Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

Unit 2-Section B; Q7 - Race Relations in the USA, 19551968

"How should we punish Hitler?" a reporter asked a young American black girl towards the end of the Second World War. "Paint him black and bring him here" was the reply.

Content

Race Relations in the USA 19551968

Key issue: To what extent did racial inequality exist in the USA in the 1950s? Segregation laws; attitudes in the Southern States; the Ku Klux Klan Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 19551956 Brown versus Topeka Board of Education Little Rock High School,1957 Living standards for African Americans. The Freedom Rides, 1961; Freedom Marches 1963 The Washington March, 1963 Black Power protests at the Mexico Olympics, 1968 The Black Power movement in the 1960s.

Key issue: How effective were the methods used by members of the Civil Rights Movement between 19611968?

Key issue: How important was Martin Luther King in the fight for Civil Rights in the USA?

His role as a protest organiser, 19551963 The Civil Rights Act, 1964 Winning the Nobel Peace Prize, 1964 Race Riots, 19651967 The assassination of Martin Luther King.

Key issue: To what extent did racial inequality exist in the USA in the 1950s ?
The Second World War can be seen as a starting point for Black activism and a more militant stance in the fight for civil rights. President Truman believed in legal equality for a black person, he argued it was their right, "because he is a human being and a natural born American." Although privately Truman espoused racist views he was aware of the need for greater equality in the USA. Segregation laws; Black people in America were subjected to racial discrimination, to racial prejudice and to persecution. This happened in spite of the fact that the US Constitution guarantees that all people were treated equally and that all citizens of the USA enjoy the same civil rights. In the southern states there had been systematic racial discrimination. The Jim Crow' laws in the southern states made black people outsiders and second class citizens. Public facilities, such as parks, buses, school and universities were segregated. Black people were excluded from the political process, they had no voice in Congress or in local government. Voter registration was made impossible for black people eg In Mississippi only 5% of black people were registered to vote. Black people were not protected by the law, Judges, all white juries and the police force discriminated against black people. Black people suffered economically, earning half the wages of white people doing the same job.

-1-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

Black people suffered violence, including lynchings, at the hands of racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. In the North and West of the USA black people could vote and have their children educated, 7 million blacks migrated from the southern states. The Second World War is seen by some as a turning point. Over 1 million black people served in the Armed Forces, though initially they could only do manual work. Those who worked in the war industries found their wages doubled. However black nurses could only tend to black soldiers. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, colour, religion or national origin . President Truman, July 1948 However there were powerful forces prepared to resist changes to the status quo. Many white people saw black civil rights as a threat to their way of life and were prepared to resist changes in any way that they could.

Attitudes in the Southern States;

I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say, Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever! George Wallace, Governor of Alabama, 1963. For many black people a change in their lives was a long way from being realised. If you're white You're alright. If you're brown Stick around. But if you're black Get back, get back. Black children's rhyme, 1950s the Ku Klux Klan Many independent groups opposed to the civil rights movement could be labelled the Ku Klux Klan . Many groups operated with impunity from the law and often it was alleged, in collusion with police departments. Bombing campaigns were used to drive blacks out of neighbourhoods, Birmingham, Alabama was nicknamed 'bombingham.' Klan members cooperated with Mayors and Governors to resist social change. Physical violence, intimidation and murder was used against Civil Rights activists. The 1963 the bombing of a Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four girls was by members of the KKK. In 1963 Medgar Evers, the NAACP organiser in Mississippi was murdered by the Klan. The 1964 murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi was the work of the Klan.

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 19551956

To some people Rosa Parks is the mother of the Civil Rights Movement'. She refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white passenger. She was a member of the NAACP, after her arrest a bus boycott was organised. The boycott lasted for 381 days, 90% of black people took part and greatly cut the bus company revenues. A federal court ordered the buses in Montgomery to be desegregated and the boycott ended.

-2-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

The boycott had been organised by Martin Luther King Jr as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). His speeches made him a national figure. The organisers faced a great deal of hostility, King was arrested twice, car pools were declared illegal by local judges, churches and houses were set alight and shots were fired at integrated buses. The boycott showed that non-violent direct action could work, that by refusing to cooperate with the system it could be changed. Brown versus Topeka Board of Education Schools in the southern states were segregated by law. They were deemed to be separate but equal', there was no discrimination if black and whites had the same facilities and equipment. Invariably schools for blacks were underfunded and inferior. Protests by black pupils against the segregation of schools was taken up by the NAACP. In 1954 the Supreme Court decided that segregated education could not be considered to be equal. The NAACP had argued that black children had been put at a disadvantage by the school system and that they were not being prepared to live in a mixed race society and would be disadvantaged in later life. We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, May 1954. The Supreme Court ordered that segregation in schools was to be phased out over time, with all deliberate speed.

Little Rock High School,1957

However the decision of the Supreme Court was met by bitter hostility in some states. In 1957 nine black students sued for the right to attend Little Rock High School in Arkansas. The Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, made a stand against integration and the decision of the Supreme Court. He called out the National Guard to prevent the nine students entering the school. President Eisenhower intervened. He ordered the National Guard back to barracks and sent in the 101 st Airborne Division to protect the students. The soldiers protected the students, escorting them between lessons. Only one student graduated. At the end of the year the school system closed rather than continue to integrate. Central High was not integrated until 1960, Little Rock's schools were not fully integrated until 1972. In 1964 only 2-3% of black children in the USA attended segregated schools. Local authorities did not enforce the decisions of the High Court. There was hostility to the changes, Governor Faubus was re-elected four times. TV pictures helped to influence moderate white opinion in favour of change. James Meredith won a lawsuit to gain access to the University of Mississippi in 1962. The Governor of Mississippi, Ross R Barnett, refused to allow Meredith to attend, proclaiming that no school will be integrated in Mississippi while I am your Governor. The courts held the decision of the Governor to be illegal, US Marshall escorted Meredith onto the campus, where rioting began. Two people were killed, 28 marshalls suffered gun wounds and 160 people were injured. President Kennedy sent the Army onto campus and Meredith was able to attend classes.

Living standards for African Americans.

Discrimination meant it was difficult for blacks to find employment. The Great Migration saw thousands of blacks move North in search of work after the turn of the century. In crude terms 50% of Black Americans lived in poverty, unemployment amongst blacks was twice that of white Americans. Black aspirations grew and they demanded to be allowed to join the

-3-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

consumer boom, to move out of the ghettos and into the suburbs and to leave jobs in agriculture for higher paid jobs in factories. There were changes in sport, opportunities for black people were severely limited. In 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major league baseball. Black players were barred from American football until 1946 and from basketball until 1950.

How did the following contribute to inequality between black and whites in the USA? The Jim Crow Laws

White attitudes

The Ku Klux Klan

World War Two

Job Opportunities

-4-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

Key issue: How effective were the methods used by members of the Civil Rights Movement between 19611968 ?
The Civil Rights Movement is an umbrella term' for the organisations who sought to end racial discrimination and gain the vote for black people in the southern states. Groups involved included the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee (SNCC) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference, (SCLC). There was a change in tactics from using a gradualist legalistic approach, that is bringing about changes in the law, to using mass action, direct action, non-violent resistance and civil disobedience. Sit-ins, 1960; The Civil Rights Movement was boosted by student sit-ins at a Woolworth's store in Greensboro,North Carolina. Four black students sat down at a segregated lunch counter to protest against the refusal to admit black people. The sit-ins were copied in other stores in other towns and gained national attention . The movement also targeted parks, beaches, libraries, theatres, cinemas, museums and other public places. In Nashville Tennessee these tactics forced the town to end segregation. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed by activists. These tactics were later used on the Freedom Rides. The Freedom Rides, 1961; In 1960 the Supreme Court had ended segregated for passengers travelling on inter-state buses. However not all states obeyed the ruling. Civil Rights activists travelled on inter-state buses seeking to end segregation not only on the buses but also the bus stations, waiting rooms and at drink fountains. They were met with violent mobs, in Anniston , Alabama, a bus was firebombed. Passengers were beaten by gangs of opponents. Freedom riders were arrested for breaching the peace' by using white only facilities. More than 300 were jailed in Mississippi. President Kennedy had to intervene and a new desegregation order was issued. Passengers were allowed to sit where they chose to; all facilities were desegregated. The SNCC then turned its attention to voter registration. The campaign was met by violence, beatings, hundreds of arrests and murder. In Mississippi the SNCC, CORE and the NAACP united to form COFO (Council of Federated Organisations). Despite the violence the campaign gathered strength and the movement to include voter registration became a part of the civil rights movement. Freedom Marches 1963 The SCLC focussed attention on a desegregation campaign in Albany, Georgia, in 1961. Martin Luther King, Jr, stung by criticisms that he did not understand the dangers faced by local activists became involved in the struggle. However it made little impact, the marchers were not met by the levels of police violence that had impacted upon national public opinion. In 1963 the SCLC had a more focused campaign in Birmingham, Alabama. The campaign aimed to end segregation in the town centre. The campaign was met by brutality from Eugene Bull' Connor. The authorities claimed all protests were illegal and so the campaigners planned a mass arrest. King was arrested. As the campaign faltered one thousand students joined in, the Children's Crusade. More than 600 were arrested. The next day fire hoses and dogs were set on the children. Pictures shown on television outraged the public and President Kennedy had to intervene, he proposed to introduce a Civil Rights Bill. Governor Wallace officially ended segregation but the campaigners were subjected to violence. Four young girls were killed when opponents of the changes firebombed a church in Birmingham.

-5-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

The Washington March, 1963 In August 1963 a March on Washington' was planned by all the major civil rights organisations. It called for civil rights legislation, job creation, an end to discrimination at work, decent housing, the right to vote and integrated education. Between 200,000 and 300,000 people took part, it was shown on national television. King made his I have a dream speech' which had a huge impact on public opinion. After the march the leaders met President Kennedy who was committed to passing a Civil Rights Bill but lacked enough support in Congress. After his assassination in November 1963 it was the new President, Lyndon Johnson, who used his influence to secure its passage. The Civil Rights Act speech It ought to be possible for American consumers of any colour to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theatres and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any colour to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal.In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case. President J.F. Kennedy, 1963 The Civil Rights Act, 1964 In 1964 the Civil Rights campaign gathered momentum. Thousands of activists set up Freedom Schools' in Mississippi to help black voters to register. They were met with arrests, beatings, arson and violence as the white residents of the state objected to outsiders trying to change their lifestyles. In June 1964 three civil rights workers disappeared, there bodies were discovered weeks later, victims of the Ku Klux Klan. The public outrage helped the passage of the Civil Rights Bill and turned the media spotlight onto the persecution of blacks in the southern states. On 2 July 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed. It banned discrimination based on race, colour, religion or national origin in jobs and housing. Selma to Montgomery Marches, 1965. Voter registration had had little success in Selma, Alabama. (Less than 3% of those blacks entitled to register had been able to do so.) Martin Luther King Jr, proposed to lead marches in the town. The marches were met with violence. A proposed march from Selma to Montgomery was met by state troopers, mounted police and police and driven back into the town. It became known as Bloody Sunday' and the violence was shown on TV. It helped President Johnson pass the Voting Rights Act ,1965 which ended voting discrimination and allowed government agents to inspect voting procedures. Within four years black voting registration doubled, Mississippi had the highest black voter turnout in 1965 (74%). The Sheriff of Selma, Jim Clark, was voted out of office. Five major cities, (Detroit, Atlanta, Cleveland,Jackson and New Orleans) elected black mayors.

-6-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

How much had the Civil Rights Movement gained by 1963? Events Describe Success or Failure? Brown v Topeka, 1954

Little Rock High School, 1957

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Sit ins, 1960

Freedom Rides, 1961

March on Washington, 1963

Church bombings, 1963

Civil Rights Act 1964

-7-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

The Black Power movement in the 1960s . The Black Power movement was a black nationalist movement, it did not want integration, it wanted separation. The Civil Rights Movement is seen as being personified by Martin Luther King, Jr. He is seen as it's figurehead and representative of the movement. His appeal for nonviolence, for integration, appealing to Christian and American ideals, his call for civil rights for southern blacks are how the struggle for civil rights is viewed. However this approach was rejected by some groups, they called for separatism not integration, they were anti-American in their appeal, the Nation of Islam called for separation not equality. Its Black Power movement had wider aims, it called for racial dignity, for economic and political self sufficiency and freedom from white oppression. The Black Power movement challenged two of MLK's main ideals, integration and non-violence. King described the Nation of Islam as a 'hate group'. The Black Power movement was urban based. After the Second World War more than half of America's black population lived in the north and west's industrial cities. As the industries in these cities went into decline the job market collapsed. Poor blacks became concentrated in neighbourhoods with poor quality housing, poor quality education and high crime rates. Relationships with the mainly white police forces were fragile. Blacks felt they were not treated the same as the white people in the neighbourhood. Blacks were attracted to the messages of racial pride, of economic self-help, of separatism and self-defence. The cities experienced race riots between 1965 and 1967. There were riots in Harlem, in Philedelphia, in Watts, Los Angeles; in Detroit, in Chicago , in Seattle, in Atlanta, in Cleveland. It was against this background that the Black Power' movement emerged. One of its early spokesmen was Stokely Carmichael the SNCC leader in 1966. He spoke of black communities arming themselves and confronting the Ku Klux Klan. People in the movement referred to themselves as Afro-Americans' rather than negroes'. They spoke of black pride and identity. Our life must be purposed to implement human rights..To demand those God-given rights is to seek black power the power to build black institutions of splendid achievement. Reverend Adam Powell, 1966. Our people are a colony within the United States.In the cities we do not control our resources. We do not control the land the houses or the stores. These are owned by whites who live outside the community. These are very real colonies, as their capital and cheap labour are exploited by those who live outside the cities. White power makes the laws and enforces those laws with guns and nightsticks in the hands of white racist policemen and black mercenaries. Stokely Carmichael, 1967. The Nation of Islam, founded by Elijah Muhammed If they don't want us to mix with them in their equality, give us a place in America. Set it asideGive us three or four or more states. We have well earned whatever they give us; if they give us twenty-five states, we have well earned them. Give us a territory. Give us the same instrument that they had to start a civilization in that territory. Elijah Mohammed, leader of the Nation of Islam, 1959. The boxer Cassius Clay joined the Nation of Islam Malcolm X aimed to improve the lives of Black Americans. Malcolm X joined the NOI. He wanted black Americans to rise up and create their own separate black stae in America, by force if necessary. He was accused of encouraging racial hatred and violence.

-8-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

Revolutions are never fought by turning the other cheek. Revolutions are never based upon love-your-enemy and pray-for-those-who-spitefully-use-you. And revolutions are never waged singing We shall overcome'. Revolutions are based on bloodshed . Malcolm X, 1964 You show me a black man who isn't an extremist and I'll show you one who needs psychiatric attention. Malcolm X, 1966 Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone: but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. Malcolm X, 1965 . Malcolm X raised awareness of the hardships in the ghettoes. Those born in poverty could not break out from the ghetto. Only 32% of ghetto pupils finished High School. Low skilled jobs were in decline, 46% of those unemployed were black.. The ghettoes were places of unemployment, poor housing, poverty, poor education and violence. They exploded into violence each summer between 1964-68. The civil rights campaigners such as King seemed to offer the people of the ghetto nothing. So they looked to new leaders such as Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael . The Black Panther Party was formed by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. They followed the ideas of Malcolm X, they aimed to achieve equality by any means necessary. They sought to confront police brutality. They wore black leather jackets, berets,and light blue shirts. They wore afros' . They never amounted to more than 5000 members. They gained admiration for their work in the ghettos, they aimed to expose police brutality. However they had no coherent plan or strategy and were targeted by the police, by 1970 they had disappeared. Black Power protests at the Mexico Olympics, 1968 Black Power achieved a stage, live on international television at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Tommy Smith and John Carlos, who won Gold and Bronze medals, gave the black-gloved Black Power salute during the medal ceremony. They were thrown out of the Games and were given a life time ban by the IOC.

-9-

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

What were the differences and similarities bewtee Martin Luther King and the Black power Movement?

- 10 -

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

Key issue: How important was Martin Luther King in the fight for Civil Rights in the USA? Is Martin Luther King.Jr, the central figure in the struggle for civil rights, is he the only significant figure? He stood for non-violence, integration, American and Christian ideals and civil rights for the black Southerners. What about the riots in the northern cities, the calls for separatism, Anti-Americanism and the Nation of Islam? He was the One, The Hero, The One Fearless Person for whom we waited. I hadn't even realised before that we had been waiting for Martin Luther King, Jr, but we had. Alice Walker, novelist, in 1972 To many people King is the crucial figure in the civil rights campaign, to others his importance has been overblown. They argue you need to consider the roles of other individuals and organisations in the campaign. There is also controversy surrounding his personal reputation and his organisational ability.

His role as a protest organiser, 19551963 King began work as a Pastor in a church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954. In 1955 he was asked to be leader of the bus boycott sparked off by the Rosa Parkes incident. He was the head of the Montgomery Improvement Association. He stressed the protest was 'non-violent protest'. His house was bombed and he was the first boycott leader to be put on trial. He chose jail rather than pay a $10 fine. King preferred mass action, direct protests. The NAACP preferred to use the courts. His rhetoric pushed him to the forefront of the movement and in 1957 he set up a new organisation, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1960 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia. The SCLC concentrated on the situation in the South, as it was a Church led organisation, preaching non-violence, it did not draw the hostility that other groups did. King's aim was to attract national attention to racial inequality. Marches did gain publicity but the SCLC lacked organisation and mass support and did little to encourage Southern blacks to vote. King himself admitted that the SCLC had achieved little after the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We have discovered a new and powerful weapon non-violent resistance..we see the answer: Face violence if necessary, but refuse to return violence. Martin Luther King Jnr, 1957. King believed that black people lacked the political power to bring about change. he organised campaigns and demonstrations to gain publicity for the lack of black voter registration. His frequent arrests gained publicity at home and abroad. The Civil Rights Movement was boosted by the Sit-ins by students in Greensboro', North Carolina. King had nothing to do with this at the start. Up to 70,000 students joined in the protests and King was swept along by the direct action. The focus moved from tackling discrimination through the courts to mass direct action and it was the Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee (SNCC) who were taking the lead. Another group CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) enthused the civil rights movement with the Freedom Rides (1961). These gained publicity and forced the Federal Government to intervene. They enforced the Supreme Court ruling that desegregated interstate travel. In 1961 students from Albany, Georgia, staged sit-ins at the bus station. Hundreds of freedom riders were arrested. King was invited to become involved, he led a march, but it failed to achieve any change. king recognised it as a defeat. In 1963 King turned his attention to segregation and inequality in Birmingham, Alabama. King was determined to make an impact, he expected there to be white violence which he hoped would gain national sympathy. King was arrested and put in solitary confinement, his

- 11 -

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

'Letter from Birmingham Jail', written on toilet paper and smuggled out by his wife saw King released by the intervention of President Kennedy. The Children's Crusade saw the SCLC recruit schoolchildren to protest and were met with police violence. King gained the publicity he wanted, it persuaded President Kennedy to push through a Civil Rights Bill. It was in support of that Civil Rights Bill that King organised the March on Washington in August, 1963. I have a dream that one day this nation will live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring for every village and every hamlet, for every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! Martin Luther King Jnr, 1963 The march saw the civil rights groups work together. It impressed television audiences around the world. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize, 1964 In December 1964 King won the Nobel Peace Prize, at 35 years of age, he was the youngest man to ever receive the award. However King's leadership was still coming under fire from within the civil rights movement. He was concerned about the conservatism of some of his colleagues, he recognised that what he was proposing was a social revolution which would bring about big changes in American society. There had been little change in Birmingham, four black school girls were killed by a bomb at a Sunday School in September 1963. The leaders of Birmingham no longer wanted outside help in their struggle. He began to recognise problems in the ghettos in the northern cities. In 1965 Selma, Alabama was chosen as the new focus of the struggle. Half the population was black, segregation was strictly enforced, economic differences between black and white were marked. The SCLC would campaign to increase black voter registration. A march was organised from Selma to Montgomery. State troopers attacked the march with clubs and tear gas, it was called 'Bloody Sunday'. However it led to increasing bitterness amongst the civil rights movement when the SCLC withdrew and the people of Selma were left to pick up the pieces. Race Riots, 19651967 The riots in the ghettos of the cities in the North and West saw King change direction. King began to define freedom in terms of economic equality not political equality, the vote was no longer enough. He called for a 'better distribution of the wealth of the USA.' He focussed on social and political equality, he chose Chicago as the battle ground. However he had no real programme and attempted to concentrate on housing issues. He failed to gain much support, the black population splintered and supported various other groups. King recieved little support from the Federal Government, Mayor Daley was a political ally of President Johnson. The President turned against King after he criticised the Vietnam War. The Meredith March, 1966, planned by James Meredith, the first black student at the University of Mississippi, was to be a non violent protest. It was a march from Memphis to Jackson (220 miles) calling for blacks to vote. Meredith was shot on the second day. Black groups vowed to continue the protest, King arrived to join the march. The march split between king and his followers who urged peaceful protest and younger leaders like Stokely Carmichael who demanded 'Black Power' and rejected passive resistance. King felt he had lost his way, the civil rights coalition was collapsing. King wrote a book, 'Where Do We Go from Here? (1967). He called for an improvement in economic conditions, aware that the gaining of votes had cost little, but what he was now proposing was a redistribution of wealth, he planned to broaden his appeal and make it a war on poverty. However his Poor People's Campaign failed to take off.

- 12 -

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

The assassination of Martin Luther King . King had made a speech in Memphis, Tennessee, in support of striking workers. He was assassinated on April 4 , 1968. Riots broke out in 110 cities across the USA He stood in that line of saints which goes back from Gandhi to Jesus; his violent end, like theirs, reflects the hostility of mankind to those who annoy it by trying hard to pull it one more painful step up the ladder from ape to angel. I.F. Stone on MLK, 1968 I do not believe we are any nearer a solution to the black-white controversy than we were in 1870Furthermore, I do not believe it is possible for a black to ever be fully accepted, without any reservation, into the power structure of this country, or even accepted generally as a complete man . E. Morrow, grandson of a slave, worked for the government on Civil Rights in the 1950, writing in 1973.

Was Martin Luther King a success or a failure in terms of delivering Civil Rights to Black People in the USA? Weigh up the evidence. He was a success He was a failure

- 13 -

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968

Format of Questions in Unit 2 Section B

The question has two parts; 1. A Describe question (8 marks) 2. An Analysis and explanation question (12 marks) A Describe question (8 marks) You will be given a source as a prompt. It will probably be a picture. Write about the content of the picture. Give a general answer to the question. Write in detail about TWO aspects of the question. Mark Scheme Writes nothing of relevance Describes some relevant facts from the source OR Offers a simple description/narrative that lacks details Describes a number of aspects but lacks details OR Describes one aspect in detail including lots of facts Writes a detailed account of two or more aspects Marks 0

Level 1

1-2

Level 2

3-5 6-8

Level 3

An Analysis and explanation question. (12 marks) You will be given a statement, you must say whether you agree or disagree with the statement. Give all the facts, arguments and explanations that support the statement. Give all the facts, arguments and explanations that oppose the statement. Weigh up the two sides of the argument and come to your own conclusion.

Level 1

Level 2

Mark Scheme Writes nothing of relevance Describes the topic OR Makes general comments with little factual detail or explanation Argues for OR against the proposition gives a number of facts to support case but little explanation OR Argues for OR against the proposition gives one reason but it is detailed and offers an explanation.

Marks 0

1-3

4-6

- 14 -

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968 Level 3 Level 4 Argues for and / or against the proposition, is detailed and fully explained Examines the arguments for and against the proposition and puts forward a reasoned conclusion/judgement.

7-10 11-12

The types of question you may be asked; DESCRIBE The attitude to black people in the southern states in the 1950s and 1960s. The Montgomery Bus Boycott. What happened at Little Rock High School, 1957. The Freedom Rides Events in Birmingham, 1963. The Washington Marches of 1963 The Black Power movement of the late 1960s. The Black Power protests at the Mexico Olympics, 1968. The Civil Rights Act, 1964. The Race Riots of 1965-67.

Analysis Questions How far do you agree or disagree with the following statements; Brown v Topeka was the start of the civil rights movement Civil Rights protests in the 1950s made things worse for black Americans, not better. By the end of the 1950s there had been little or no change in the everyday experience of black Americans. Martin Luther King Jnr was the main reason for the success of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Martin Luther King Jnr had little in common with the Black Power leaders. Martin Luther King Jnr made a significant contribution to the Civil Rights Movement.

- 15 -

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968 EXAMPLES OF EXAMINATION QUESTIONS Section B 2.7; Race Relations in the USA, 1955-1968. Total for this question: 20 marks 7 Study Source K and then answer both parts of Question 7 which follow. Source K Events at Little Rock High School, 1957

(a) Using Source K and your knowledge, describe how racism was challenged in the 1950s. (8 marks) (b) Without Martin Luther King the fight for Civil Rights in the USA would not have made progress in the 1950s and 1960s.. Do you agree? Explain your answer. (12 marks)

- 16 -

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968 Section B 2.7; Race Relations in the USA, 1955-1968. Total for this question: 20 marks 7 Study Source K and then answer both parts of Question 7 which follow. Source K US athletes on the medal rostrum at the Mexico Olympics,1968

a)

Using Source K and your own knowledge, describe the Black Power protests at the Mexico City Olympic Games and how people reacted to the protests. (8 marks) The early successes of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and the early 1960s were mostly in the area of transport. Do you agree? Explain your answer (12 marks)

b)

- 17 -

Revision Civil Rights in the USA, 1955-1968 Section B 2.7; Race Relations in the USA, 1955-1968. Total for this question: 20 marks 7 Study Source K and then answer both parts of Question 7 which follow. Source K President Johnson signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act, in the presence of Martin Luther King, Jnr.

a)

Using Source K and your own knowledge, describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its importance in the USA. (8 marks) Segregation was so deeply entrenched in the southern USA that not much was achieved in the 1950s. Do you agree? Explain your answer (12 marks)

c)

- 18 -