African Americans

• what had changed in AA civil rights by the 1960s?

  - continuing violence in south had given ammunition to the communist bloc who saw the US as defending a rotten capitalist system

  - better communications allowed for more americans to see impact of racial violence

  - murder of Emmett Till and the acquittal of his murderers shocked the USA

  - pictures of southern mobs abusing the black school girl from little rock was bad for the image of the USA

  - also by 1960, AA were better organised and more skillful in making demands
• when was the little rock incident?

  1957
• who were the little rock nine?


  - The first nine black students to attend Little Rock High School after it was desegregated.

  - however, they were denied entry by angry crowds which were supported by the national guard
• what was the civil rights act of 1964?

  - banned discrimination in public accommodations

  - prohibited discrimination in any federally assisted program, - - outlawed discrimination in most employment

  - enlarged federal powers to protect voting rights and to speed school desegregation

  - this and the voting rights act helped to give African-Americans equality on paper, and more federally-protected power so that social equality was a more realistic goal
• what was affirmative action?


  a policy that seeks to correct the effects of past discrimination by favoring the groups who were previously disadvantaged
• what was the situation by the 1990s?

  - economic inequality remained

  - gap was bigger in college graduation

  - in 1988 the unemployment among AA was 5% higher than whites

  - gap between income increased

  - average hourly wage lower for AAs
• Who was Rodney King?

  A black man whose beating by police men in March 1991 resulted in a violent riot (in South Central Los Angeles in April 1992) lasting 3 days (51 people were killed and more than $750 million in property destroyed)
• what was positive change introduced by the US government during civil rights?

  -> reconstruction 1865

  -> new deal 1933-45

  -> smith v allwright 1944

  -> desegregation of military 1948

  -> brown v board 1954

  -> right to vote 1957

  -> civil rights act 1964

  -> equal employment 1972

  -> civil rights employment 1991
• what was negative change introduced by the US government during civil rights?

  -> Jim Crow laws - 1877

  -> US v Harris

  -> Plessy v ferguson

  -> wilson's presidency
• Who was Ida B. Wells?

  - reforming journalist

  - Female black activist calling for more non-lynching laws, worked w/ NAACP and other organizations.

  - she formed the national association of coloured women
• Who was Everett J. Waring?

  - active baptist in baltimore

  - studied law

  - went on to be apart of the mutual brotherhood of liberty

  - he formed a saving banks for african americans

  - first african american to be a judge in baltimore
• when was Booker T. washington alive?

  1856-1915
• what was Booker T. Washington famous for?

  the Tuskegee institute
• when did Booker T. Washington deliver the atlanta compromise speech?


  1895
• what did booker t. washington's atlanta compromise speech consist of?

  - suggesting that they shouldn't be working towards equality and integration but focusing on improving economic and social conditions for african americans
• what was Booker T. washington's impact on civil rights?

  - one study suggests that for 20 years he practically ruled black america

  - he cooperated with white leaders such as Roosevelt and Taft - this kind of cooperation would eventually lead to progress

  - he did promote some opposition to Jim Crow laws - but mainly in private due to fear of antagonizing the white south

  - economic + education improvements impressive

  - he was heavily criticised by those who were more radical
• Who was W.E.B. DuBois?

  W.E.B. DuBois was an African American intellectual militant who founded the Niagara Movement.
• when did DuBois found the NAACP?

  1909
• What is Pan-Africanism?


  the unity of all black Africans, regardless of national boundaries
• what was Du Bois's impact on civil rights?

  - he shifted attention to the need to publicise civil rights through the press

  - his interest in pan-africanism was shared with Marcus Garvey
• Who is Marcus Garvey?


  he was a civil rights leader who set up the universal negro improvement association in Jamaica
• what were Marcus Garvey's achievements?

  - set up the black star line to trade with Africans worldwide

  - set up the negro factories corporation to promote manufacture and trade among AAs

  - movement was the biggest in comparison to anything before him

  - set up the universal negro improvement association
• how influential was Marcus Garvey to civil rights?

  - he glorified africanism - in some ways prefigured black power

  - claimed god and jesus were black and set himself up as the president of the republic of africa

  - he collected $10 million and attracted large amounts of support

  - organisation not matched by anything before 1917 and not again until the mass movements of the 60s
• who was Philip Randolph?


  Leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters which was the largest black union ever -- earlier he initially proposed a march on Washington but it never went through due to the chaos of WWII
• who was Martin Luther King Jr. ?

  He was a leader of the Civil Rights movement who believed in peaceful forms of protest
• what were MLK's successes?

  - march of washington 1963

  - support of the montgomery bus boycott

  - leader of the SCLC

  - aimed to also involve white supporters - increased amount of backing
• how influential was King in the civil rights movement?

  - scale of his movement allowed civil rights legislation to be passed with urgency

  - other leaders may have achieved considerable followings, but no reform emerged quite like King

  - he found that achieving constitutional right change did not solve the fundamental economic and social problems
• who was Malcolm X?

  A leader within the Nation of Islam, did not agree with MLK's non-violence strategy, and believed that, while non-violence was fine if whites remained non-violent, the black community should be able to use violence in self-defense.
• how influential was X on civil rights?

  - the influence he had on the black power movement was considerable

  - given the aims - would not have been possible for him to achieve as much success as king

  - he had less popular support than garvey at his height and a less coherent strategy

  - he promoted black pride
• overall, who was the most significant leader?

  overall

  - King politically

  - Garvey economically

  - Washington education wise

  - X socially
• what was the NAACP?


  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which fought for black rights
• what was CORE?


  The Congress of Racial Equality. They organized the Freedom Riders trip.
• In 1920, only about 3% of all blacks lived outside the South; by 1970, that figure had risen to nearly half.
• The Great Migration was the movement of millions of black people from the rural South to urban areas, especially in the North.
• Many migrants were drawn northward by jobs created during World War I.