Obstacles to Civil Rights 1918 - 1941

1. Obstacles to Civil Rights 1918 - 1941 Aim: To understand why there were obstacles to civil rights from 1918-1941

2. Why were there obstacles to Civil Rights between 1918 and 1941? There are 5 main arguments here: Widespread WASP Racism (MAIN/ROOT cause) Terrorist organisations like the Ku Klux Klan “De Jure” Segregation in the South A Lack of Political Influence Divisions within the Black Community

3. Argument 1 – WASP RACISM (main/root cause) • Slavery abolished in 1865 yet many WASPs still saw blacks as inferior, legacy of slavery. • Blacks stereotyped as golliwogs, sambos, “Jim Crow” figures by WASPs • DE FACTOsegregation – housing shortages, blacks in ghettos such as Harlem • Stoning of black teenager for floating too close to a white beach, murdered in the water – leads to Chicago Race Riots of 1919

5. Argument 2 Black Americans struggled to achieve civil rights because of white supremacist terrorist organisations like the Ku Klux Klan

6. Argument 2 – Ku Klux Klan • THINK! • What was the KKK? • What were its tactics? • What was its size? • What was its influence?

7. Argument 2 – Ku Klux Klan • The “Second Wave” of the KKK grew in the 1920s, peaking at an estimated 5 millionmembers • Based on D. W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nationwhich glorified the original Klan -> • The white costume and the lighted cross are derived from the film • Based on romantic concept of old England and Scotland, as portrayed by Sir Walter Scott • President Woodrow Wilson allegedly described the film as "like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true” • However, this was subsequently denied

8. The KKK aimed to terrorise and persecute all non-WASPs: blacks, Jews and Catholics were all threatened. Blacks were murdered, beaten, lynched, intimidated and prevented from voting.

16. Judges, lawyers, teachers, policemen, politicians, doctors – anyone could hide behind the hood of the KKK. The “Invisible Empire” This made it nearly impossible to bring Klansmen to justice.

17. President Coolidge was allegedly influenced by the KKK!

18. Argument 2 – Ku Klux Klan: LYNCHING

19. Argument 2 – Ku Klux Klan: LYNCHING

20. Argument 3: “Jim Crow” Laws De Jure Segregation in the South

21. The Beginning of Jim Crow… • WASPs were worried that blacks could get political power. Because of this threat, the Southern states decided to create new laws. • Under the Constitution, states were allowed to do this, but the central government was not happy with the new laws the Southern states passed… • “Jim Crow” would be the name given to these laws, after a racist black caricature • DE JURE(legal) segregation

23. Jim Crow Laws • The Southern state passed laws of segregation, which effectively denied blacks their legal rights. • Most of the laws were passed between 1870 and 1900 and the details differed from state to state. • All Jim Crow laws were designed to keep blacks and whites separatedandsegregated.

24. Some examples of Jim Crow Laws: • Florida – marriages between blacks and whites were banned • Georgia – blacks could not use white parks and vice versa • Mississippi – separate schools for coloured and white children • Alabama – employers must provide separate toilets for blacks and whites • Louisiana – Black blind people could not be cared for in the same building as whites

28. “Separate But Equal” - 1896 • In 1892, a black man named Homer Plessyobjected to having to move seat on a train just because it was “reserved for whites”. • He was arrested and the case eventually went to the Supreme Court, America’s highest level of court. • Plessy argued that Jim Crow was against the constitution, but he lost the case. • The Supreme Court of the USA decided that black and white Americans could be segregated if the facilities were “Separate But Equal”

29. This is Homer Plessy... He was an “octoroon”, meaning he was one eighth black.

30. Jim Crow Becomes “Respectable” • Basically, the Supreme Court had said segregation was acceptableand therefore the problems it caused were also acceptable. • After this decision, Jim Crow spread like wildfire through the Southern states. • Segregation became respectable and turned even responsible people into racists. Even future President Woodrow Wilson said that “segregation is a benefit for you black gentlemen” • Segregation spread across the USA and racism became an everyday part of people’s lives for the next 50 years.

31. Argument 4: Lack of Political Influence • In the South, many Black Americans were denied the right to vote • Supreme Court Ruling of 1876meant States could govern as they wanted • This led to Voting Qualificationsbased on literacy or income, effectively denying Blacks the vote • Blacks had technically had the vote since 1867, but many Southern states took steps to ensure they could not. • If Blacks voted, they would seriously challenge white supremacy! They had to be stopped…

32. Political Problems - VOTING • “How many bubbles in a bar of soap?” • “Grandfather Clause” effectively prevented any Black American voting in states which had it • Blacks could not own land in the South, so they could not serve on juries – denied fair trial • Southern Blacks lacked a political voice and so could not put pressure on their government to improve their position. • In the North, there was still great racism and prejudice

33. An ironic look at literacy tests for Black Americans

34. Argument 5 – Divisions within the black community Booker T. Washington set up the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to educate black Americans Argued that blacks should not antagonise whites and instead win acceptance through hard work and education.

35. Argument 5 – Divisions within the black community National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People NAACP set up by Du Bois in 1909 to work within the legal system to improve black rights Rejected the more timid approach of the Tuskegee Institute and instead took legal action to challenge racism.

36. Argument 5 – Divisions within the black community Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association – black pride, black separatism Argued that WASP racism was so deeply entrenched that there was no point trying to overturn it. No negotiation with white America. There was no unified “black position” on how to achieve civil rights, therefore little progress made.