AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTROLE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, BLACK PANTHERS, BLACK MUSLIMS, BLACK POWER, AND MALCOLM XROLE OF GOVERNMENTS IN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTS IN THE AMERICASYOUTH CULTURE AND COUNTERCULTUREFEMINIST MOVEMENTS IN THE AMERICASNATIVE AMERICANS AND CIVIL RIGHTS

Civil rights and social movements in the Americas

Roosevelt – After WWII Did nothing substantial To do so would have angered powerful white southern

lawmakers Needed their support to achieve larger New Deal programs

and foreign policy objectives to help the Allies Executive Order 8802

also known as the Fair Employment Act was signed to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry.

The order required all federal agencies and departments involved with defense production to ensure that vocational and training programs were administered without discrimination as to "race, creed, color, or national origin.”

Motive for Social Reform Cold War years forced American leaders to

introduce key social reforms because they were embarrassed on the world stage by oppressive race relations at home

As the ‘presumptive leader of the free world’ how could American democracy be a beacon during the Cold War, and a model for those struggling against soviet oppression, if the US itself practiced brutal discrimination against minorities within its own borders?

Thus a need for improved race relations in the U.S. in order to uphold the principle of democracy abroad, was a major reason for the enactment of various civil rights initiatives during the presidencies of Truman, JFK, and Johnson

The Sources of a Mass Movement

1. Black urbanization Rural blacks moved to cities, saw power to

challenge2. Religious faith

All people are equal before God3. Constitutional rights

Constitution guaranteed their basic civil rights

4. Media coverage Shocked, viewers supported civil rights push

5. African independence African countries had gained independence

To Secure These Rights President Truman created a Committee on Civil Rights in 1946,

assigning them responsibility for evaluating the place and condition of civil rights in the US and for recommending legislation necessary to enable the Federal government to carry out its duty to act when these Constitutional rights were endangered. 

1947, this committees paper loudly proclaimed the opening round to the federal government’s campaign for civil rights

Truman made this committee instead of legislation that never would have made it through the Senate

Offered three main reasons why civil rights should be redressed Moral, Economic, and International

This accomplished a number of things: Satisfied civil rights advocates Took political pressure off himself and onto the committee Avoided direct confrontation with southern Democrats Established a forum to begin educating the public on the need to extend

quality under the law

To Secure These Rights The text of the report spells out in detail the

liberal vision for expansion of civil rights in the years after WWII Also reflected the liberal belief that bolstering civil

rights stemmed from moral, diplomatic, and economic considerations

“the greatest hope for the future is the increasing awareness by more and more Americans of the gulf between our civil rights principles and our practices.”

Furthermore, the economy lost millions of dollars from racial disturbances

To Secure These Rights The 34 recommendations that appear in the report

established the agenda for civil rights reforms for a generation to come. Attacked disenfranchisement Strengthen federal law enforcement machinery against

racial crimes such as lynching Dismantle segregation throughout American society Condemned racial segregation in housing, interstate

transportation, public accommodations, the military, and employment

Most remarkable of all was the stand it took against school segregation…challenged Jim Crow aiming at the ideology of white supremacy itself.

To Secure These Rights The Cold War heightened this awareness

African Americans deserved no less, but it was also essential to the country’s cold war struggle with the Soviet Union “that we have been able to put our own house in order.”

In the struggle against the Soviet Union, the United States could not afford to tolerate racial discrimination within its borders and expect the rest of the world to believe its political and economic systems were superior to those of its Communist adversary

To Secure These Rights So why is this document and committee so important? Reports as forward looking and eloquent as To Secure

These Rights could not by themselves produce social change.

Rhetoric and good intentions were not enough; it took power wielded by a determined mass movement and applied on sympathetic but cautious national officials to topple Jim Crow

In some 176 pages, To Secure These Rights provided a detailed inventory of the civil wrongs done to African Americans and offered a road map for the country to follow to remedy them

Youth Culture and Counterculture

1950’s Young were growing restless, especially in the suburbs Many connected with what the young movie stars of

the time were portraying “a brooding nobody with something silent inside just seething to get out”

Beatniks, writers and poets, appalled by the world, especially the Cold War (Ginsberg, Kerouac)

Opted out of contemporary society Youth slowly turned to radios where they heard rock n

roll which demonstrated a type of rebellion Introduced many white youth to black musicians,

eventually promoting integration

Youth Culture and Counterculture 1960’s Youthful activism was a mainstay Turned 18 between 1960 and 1972, 45 million

Enormous size of the generation would lead to juvenile problems; delinquency, crime, violence, unwed mothers

More disruption on campus, some due to overcrowding Explaining, exploiting, or catering to youth became a

national obsession Ford came out with a ‘car for kids’ the Mustang, ‘Pepsi

Generation’, Associate press declared 1964 the year of the kids, Time named 1966 “Man of the Year” the ‘man and woman of 25 and under.’

They were more idealistic and tolerant and less concerned with money, security, and Communism

Counterculture 1968 and beyond

Composed of activists, students, feminists, and hippies Never organized, created a great vocal

minority promoting liberation, challenged the majority, confronting and shocking mainstream culture

Revolted from the norms, values, and morals of the established society, changing society and fundamentally altering America

By the early ‘70’s 3 million felt part of the counterculture

Counterculture Difficult too define and measure

No hippie organizations, member cards, no meetings, age limits or leaders

Individualistic journey, the hippie movement was ‘a philosophy, a way of life’

Perhaps the only constant was that they rejected some of the values of the culture and then developed and practiced different lifestyles

Began to doubt the government and distrust the establishment

Alienations also increased as students asked for their rights on campuses

Music and underground newspapers were carriers of the culture and their values

Counterculture The slow demise of the counter culture

Ritualistic Slayings! ‘the family’ led by Manson, hippie with long hair TV and papers turned it into a spectacle

Woodstock of West Turned violent, Hell’s Angels guarded stage, grabbed

a young black man, stabbed him repeatedly and kicked in his face, dying in a pool of blood

Crowd of hippies horrified and stunned did nothing The greatest internal conflict was “the people

with long hair and the people with short hair”

Counterculture Critics blamed hippies for decline of the

American family, to drug and venereal disease epidemics, even for AIDS

They were the scapegoat The counterculture subverted and then

significantly altered cold war culture This culture challenged values,

encouraged experimentation, and different value system resulted surviving with the baby boomers

Counterculture Many younger Americans felt the war against Vietnamese

Communism was illegal, inhumane, and immoral ‘a whole generation is starting to say to its parents, ‘you

can no longer get us to kill and be killed for your uptight archaic beliefs’’

Kids felt the establishment was hypocritical and contradictory Old enough to fight, 18, but not old enough to vote for their

commander in chief, 21 Doctors wrote 150 million prescriptions a year for tranquilizers

and amphetamines while condemning youth for using drugs Federal government subsidized growing tobacco and at the

same time paid for advertisements proclaiming that cigarettes were harmful to health

Counterculture Many youth believed that the nation had become

a cruel society that made war on peasants abroad and at home beat up on minorities, dissidents, students, and hippies

The behavior of the mainstream culture only boosted the counterculture Rejected the values of mainstream culture ‘why is free hate socially acceptable while free love is

socially acceptable’ Rejected the continual feast of consumerism Valued honesty, tolerance, personal freedom, and fun

Warren Court Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren

Declared landmark case of Brown v. Board Court usually follows national norms, but during

the conservative 1950’s the Warren Court decisions led America toward liberalism

Warren Court brought about a “right revolution” Changed status quo; rulings that brought legal

equality of races, rural and urban citizens, wealthy and poor, and the results “the most profound and pervasive revolution ever achieved by substantially peaceful means”

Warren Court Three Major Themes

Civil Rights Integration of public facilities, interstate travel, right to peaceful

protest Libertarianism: increasing citizens political and personal

liberty Freedom of speech and association, loyalty pledges

unconstitutional, citizen still was innocent until proven guilty, separation of church and state, allow individuals to decide what is obscene, laws prohibiting white and black cohabitation and interracial marriages unconstitutional

Egalitarianism: equal justice under the law Equal at the ballot box, police behavior, rights of suspects, right to

legal defense, obtain evidence legally, suspects in custody gave right to an attorney, must inform suspects of constitutional rights

Brown v. Board of Educ. 1952-54

Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund brought the matter before the Supreme Court

Chief Justice Earl Warren ruled on 17 May 1954 that separating white and colored children in public schools had ‘a detrimental effect upon the colored children” Unequal and therefore unconstitutional

Desegregate all public school systems throughout the nation ‘with all deliberate speed’

Within a year of ‘45 decision over 500 school districts in the North and upper South had quietly desegregated, but in the deep South open and complete defiance began as soon as the outcome was announced

Lynching of Emmet Till 1955, 14 year old Emmet Till from

Chicago was in Mississippi on vacation Outside a country store, on a dare,

called out to a white woman in the store

Husband and brother-in-law tracked down Emmet, beat him and three days later found his body in a river

Came to trial, all white jury, found innocent

Later admitted killing him

Little Rock 1957 Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas blocked a federal

court order to admit 9 qualified African American students

Called out the National Guard to monitor school and prevented them from entering

10 days later Guard was dismissed and students were exposed to mob

By noon local police had to evacuate the students Eisenhower dispatched 1000 101st airborne School was surrounded and students were escorted in

and completed the school year Next year Faubus ordered 3 schools closed for the year Next year Federal Court ordered that was

unconstitutional

Montgomery Bus Boycott Mrs. Rosa Parks sat in the front row of seats in the black

section of the bus E.D. Nixon local leader of the NAACP decided black

citizens might demonstrate their disapproval of the city’s segregated bus system, bus boycott

Began on 5th of Dec. and was immediate success Continued for a year Bus company lost about 65% of business, had to cut

services, layoff drivers, and raise fares ‘conflict was between justice and injustice’ Segregation violated the US constitution Incident produced the most important leader of the

movement and proved non-violent demonstration

Student Sit-ins 1st of February 1960 4 black college students

staged a successful sit-in at a Woolworths lunch counter, Greensboro, North Carolina

Received extensive news coverage especially on TV

Caused a domino effect with black colleges throughout the South Frequently resulting in violence, thereby

producing more TV coverage By January 1961 70,000 black and white

youngsters had participated in a sit-in

Civil Rights Acts 1957-1960 Eisenhower’s second term in office saw the

passage of these two acts Felt publicly obliged to support the Brown

decision because of ongoing concerns about America’s standing on the international scene

1st civil rights legislation in 82 years 1957 – voting rights and a commission to

investigate violations of the law 1960 - introduced penalties to be levied against

anybody who obstructed someone’s attempt to register to vote or someone’s attempt to actually vote

Birmingham Protests April 1963 Worst segregation record in the South King was imprisoned for his involvement in a sit-in,

wrote his ‘letter from a Birmingham jai’ in response to a public statement of ‘concern and caution’ by white religious leaders

Went on with protest intending to fill prisons with black youth, embarrassing city officials

Televised, fire hoses, police dogs, beaten, and arrested had profound impact on America

Concerned with international image, within 90 days integrated large department stores, re-addressed employment discrimination and released demonstrators

March on Washington Aug. ‘63 250,000 people peacefully marched to the Lincoln Memorial in

DC to demand equal justice for all citizens under the law Demanded passage of a meaningful Civil Rights Act, enactment

of a fair employment practices bill, plus job training and placement

Theme of the march became racial harmony and unity King delivered ‘I have a dream speech’ Worldwide media coverage No major disturbances Millions of Americans witnessed for the first time black and white

people united in the cause of freedom and civil rights for all Short lived, followed

In September by a church bomb on Alabama In November by the assassination of President Kennedy

Freedom Summer 1964 Volunteers went down to Mississippi to bring an end to

political disenfranchisement, where only 6.2% of blacks were registered to vote in 1962

100’s of college students flocked to help with registration 30 ‘freedom schools’ in towns throughout Miss.

Taught black history and philosophy of civil rights Often targets of mob violence

30 black homes and 37 black churches were firebombed and more than 80 volunteers attacked

Murder of three activist two which were white provoked an outpouring of international support for the movement Whites murdered attracted far more attention than previous

attacks made black resentment grow

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Specifically prohibited racial discrimination in

restaurants, snack bars, hotels, motels, swimming pools, and all other places of public accommodation

Funds could be withheld form any US government-supported school and/or education program found practicing racial discrimination

Established an equal opportunities commission to combat employment discrimination based on sex, religion, or race

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Alabama march was attacked by state troopers

(Selma March) In response 1000’s gathered on the White House Johnson declared ‘there is no negro problem,

there is only an American problem’ Abolished literacy tests, poll taxes, and all other

devices used to discriminate against minority voters

Any change in election law must be pre-cleared or officially approved beforehand through the federal district court

Watts Race Riots - 1965 Long story short: White policeman pulls over

young black driver, arrests him for speeding and possible intoxication. Crowd assembles, calls for reinforcements, crowd pelts police with rocks and bottles. 2 hours angry mob is attacking white drivers and setting cars aflame.

After 15,000 troops and police and 6 days order is restored. 4000 arrested and 1000 injured and 34 dead

Incalculable harm to the civil rights movement White backlash

Watts Race Riots - 1965 Johnson Administration Response

Sent officials to discover reasons for the riot, which revealed the plight of urban blacks Educational facilities remained segregated 1950 to 1965 segregation in 15 large northern cities actually

rose sharply Black unemployment was double that of whites Black unemployment was at 30 percent 40 percent below poverty line Majority of blacks were underemployed in unskilled and service

jobs 80 percent of northern blacks lived in segregated ghettos Urban minorities had little to no political clout City officials were racist Almost all policemen were white who called their billy clubs

‘nigger knockers’

Watts Race Riots - 1965 Racial attitudes became vivid to committee

Two members arrived in Watts, one black (assistant attorney general) and one white

Two white cops immediately stopped them One cop asked the white man questions and for

ID One cop pulled the black member from the car,

frisked him roughly, drew his pistol jammed the barrel into his stomach and began asking him questions to find out “why a nigger was riding with a white?”

Watts Race Riots - 1965 Report said “the poor people, the voiceless

people, the invisible people, had been ignored, and they were enraged.”

Life noted it as “a time bomb of black rage exploded in the ghettos”

Decades of segregation had led to two perspectives: Blacks saw an America filled with discrimination Whites saw an America finally trying to live up to

its dream by passing social programs aimed at helping minorities

Black Power 1966 James Meredith, first black to graduate from

Univ. of Miss. “Walk against Fear” 225 mile trek from Memphis

to Jackson as a demonstration that a black man could walk unharmed on the highways

Aimed to encourage black citizens to take advantage of the Voting Rights Act and register

10 miles into Mississippi, white man stepped out of the bushes, fired his shotgun 3 times Rushed to hospital, extracted 100’s of pellets from

back, leg, and head

Black Power 1966 Activists rushed to Memphis, discussions on

continuing March against Fear New young leadership reflected militant attitudes March would mark the emergence of Black Power Activists had become disillusioned with white liberals Resentful Johnson administration had become more

interested in Vietnam than racial justice in America Few months later Sammy Younge demanded to use

an illegal “white only” rest room in Alabama and he was shot in the head

That Year two civil rights groups, SNCC and CORE expelled all white members

Black Power 1966 During the march Stokely Carmichael

violated a police order and pitched a tent on the grounds of a black high school and was arrested by state troopers

He was released and held a large rally, jumped on a platform, shot his arm in the air with a clenched fist and shouted, “…we have been saying freedom for six years and we ain’t got nothin’. What we gonna start saying now is Black Power!”

Black Power 1966 Everything that happened afterward was a

response to that moment March against Fear would go down in history as

one of the major turning points in the black liberation struggle

Black power is the coming together of black people in the struggle for their liberation

Last day a leader stood up and said, “we left our imposed status as Negroes and became Black Men…1966 is the year of the concept of Black Power

Black Muslims Malcolm X – vocal through the 1960’s felt

Christianity was hypocritical, converted to Islam, and became the leader of the Black Muslims in Harlem Felt the black man had no future in the United States Enraged whites by labeling them “blue eyed devils” Believed creating black states the only way they

could obtain racial justice Angered moderate blacks who worked hard for

integration Said King’s tactics of non-violence were absurd,

declared blacks to “stand tall”

Black Muslims 1st of a new phenomenon – a bold, black man

demanding self-determination and if necessary self-defense Shocked White America

Assassinated, bibliography was released soon after and became more famous in his death, a hero and martyr of sorts

Muhammad Ali Heavyweight champion that converted to Islam,

stripped of his belt for not going to war when drafted, and challenged society to believe “black is beautiful”

Black Panthers Summer of ‘67 led by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton Growing militancy among young African Americans Black leather, saluted with right hand above head, black

glove, black berets because Army elites wore green Result of assassination of Malcolm X Ten point program

Re-educate with true history, black juries, exempt from military history

Called on UN to intervene, set up self defense groups to combat police brutality, neighborhood watch

Attracted TV cameras and scared white people

White Backlash Nonviolent protest won many whites

over Black power, black separatism, and

rioting, increased opposition to the demands of black Americans called white backlash

Affirmative action required business and schools to recruit minorities and women

This was said to be reverse discrimination, no better than earlier forms of discrimination

New Feminism August 1970 women nationwide participated in

the first major feminist demonstration in a half century – the women’s strike for equality

NYC was biggest demonstration To many women the most important issue was

discrimination Merged to themes of liberation and empowerment Between ’70 and ‘72 no issue received as much

national attention as women’s liberation More coverage than ever before about discrimination,

opportunity, sexism, and abortion

New Feminism Prompted males to wonder about liberating themselves from

traditional roles Women’s groups filed class action suits against all public schools on

the grounds that they discriminated in salaries, promotion, and maternity benefits

Complaints against 1300 major companies demanding goals and timetables for equal employment and sued numerous other companies

Wanted better treatment in armed forces, better representation in labor unions, challenged state laws concerning abortion and rape

“The whole point of the female movement is that each and every woman shall recognize that the burden and the glory of here feminism lie with defining herself honestly in terms she shall choose.”

Even nuns organized challenging the idea that sin is based on Eve Priests walked by and said ‘God Bless’ sisters responded, “thank you She

will”

New Feminism Dad is breadwinner and wife is mother

and homemaker 1950 70% fit this, in 1990 only 15% fit this

Divorce rates have doubled since 1970 Women now have become mayors,

governors, reporters, liberating all professions

From 1970 – 1990 percentage of female attorneys, professors, physicians, and business managers have increased from 5% to over 33%

New Feminism Exposed long suppressed private

matters—abortion, harassment, incest, lesbianism, rape, wife and child beating—resulting in a more open society

Women’s liberation was the most successful social movement of the sixties era

The Hispanic Movement Fastest growing minority group Attaining civil rights played an indirect

role Goals emphasized the lack of economic

justice for a generic farm-worker class—although all Chicanos would benefit

Focused on election, jobs, pay, and housing Cesar Chavez organized farm workers in

California, United Farm Workers Relied on meager resources at hand, living

simply, and playing on the sympathy of the American public

Used strikes, a 250 mile march to Sacramento, and a boycott of all grapes

American Indian Movement

Most deprived and troubled minority Unemployment, suicide, slashed federal aid

(little to no Government support) American Indian Movement, demanded

federal Indian policy 1975 Congress passed Public Law 93-638, the Indian

Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act Expanded tribal control over tribal governments and

education, authorized federal funds to build needed public shoos

Possibly the most important piece of legislation passed

1978 passed the Religious Freedom Act Recognizing, protecting, and preserving the inherit

right of American Indians to express and exercise their traditions and beliefs

American Indian Movement Protested and eventually some of the land

was returned Occupation of Mount Rushmore ‘70 19 month occupation of Alcatraz Island form

’69 to ’71 “Trail of Broken Treaties” caravan from

California to D.C. in ’72, with a 7 day occupation of Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs

71 day militant occupation of Wounded Knee in ’73

Civil rights and social movements in the Americas SO WHY STUDY THIS TIME IN HISTORY “Important to examine and understand

because it was another defining period in U.S. history. Activists confronted issues central to this Republic: equality or inequality, war or peace, national interest versus individual rights, personal behavior versus Community standards. By raising these issues, the sixties legacy was to question the very nature and meaning of America”