Edexcel contextual knowledge USA Civil Rights

1. USA revision1963-1975
The Birmingham Protests(1963)
- The city of BirminghaminAlabama(inthe South) hadnot made anyeffortto desegregate despite the
changesinthe law.
- The Southern ChristianLeadershipConference (SCLC) triedtochange thisby using the tactics of sit-insand
marchesto pressfor desegregation(atlunchcounterstostart with).
- Police chief Bull Connorclosedall publicparksandplaygroundstostopthe protestsfromusingthese areas.
- Martin LutherKingwas arrestedafterspeakingata large rallyhavingsaidthatit was ‘bettertogo to jail than
accept segregation’.
- It was injail thatMartin Luther Kingwrote hisfamousletter,‘Letterfroma Birminghamjail’whichhas
become veryfamous.
- AfterMartin LutherKingwasreleasedthe protestersstartedto use womenand childrenin the protests.
- The response of Police ChiefConnorwas to allow his mento setdogs on the protestersand then calledthe
fire departmentto use water hoses on the crowd. Nearly2,000 protesterswere putinjail and1,300
childrenwere arrested.
- Thismade both national andinternationalnews, forcingPresidentKennedytoact. He setAssistantAttorney
General Burke Marshall to try to finda solution.
- Finally, adeal was done by the 9th
May to bring desegregationtoBirmingham within 90 days.
Actions of PresidentKennedy (1961-63)
- Introduced aCivil RightsBill toCongressinFebruary1963 whichaimedtogive blackpeople equalityinpublic
housingandeducation.He wasstill tryingtogetit passedwhenhe was assassinatedin1963.
- Appointed5 black federal judgesincludingThurgoodMarshall (rememberhim?He wasa memberof the
NACCPanda leadingCivilRightsactivist)
- Sent 23,000 governmenttroopstomake sure thatJamesMeredithcouldgo to the universityof Mississippi.
- Kennedyhadtobe careful of the SouthernDemocrats(Dixiecrats) whoopposedCivil Rights.
Actions of PresidentJohnson (1963-68)
- PresidentJohnsonwasanexperiencedpoliticianwhohadavisionfora ‘Great Society’andhe usedthe shock
that followedKennedy’sassassinationtopersuade people tosupporthim.
- Passedthe 1964 Civil Rights Act whichmeantthat: Segregationin hotels,restaurants,lunch counters and
theatreswas banned.The Act also placedresponsibilityonthe Federal Government(notstate government)
to stopcases of discriminationbytakingpeople tocourtwhenneeded.
- Passedthe 1965 VotingRights Act whichendedthe use of literacy testsfor voting (these hadbeenusedby
Southernerstostopblackpeople votinginthe South).Italsoallowedfederal agentstocheckvoter
registrationandstepinif there wasdiscrimination.If lessthan50% of the votingage citizenswere not
registeredtheycheckedfordiscrimination.
- By 1968 there were more blackpeople registeredtovote inTexas(73.1%) than white people(61.8%).This
was notreflectedacrossAmerica,the average was80.4% forwhitesand64.8% forblacks(the gap had
closedthough).
Malcolm X and Black Power(1963-1975)
- MalcolmX was opposedtoMLK’s peaceful protest
- MalcolmX was a memberof the Nation of Islam whowere infavourof separatism
- MalcolmX was a great speakerandhe increasedthe Nationof Islam membershipto 100,000 between1952
and 1964
- 75% of the membersof the Nation ofIslam were between17 and 35 by 1960. It attracted the young.
- MalcolmX criticisedthe WashingtonMarch(1963), callingitthe ‘farce at Washington’.
- A tripto Mecca in1964 saw MalcolmX change hisview andabandonthe Nationof Islam.
- Insteadhe setup the MuslimMosque Inc to focuson widerissueseg.Racial discrimination.
- MalcolmX was assassinatedinFebruary1965 by the Nationof Islam.

2. StokelyCarmichael and Black Power
- Black poweremergedtoabackgroundof violence eg WattsRiotin Los Angeles(1965)
- StokelyCarmichael andothersinthe SNCCwantedblackstorejectwhite help.Theyusedthe ‘blackis
beautiful’slogantoencourage pride intheirheritage.
- MexicoOlympics 1968: Tommie Smith and John Carlos carriedout the blackpowersalute whenstandingon
the podiumat the medalsceremony.Smithalsowore ascarf to representunityandblacksockswithno
shoesinorderto highlightblackpoverty.
Black Panthers
- Foundedin1966
- Preparedtouse revolutionarymeanstoachieve theiraims.
- Theywere willingtoworkwithradical white groupstoachieve theiraimsif needed.
- Theywere anti-capitalist–theywantedasocialistsociety,thismade themunpopularwiththe authorities.
- By the endof 1968 theyhad 5,000 members.
- Eventsof 1969 saw 27 panthers killedand700 injured.Thisgrowingextremismandgovernmentfocus,led
to a lossof support.
- Theyalsobecame the focusof the FBI and were disbandedby1982.
- However,theydidestablishthe ‘Free BreakfastforChildrenProgram’ in partsof California.
Riots of 1965-67
- 1965 saw the Watts riotwhichinvolved30,000 people,caused34deaths,1072 injuries,4,000arrests and
$40 millionindamage.
- Martin LutherKingwas shocked“we are not reachingthese people”.
- 1966-67 saw more riots.For example, 1967 saw race riots in 125 citiesincludingNewark andDetroit(40
deadand 7,000 arrests).
- The Kerner Report was publishedin1968. It identifiedthatthe USA wasmovingtowards two societies,one
black and one white.Separate and unequal.The report notedpolice biasandbrutalityaswell aseconomic
issues.
- Nixon’selectionin1969 saw thisreportlargelyignored.
Martin Luther King in the North
- Martin LutherKingsetup the Chicago FreedomMovementinJanuary 1966 to remove segregationinthe
city.He hopedtoprove that non-violentdirectactioncouldstillworkeffectivelyandchange thingsoutside
of the South.
- There wasa lotof hostility inChicagowhichincluded MLKbeinghit by a brick whenhe wason a march in
Chicago. The Mayor of Chicago (Daley) also calledMLK “a paid professional agitator” – eventhe leading
figuresof the citydidn’twanthimthere.
- MLK didgainthe agreementof Mayor Daleyto integrate (mix) housingforblacksandwhites,butlittle
actuallyhappened.
- OperationBreadbasket usedeconomic boycotts successfullytoincrease black employment (althoughthis
was mainlydone once MLKhad leftthe city).
- MLK wasassassinatedinApril 1968. 100,000 people attendedthe funeraland200,000 followedthe coffin.
- AfterMLK’s deaththere wasanotherwave of violence causing$70 millionindamage and 21,000 arrests.
Thisprovedthat there wasstill alot of frustrationamongstblackAmericans.
PresidentNixonand Civil Rights
- By the time of Nixon’s election, the government,andmanyAmericanpeople werefarmore focusedonthe
VietnamWar.
- In 1968 68% of black Southern Childrenattendedsegregatedschools,by1974 it had droppedto 8%.
- The bussinginitiative helpedtomake SouthernSchoolsmore integrated(bussingstudentsaroundto
differentschools).

3. - Nixonrefusedto support the Supreme Court duringthe Swannus vs Charlotte-Mecklenburgcase of1971.
The Supreme Courtwanteddesegregationof schoolstobe fullycarriedoutusingthe bussing initiative,but
Nixonrefusedtosupportthis.
- 1972 Equal EmploymentOpportunitiesAct gave courts more power to enforce equality.Over300,000
companieswith federal contracts now employedblack Americans.
- 1970: unemploymentamongstwhiteswas 5% but it was 8% for blacks. Unemploymentamongstwhite
teenagerswas 15% but for black teenagersit was nearly 50%.
- By 1973 more than 200 African Americans were involvedinstate legislature and 16 had beenelectedto
Congress.
- In the 1976 Presidential Election1/3 of African Americans didn’tregisterto vote, and of those who were
registered,lessthan½ actually voted.This showedthat many African Americans were not engagedin the
political process.
- Povertyremainedanissue formanyblackAmericans(see below):
1959 1963 1966 1968
% of whitesin
poverty
18.1% 15.3% 11.3% 10.0%
%of blacksin
poverty
56.2% 51.0% 39.8% 33.5%