by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, to study the causes of urban rioting.

• Main Conclusion: The report stated, "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal."

• Underlying Grievances: The commission identified a "reservoir of underlying grievances" including:

  • Education: Negroes completed fewer years of schooling.

  • Employment: Negroes were twice as likely to be unemployed.

  • Poverty: Negroes were more than twice as likely to be living in poverty.

  • Housing: Negroes paid relatively more for housing that was three times as likely to be overcrowded and substandard.

• Unfulfilled Expectations: The report noted that the civil rights movement raised expectations that were not met, leading some to conclude that violence was the only way to "move the system."

• Call to Action: The commission urged the nation to make good on democratic promises to all groups, including white, black, Spanish-surname, and American Indian citizens.

The Evolution of Black Leaders and Black Nationalism

• Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam: Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little) was a former convict who converted to the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) while in prison.

  • Teachings: Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, taught that blacks were the original people of Earth but were oppressed by "evil whites."

  • Name Change: Malcolm changed his surname to "X" because his original surname, "Little," was that of a white slave-owner. He argued that African Americans could never know their true family names or tribal origins.

  • Black Nationalism: This doctrine called for complete separation from white society. Black Muslims sought independence by establishing their own schools, businesses, and communities.

  • Rejection of Nonviolence: Malcolm X argued that if whites did not practice nonviolence, black people disarmed themselves by sticking to it: "If black people alone are going to be the ones who are nonviolent, then it's not fair."

• Transformation and Death: In $1964$, after a pilgrimage to Mecca where he met Muslims of all races, Malcolm X converted to orthodox Islam and began making a broader call for human rights. In $1965$, he was assassinated by three members of the Nation of Islam in New York City.

• Stokely Carmichael and Political Liberation: After Malcolm's death, Carmichael introduced the concept of "Black Power," which encompassed political power, economic power, and pride. He converted SNCC into an all-black organization, arguing that black people must be seen in positions of power, articulating for themselves.

The Black Panther Party

• Founding ($1966$): Founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in Oakland, California.

• Symbolism: The black panther was chosen as a symbol because it is a "vicious animal, who, if he was attacked, would not back up."

• The $10$-Point Platform: Focused on self-determination, including demands for:

  1. Freedom and power to determine the destiny of the Black Community.

  2. Full employment for black people.

  3. Decent housing fit for human beings.

  4. An education that teaches true history.

  5. An immediate end to police brutality.

  6. A United Nations-supervised plebiscite (a vote on a question of importance) to determine the national destiny of black people.

• Community Services: The Panthers provided free breakfast programs for children and medical clinics.

• Confronting Law Enforcement: They monitored police interactions with black citizens, carrying law books, tape recorders, and shotguns. Viewed as dangerous radicals, they were frequently raided by the FBI and local police. The party fell apart by the mid-$1970$s due to mounting legal problems.

Political Gains and Afrocentrism

• Voter Registration: Supported by the Voting Rights Act of $1965$, registration of southern blacks grew from $1$ million to $3.1$ million between $1964$ and $1968$.

• Historic Firsts:

  • Edward Brooke: Became the first black senator since $1881$ (representing Massachusetts in $1966$).

  • Shirley Chisholm: Became the first black woman elected to the House of Representatives ($1968$).

  • Congressional Black Caucus ($1969$): Created to address legislative concerns of African Americans.

  • Carl Stokes: First black mayor of a major U.S. city (Cleveland, Ohio, $1967$).

  • Tom Bradley: First black mayor of Los Angeles ($1973$), serving for $20$ years through a diverse coalition.

  • Thurgood Marshall: Became the first black Supreme Court justice in $1967$.

• Afrocentrism: A focus on African history, culture, and achievements to balance the Eurocentric (European-centered) view of history.

  • Cultural Expressions: Use of traditional African clothing, "Afro" hairstyles, and Afrocentric names.

  • Kwanzaa ($1966$): Invented by a black scholar, celebrated from December $26$ to January $1$, based on seven principles including faith, creativity, and unity.

  • Literature and Media: Writers like Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Nikki Giovanni rose to prominence. The $12$-hour miniseries Roots ($1977$), based on Alex Haley's novel, became one of the most-watched shows in TV history.

Federal Response to Segregation and Housing

• MLK's Final Efforts: Before his death, King shifted focus to economic equality and housing discrimination. In many cities, landlords refused to rent to blacks, and banks were reluctant to provide loans.

• Assassination ($1968$): King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, while supporting a sanitation workers' strike. Riots erupted in over $100$ cities, including Washington, D.C.

• Civil Rights Act of $1968$: Passed days after King's death, this law banned discrimination in housing sales and rentals and gave the federal government authority to file lawsuits against violators.

• School Desegregation Progress: By $1968$, only $32\%$ of African American students in the South attended integrated schools, despite the "all deliberate speed" order from $1955$.

• Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education ($1969$): The Supreme Court did away with the phrase "with all deliberate speed," demanding immediate integration of schools.

The Busing Controversy and Affirmative Action

• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education ($1971$): The Supreme Court unanimously supported a judge’s plan to use busing to integrate schools to address de facto segregation caused by housing patterns.

• Public Resistance: Resistance was particularly high in Boston, Massachusetts.

  • South Boston High ($1974$): $90\%$ of white students boycotted. Black students were pelted with rocks, and one white student was stabbed. An angry mob trapped $135$ black students for $4$ hours.

  • White Flight: Between $1974$ and $1976$, approximately $20,000$ white students left Boston public schools for private schools or the suburbs.

• Affirmative Action: A policy calling on employers to actively increase the number of minorities in their workforce to counteract past discrimination.

  • JFK ($1961$): Issued an executive order for federal contractors to take "affirmative action."

  • LBJ: Expanded it to include women and required written plans.

  • Nixon: Added requirements for "goals and timetables."

• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke ($1978$): Allan Bakke, a white male, sued for "reverse discrimination" after being rejected from medical school while minority candidates with lower scores were admitted.

  • The Ruling: The Court was split $4-4-1$. Justice Lewis Powell wrote that race could be used as one of several criteria in admissions, but racial quotas were unconstitutional. Bakke was ordered to be admitted.