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Black Civil Rights 1955-80 - Coggle Diagram
Black Civil Rights 1955-80
Changing approaches
Black Power
Stokely Carmichael as SNCC leader:
-appointed SNCC field organiser in 1965 in Alabama
-raised black voters from 70-2,600 in 1 year
-1966 Carmichael became the leader of the SNCC
-tried to stick to MLK's non violent ideology
-became frustrated at its slow pace
-radically decided that white members were no longer allowed
-used the phrase 'Black Power' in a protest
-broke against ML's non violence
-1967 he became pres of the Black Panthers
Organisation of Afro-American Unity
-Founded by Malcolm X in 1964
-sough to reconnect African Americans with their African heritage
-Malcolm X provided speeches to teach about Black nationalism
-empower black Americans to join the CRM
-sought boycotts, rent strikes,
-'we will be non-violent with people who are nonviolent with us'
Success
-philosophy became influential
-inspiration for future Black Power groups
-inspired activists
Ideology
-emphasized radical pride, economic empowerment and the creation of political and cultural institutions
-aimed to educate Africans of their heritage and make them proud to be black
-empowerment and revolutions for the black community
Black Panthers:
-1966, Huey Newton and Booby Seale founded the Black Panthers Party for Self Defence
-took a militant approach
-patrolled African American neighbourhoods to protect resident from police brutality
-set out a 10 point program that called for better housing, jobs and education for African Americans
-1967 marched into California state legislature fully armed as they wanted the right to bear arms
-wanted to improve the life in black communities
-members would go to arrests and remind people of their rights
-membership over 2,000
King's northern strategy
Economic Justice
-1965, King turned his attention to the northern ghettos
-rather than emphasising political freedom, King began to stress economic justice
-demanded a fairer distribution of wealth
-believed that methods used in the south, marches and publicity, he was wrong
-northern whites opposed his northern strategy
-many whites had no wish to pay higher taxes and no wish to live next door to a black American
-1967, he admitted his campaign wasn't working
Kings Assassination
-April 1968 King was assassinated by a white man in Memphis
-in the aftermasth, a mass outpour of grief and anger led to riots
-riots in more than 100 US cities
-46 people died
-2,000 injured
-21,000 arrested
-$67 million in property was damaged
Civil Rights legislation
Civil Rights Act 1964
-Kennedy to Johnson
-forbade discrimination in employment, public accommodation, and govt funded programs
-helped voting rights
-widespread but not specific enough, many people found loopholes
24th Amendment 1964:
-Poll tax was banned (where people had to pay to vote)
-Grandfather Clause banned (where black people had to pay to vote but white people did not)
Voting Rights Act 1965
-abolished discriminatory voting practices in the South
-abolished the literacy test for black people to vote
-no voting requirements
Direct Action
MLK and SCLC
-Southern Christian Leadership Conference was created Jan 1957
-discussed the successful strategy of the Montgomery bus boycott
-MLK was the first president of the group
-dedicated to abolish legalized segregation and ending deprivation in a non-violent way
-gave MLK a national platform to speak
-conducted leadership training programs, citizen education programs and voter registration drives
The South
Greensboro:
-1960
-Greensboro sit-in was a CR protest
-sit-in at segregated Woolworth's lunch counter
-protesters refused to move after being denied service
-prevented white payers from sitting down, took up seats permanently
-protest spread college towns in the South
-70,000 students involved
Success
-actions made immediate and lasting impact
-forced Woolworth and other establishments to change their segregation policies
-150 cities forced to introduce some sort of desegregation
-formed the SNCC
Birmingham:
-early 1963 by the SCLC
-aimed to bring national attention to the efforts of local black leaders to desegregate public facilities in Alabama
-launched mass meetings, lunch counter sit-ins, boycotts of merchants
-led by MLK
-protest against segregation laws
-peaceful protests met with violence
Success:
-gained mass publicity
-gained presidential, media, and public support for CR
-May 1963 officials removed 'white only' and 'black only' signs from toilets and drinking fountains
-forced desegregation
-major turning point for the CRM
Weakness
-peaceful protests met with violence
-police dogs
-high pressure fire hoses
Little Rock:
-1957, local NAACP encouraged 9 black students to enroll in the newly desegregated central High School in Little Rock
-students faced vicious mobs as they tried to enter the school
-Eisenhower reluctantly sent in federal troops to restore order
-NAACP took the case to court, declaring that it any law seeking to keep laws segregated was unconstitutional
Success
-1960, Central High was fully integrated
Weakness
-violence to the children
-the 9 children were spat on, kicked, tripped, punched, pushed down stairs etc
Montgomery Buses
-Dec 1955 Rosa Parks was ordered to give up her seat to a white man on the bus
-she refused and was arrested
-on the day of her trial, black community in Montgomery staged a one day 'first-come-first-served' protest
-staged a year long boycott aimed at total desegregation of the buses
-first lengthly and sustained black community organisation, shocked white people
-boycott showed the power of non-violent direct action
-white businessmen lost 1 million dollars and some turned against segregation
Success
-Supreme Court ruled segregation was unconstitutional
-NAACP took the case to court
Weakness
-did not end Montgomery's segregation on buses
SNCC
Freedom Rides
-group of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides
-Freedom Riders travelled on bus trips through the south in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals
-tried to use 'white-only' toilets and lunch counters at bus stations
Success
-1964, Civil Rights Act passed by Johnson, outlawing segregation in public facilities all over the US
-successful in convincing the Fed Govt to enforce fed law for the integration of state travel
-drew international attention to the CR movement
Weakness
-was met with violence from white protestors along their routes
-arresting police officers
Freedom Summer:
-1964
-voter registration drive aimed at increasing the number of registered black voters in Mississippi
-over 700 white volunteers helped to fight voter intimidation and discrimination at the polls in Mississippi
-organized by the CR organisations
Success
-attention internationally
-increased awareness
-helped lead to the Voting Right's Act of 1965 which outlawed the discriminatory voting practices in Southern America
-resulted in various meetings, protests, freedom schools, freedom housing, freedom libaries and a collective rise in awareness of voting rights
Weakness
-met with violent resistance from KKK and members of the state and local law enforcement
-news coverage of the beatings, false arrests and even murder led to international attention to the CRM
What?
-Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, established after the 1960s sit-ins
-became a major channel of student participation in the CRM
-Established after Greensboro
-dedicated itself to organising sit-in, boycotts and other non-violent direct action against segregation