Challenges and Changes in the Movement

1. Challenges and Changes in the Movement Chapter 21, Section 3

2. What did civil rights groups have in common in the early 1960s? • Calls for pride in black identity and commitment to change the social and economic structures that kept people in a life of poverty

3. Why did the civil rights movement begin to change in 1965? • New leaders began to focus on racial prejudice rather than legal segregation in the North

4. What are the differences between de facto and de jure segregation? • De Facto Segregation: segregation that exists by practice and custom • De Jure Segregation: segregation by law

5. Why is de facto segregation more difficult to fight than de jure segregation? • It’s much harder to change people’s minds than it is to change the law.

6. How did the movement’s challenges differ by the end of the 1960s? • It was more difficult to convince whites to share economic and social power with African Americans than to share lunch counters and bus seats.

7. What led to “white flight”? What was the consequence? • Whites moved out of the cities to the suburbs when African Americans started moving North during and after WWII. • Cities suffered from low economic activity that resulted in poor housing, underfunded schools, and high unemployment rates.

8. What happened to MLK when he tried to end segregation and unequal protection of African Americans by Chicago police? • King and his followers were attacked by angry whites who threw rocks and bottles • King was forced to leave the city without being able to change the attitudes of the Chicago police

9. How did African American frustration manifest itself in 1964, 1965, 1966, & 1967? • Race riots broke out across the North in hundreds of cities as young African Americans demanding change clashed with white police officers • The Watts Neighborhood Riot resulted in the death of 34 and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property damage

10. What were some of the causes of urban rioting in the 1960s? • Lack of economic opportunity in jobs, housing, and education

11. Why was LBJ’s “War on Poverty” unable to alleviate African American suffering? • Money that would have gone to Great Society programs was redirected to pay for the Vietnam War

12. In which direction of activism were new leaders, such as Malcolm X, taking frustrated African Americans? • The new leaders were urging African Americans to take complete control of their communities, livelihoods, and culture

13. How was Malcolm X transformed by his jail term? • His study of the teachings of ElijahMuhammad led him to become a member and minister of the Nation of Islam (the Black Muslims)

14. What was Malcolm X’s message to his followers? • He claimed whites were the cause of the black condition and that blacks should separate from white society • He called on African Americans to arm themselves for self-defense against the brutal attacks leveraged by white supremacists

15. How was Malcolm X’s message received? • His dramatic message received heavy news coverage • His calls for African Americans to arm themselves frightened whites and moderate African Americans • Some members of the Nation of Islam were angered by the attention Malcolm X was receiving

16. How did Malcolm X’s pilgrimage to Mecca transform his philosophy? • When he learned that Islam actually teaches racial equality, he switched his message to “ballots or bullets” – while he did not fully believe the vote would fix all of the problems of African Americans, he began to preach that it was better to seek change political change rather than through violence.

17. For what likely reason was Malcolm X assassinated? • His separation from the Nation of Islam likely led to assassination as a traitor to the organization

18. What caused the tension between MLK (SCLC) and the followers of CORE (Floyd McKissik) and SNCC (Stokely Carmichael) during the 225 mile walk against fear? • SNCC & CORE members became militant when finishing James Meredith’s “walk against fear” in opposition to MLK’s non-violent philosophy

19. What was the meaning of Stokely Carmichael’s slogan Black Power? • "Black Power" expresses a range of political goals, from defense against racial oppression, to the establishment of social institutions and a self-sufficient economy. • It was seen as a replacement of MLK’s more passive slogan “Freedom Now”

20. What was the philosophy of Huey Newton and Bobby Seale’s Black Panthers? • Formed to fight police brutality, the Black Panthers advocated self-sufficiency, full employment, and decent housing for African Americans • They also protested the unfair number of black youths drafted into the Vietnam War

21. What was the impact of the Black Panthers? • Even though the Black Panthers clashed frequently with police, their community efforts won supporters in urban ghettos: • By creating daycare centers, free breakfast programs, free medical clinics, and providing assistance to the homeless

22. 1968 – A Turning point in civil rights

23. Why was MLK in Memphis on April 3, 1968? • He was there to support striking garbage workers

24. Who assassinated MLK? • James Earl Ray

25. What was the core message of Robert Kennedy’s statement on page 721? (A Eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) • The nation should not turn toward division – rather the nation should work toward the compassion Dr. King preached

26. Legacy of the civil rights movement

27. What was the finding of theKerner Commission on the cause of urban violence? • White racism

28. What was the Kerner Commission’s recommendation to end urban violence? • End the destructive ghetto environment by creating jobs, constructing new housing, and ending de facto segregation

29. What issue did the Civil Rights Act of 1968 cover? • Discrimination in housing

30. What were the 3 major effects of the civil rights movement? • More African Americans completed high school and college which led to better jobs & business opportunities • Pride in Black identity increased • Voting rights increased and led to the election of more African American officials

31. What were the unresolved challenges facing African Americans in the 1970s? • Housing discrimination • Job discrimination • Educational inequality • Poverty • Racism

32. Why were some proposed solutions so controversial? • Some white were angered by the idea of sending tax dollars collected in the suburbs to schools in the inner city and busing students to schools outside their home district to achieve school integration

33. What challenges are facing urban African Americans today as a result of white flight? • Many schools have become segregated de facto • Poverty rates are three times higher in black communities due to a lack of jobs

34. What is Affirmative Action? • Programs that make special efforts to hire or enroll groups that have suffered discrimination

35. How was Affirmative Action supposed to improve conditions for African Americans? • By helping to equalize educational and job opportunities

36. What led to the concept of “reverse discrimination?” • Some people claimed hiring or enrollment quotas for minorities denied more qualified white candidates opportunities

37. The end