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Changing status of minorities - Coggle Diagram
Changing status of minorities
Desegregation of the armed forces
February 1948 Truman called for federal laws against lynching and desegregation of the armed forces
By the end of his presidency Truman made clear attempts to advance the cause of black American civil rights
Executive Order 9980 Truman created the Fair Employment Board to ensure equal treatment for federal jobs - significant impact on job opportunities for black Americans
Korean War (1950-3) was the first conflict where black and whites fought together
This called for a permanent civil rights division of the Justice Department, anti-lynching laws and abolishment of poll tax
By 1953 the army, airforce and navy were all integrated - partial success
Report To Secure these Rights was commissioned by Truman in Oct 1947 where he allowed civil right groups to put forward their views
Executive Order 9981 didn't apply to the National Guard or to reserve forces - important military groups remained segregated because of opposition from state governments
1948 Truman received 2/3 of black American votes
Strom Thompson, Democrat, was against the improvement of black American civil rights as it was an attempt to get black American votes
July 1948 Truman issued Executive Order 9981 which ended segregation in the armed forces - timing due to 1948 election
Truman initially refused to allow the Fair Employment Practices Commission to order DC's transit system to hire black workers - black lawyer Charles Houston resigned
Segregation in professional sports and popular entertainment
Majority of black Americans faced segregation in most sports - difficulty in jobs in coaching and getting the same pay and conditions as white people
Black American sportsmen received verbal abuse from white spectators
His number, 42, was withdrawn when he retired
In popular entertainment, black Americans got supporting roles in menial positions in Hollywood films
1947 racial breakthrough took place in the MLB when the Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson -1st black pro
1st black American to win an Oscar was Hattie McDaniel played a domestic servant in Gone in the Wind in 1939
1936 Jesse Owens won the 100m and long jump
Nat King Cole was a popular ballad singer but found it difficult to tour in the Old South
Sugar Ray Robinson dominated middleweight in the 1950s
Rock n Roll gave black American singers a chance to get national recognition
1930-40 Joe Louis won more Heavyweight titles than any other
Chuck Berry and Little Richard became national stars
Black Americans were prominent in professional sport before 1945 due to their superior talent
Growth of the NAACP
After 1945 they worked with other civil rights groups like the CIO Political Action Committee to fight for black American rights
NAACP made representations to the President's Committee on Civil Rights and the committee's report in Oct 1947 To Secure These Rights
1941 it joined with other organisations like the trade union bodies the American Federation of Labor, Congress of Industrial Organizations and the National Negro Congress to abolish poll tax
NAACP supported activities like voter registration and campaigned for the abolition of poll tax in its southern strategy
Southern branches were established or reformed - many. blacks in trade unions
Charles Houston (leading figure) supported the idea of organising southern blacks who faced greatest discrimination
Many of the new members were black Americans who segregated from the south
Membership grew during WW2 from 50,000 to 450,000
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in 1909 by black Americans and white liberals - aimed to gain full civil rights
Civil rights: the extent of change by 1955
Saw the rise in Marthur Luther King
1942 James Farmer created the Congress of Racial Equality which advocated non-violent campaigning to achieve full racial equality
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in 1955 - black Americans refused to take transport and segregated public transport was declared unconstitutional in December 1956
Black Americans still suffered racial discrimination in housing and employment - still lived in ghettos like Harlem in NYC
By the end of 1956, not one school in the Deep South was intergrated
Poll tax meant that poor blacks were prevented from voting - intimidation by white supremacist groups like the KKK maintained their second-class status
In 1955 100 congressmen signed the Southern Manifesto which declared the
Brown
case was an abuse of power - White Citizens Councils were created to defend segregation
Hispanic Americans had limited headway in gaining extra rights - 1953 3m were sent back and those who stayed 1/3 lived below poverty line
Outside the Old South, black Americans faced racial discrimination in housing and employment
Federal Voluntary Relocation Program tried to remove Native Americans from their reservations with aid for moving costs and assistance in finding houses and jobs
Even though there were changes in the law, black Americans still lived second-class lives in a segregated society in the Old South
1955 was the cusp of a great awakening by minorities into an organised campaign for equality
Degree of change was limited - all the segregated public schools were still segregated as were toilets and park benches
Aided by an activist US Supreme Court but faced resistance from whites in the Old South - politicians and congress in the South didn't want change
1955 SC declared that school desegregation should take place with deliberate speed
Brown Case (1934) and the end of school segregation
1950 the Supreme Court demanded an upgrade of the black American Prairie View University as it argued its facilities were inferior
Supreme Court declared all segregated school systems unequal - believed segregation bred a feeling of inferiority in black American children
Brown case was significant as Kansas was outside the Old South - wasn't a former Confederate state and had been against slavery in the Civil War
Key factor in the change was the appointment new Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1953 - led the Court in a period of judicial activism
Black americans had separate facilities but were far from equal in terms of funding and level of education
Southern white Congressmen were opposed to racial desegregation and used their power to thwart implementation - Eisenhower feared losing white electoral support
In 1896 segregation was upheld in Plessy v Ferguson
If separate but equal facilities were considered unconstitutional, then other forms of legal segregation could be challenged
Court ruled it contravened the 14th Amendment of the US constitution
Thurgood Marshall became US Supreme Court's first black American justice in the 1960s
US Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional
Greatest NAACP achievement in legal cases in May 1954