Factors
5
- Martin Luther King
- Black Civil Rights Organisations
- Emergence of Effective Black Leaders
- Prejudice & Racism
- Experience of Black Servicemen
Introduction
Background Only - FIQ Exp, LOA and other factors needed
- Opening Sentence: Prior to 1945 black people were slowly making progress towards equality in America, however major improvements had to be made if this were to be achieved entirely.
- BG: Jesse Owens’ astonishing athletics performances in the Berlin Olympics in 1936 inspired black people all over the USA and gained world recognition.
- BG: Additionally, in February 1940 Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to win an Oscar. However, it was clear that change still had to come as on the awards night she was seated at a segregated table.
Martin Luther King:
KU
2
- Firstly, in his job as a church pastor King preached about winning ‘victory over your enemies through love’ in his sermons. He used his ability as a preacher to speak up for those at a disadvantage, and in the 1950s and 1960s his main target was segregation and discrimination against black Americans.
- Secondly, Martin Luther King also did a lot of physical work towards equality for black people. In 1963, King led protests against discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama which led to his arrest. That same year he led the enormous civil rights march on Washington D.C, in which he delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, predicting that one-day equality for black people would become a reality.
Martin Luther King:
Analysis
The role of Martin Luther King was therefore important in the development of the Civil Rights Movement because his usage of non-violent methods and interpretations of this, such as campaigning by the SCLC, were successful in making change which played an important part in the Civil Rights Movement.
Martin Luther King:
Analysis+
However, the role of Martin Luther King was less important in the development of the Civil Rights Movement because many believed his refusal to use violence in the cause made his approach slower and ultimately less effective.
Martin Luther King:
Evaluation
- Overall, Martin Luther King was the most important reason for the development of the Civil Rights Movement because his non-violent approach proved effective in gaining support and therefore pressurising the US Government to do something about inequality.
- Time magazine chose King as their man of the year, demonstrating recognition and international support.
Black Civil Rights Organisations:
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2
- Firstly, the activities of the SNCC involved organising sit ins with white and black students in places such as restaurants. One of their sit ins, the Greensboro sit in, received heavy media coverage which would bring unwanted publicity to property owners and pressurise them to lift restrictions.
- Secondly, the NAACP and CORE groups organised freedom rides. During one of these events photos of the burning greyhound bus and the bloodied riders appeared on front pages of newspapers across the country and around the world, drawing international attention to their cause.
Black Civil Rights Organisations:
Analysis
- The role of civil rights organisations therefore was important in the development of the Civil Rights Movement because the heavy media coverage of these demonstrations encouraged others to follow in their footsteps.
- For example, hundreds of new freedom riders were drawn to the cause due to media attention and by the end of the summer, the protests had spread to train stations and airports across the South which ultimately led to the banning of segregated transport facilities in November 1961.
Black Civil Rights Organisations:
Analysis+
- However, the role of black civil rights organisations was less important in the development of the Civil Rights Movement because their more disruptive tactics were met with disproval.
- For example, following the widespread violence CORE officials could not find a bus driver who would agree to transport the integrated group, so they decided to abandon the Freedom Rides – this shows how disproval impacted these groups and therefore the development of the Civil Rights Movement.
Black Civil Rights Organisations:
Evaluation
- Overall, the role of black civil rights organisations is a very important reason for the development of the Civil Rights Movement because the changes that had been made via these organisations’ methods contributed to further developments in civil rights.
- For example, John F Kennedy managed to scrape a victory in the presidential election thanks to votes of black people in the northern states, although he knew that he had a debt to pay to the Civil Rights Movement so was forced to act.
Black Civil Rights Organisations:
Evaluation+
However, Martin Luther King is a more important reason for the development of the Civil Rights Movement because King’s methods were based on his abilities to advocate for change, but organisations were heavily relying on white politicians for change to come from their protests.
Emergence of Effective Black Leaders:
KU
- Firstly, Malcolm X, minister for the Nation of Islam, believed black people should defend themselves – violence should be met with violence. His approach was to enforce black power and preach for black people to build their own communities instead of ‘begging the white man’.
- Secondly, in the summer of 1964 Stokely Carmichael joined the SNCC during its campaign to register black voters in the Deep South. Originally adhering to a non-violent philosophy, he used his eloquence and natural leadership to raise the number of registered black voters from 70 to over 2000, although he would later begin to use more violent approaches.
Emergence of Effective Black Leaders:
Analysis
- Emergence of effective black leaders therefore was important in the development of the Civil Rights Movement because these new, fresh approaches garnered support for the cause as people could see the positive effects these leaders were having on black people which gave motive for the movement.
- In the case of Malcolm X, his direct yet compassionate approach made him an important role model for black people in the North which gained more support for the cause instead of just those in the South.
Emergence of Effective Black Leaders:
Analysis+
- However, emergence of effective black leaders was less important in the development of the Civil Rights Movement because despite the effectiveness, violent approaches were met with criticism from both white and black people which would damage the reputation of those trying to build up the movement.
- For example, similar to X and Carmichael the Black Panthers would use violence in their fight for equality. Because of this, in 1966 a survey showed that less than 5% of African Americans approved of groups such as the Black Panthers which demonstrates the damage violent tactics had on campaigning.
Emergence of Effective Black Leaders:
Evaluation
- Overall, emergence of effective black leaders was a somewhat important reason for the development of the Civil Rights Movement because attitudes brought a new perspective - a focus on black power, instead of being only equal.
- On black power, Carmichael said “It is a call for black people in this country to unite, to recognise their heritage, to build a sense of community.”
Emergence of Effective Black Leaders:
Evaluation+
However, Martin Luther King is a more important reason for the development of the Civil Rights Movement because his methods were less controversial than new leaders due to his refusal to use violence, which proved to be more successful in terms of garnering support.
Prejudice & Racism:
KU
2
- Firstly, Brown vs Topeka of 1954, in which the Brown family fought for their daughter to attend a white school to avoid a difficult journey to a black school, was a huge breakthrough because the Supreme Court had decided that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. However, by the end of 1956 not one black child attended a white school in the South.
- Secondly, the murder of Emmett Till, a black boy, in 1955 gained wide attention due to failure to punish the accused, who admitted guilt in a TV interview, and the brutality of the murder because of intense racism in the South.
Prejudice & Racism:
Analysis
- The continuation of prejudice and racism therefore was important in the development of the Civil Rights Movement because both cases highlighted how unfair and life altering racism was for black people in America, and the lack of change that was currently happening to improve this – a strong message was sent that the time to change was now.
- This can be evidenced by Little Rock in 1957 which proved that Brown vs Topeka had not worked since the governor was backing segregation up and allowing for discrimination against black students in white schools.
Prejudice & Racism:
Analysis+
- However, continuation of prejudice and racism was less important in the development of the Civil Rights Movement because these events didn’t lead to great changes, meaning that the development of the movement was less likely to have been influenced by prejudice and racism.
- This can be evidenced by how despite worldwide reports on Till’s death and the publicised prejudice towards Little Rock by 1964 only 3% of African American children went to integrated schools, proving very little had changed.
Prejudice & Racism:
Evaluation
- Overall, prejudice and racism was a somewhat important reason for the development of the Civil Rights Movement because these various events drew attention to how badly black people were being treated in America which put pressure on the USA Government as this gave them a bad reputation.
- In 1955, Eisenhower said “Our enemies are gloating over this incident and using it everywhere to misrepresent our whole nation.” which demonstrates this.
Prejudice & Racism:
Evaluation+
Martin Luther King was still a more important reason for the development of the Civil Rights Movement because King’s actions themselves caused change, whilst events like little rock and the murder of Emmett Till only pressured the USA Government, although they didn’t have to act.
Experience of Black Servicemen:
KU
2
- Firstly, an American law of 1940 – the selective services act – made it illegal to show discrimination when calling up and training black soldiers. However, this was not adhered to, and the US war department continued the practice of segregated units, which were known as the Jim Crow army.
- Furthermore, this was a concern for many Americans and was reflected within some black newspapers such as the Pittsburgh Courier, who launched the double V campaign 2 months after the USA entered the war. The campaign stood for victory in war and victory for civil rights at home.
Experience of Black Servicemen:
Analysis
- Experience of black servicemen in WW2 therefore was important in the development of the Civil Rights movement because the campaign raised awareness of the inequality within war units as the soldiers who were fighting for equality for Europeans were not experiencing this in their own country.
- To do this they created a huge propaganda campaign which included hairstyles for women and a double V song. This raised awareness of the cause and encouraged people to join, therefore creating a sense of need for the Civil Rights movement.
Experience of Black Servicemen:
Analysis+
However, experience of black servicemen in WW2 was less important in the development of the Civil Rights movement because the work done within this campaign, particularly by Philip Randolph, was not met with change and therefore segregation in the armed forces continued until 1948 when President Harry Truman abolished it. This proves that it wasn’t likely to be the experience of black servicemen that caused the movement’s development, and more so linked to a President 3 years after the war.
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🟠| Unit 1 - Push Internal7
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🟠| Unit 1 - Pull Internal7
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🟠| Unit 1 - Push External7
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🟠| Unit 1 - Pull External7
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🟢| Unit 2 - Italians7
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🟢| Unit 2 - Lithuanians7
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🟢| Unit 2 - Irish7
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🟢| Unit 2 - Jews7
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🟡| Unit 3 - Canada7
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🟡| Unit 3 - Australia7
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🟡| Unit 3 - New Zealand7
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🟡| Unit 3 - India7
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🟣| Unit 4 - Economy7
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🟣| Unit 4 - Empire7
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🟣| Unit 4 - Culture7
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🟣| Unit 4 - Society7
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