Black Power

Question 1

What had Malcom X experienced as a child regarding the KKK?

Answer 1

He and his family were frequently harassed by the KKK who burnt down his family home in 1929. His father was possibly killed by the KKK in 1931. His Mother became mentally ill and he was placed in care.

Question 2

What did Malcom’s English teacher tell Malcom to do?

Answer 2

Malcom suggested that he wanted to be a lawyer however, his teacher told him that as a black man he would not be suitable for this and he should instead do something with his hands.

Question 3

What happened to Malcom once he left school at 15?

Answer 3

He became involved in crime such as burglary, robbery and selling of fake alcohol which led to his arrest in 1946 which led to him being sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Question 4

What organisation did Malcom X join in prison?

Answer 4

He met Elija Muhammed after which he joined a radical group known as the Nation of Islam which believed in Black supremacy, Malcom preached to people in the prison about the White Devil.

Question 5

What did Malcom X do once he left prison?

Answer 5

He was released from Prison in 1952 after which he opened his own temple in Boston where he encouraged African Americans to use whatever force necessary to get their message across.

Question 6

What did Malcom X say about a man laying a hand on you?

Answer 6

In a speech he claimed that if a man should lay a hand on you should “send them to the cemetery”.

Question 7

Why did Malcom X change his surname?

Answer 7

He changed it from his slave name “little” to X to show that he believed he was African not American, he encouraged other people to do the same.

Question 8

In what ways did Malcom X disagree with king?

Answer 8

MLK argued that black people should fight racism with peace, Malcom instead believed that change could only be achieved through force.

Question 9

What did Malcom X do after he became disillusioned with the Nation of Islam?

Answer 9

He founded Muslim Mosque Inc as well as the Organisation for Afro-American Unity. He also visited various muslim nations in 1964 such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia and changed his name.

Question 10

What did Malcom X come to the conclusion of after his trip?

Answer 10

He had spent a lot of time which black and white muslims and he came to the conclusion that the answer to racism was not always violence, he now saw all people as equal.

Question 11

What happened to Malcom once he returned to America regarding the NOI?

Answer 11

He received numerous death threats from the Nation of Islam which forced him to move to the UK for a few months. His house was firebombed in February 1965 but he escaped unharmed.

Question 12

How did Malcom X die?

Answer 12

One week after the fire bombing of his house he held a speech in New York, a few minutes into his speech he was shot 16 times by members of the NOI. He died before paramedics could arrive.

Question 13

What did Malcom X say in his speech to Oxford University Students?

Answer 13

He carried out his speech on the 3rd of December 1964. He stated that the media had a knack for framing dissenters as radical extremists and the establishment as reasoned moderates.

Question 14

When and why was the SNCC founded?

Answer 14

It was founded in 1960 as a group of racially integrated students inspired by the Greensboro Sit Ins and CORE.

Question 15

How did the SNCC aim to challenge segregation?

Answer 15

They wanted to engage in direct non-violent action and members took a course on how to deal with abuse.

Question 16

What did the SNCC want to do about the South?

Answer 16

They wanted to help increase the number of black voters in the South as they knew that African Americans needed representation.

Question 17

How did the SNCC take MLK’s campaigns further?

Answer 17

They took their form of non-violent protest into more dangerous areas that traditionally MLK would not engage in protest in.

Question 18

Who led the SNCC?

Answer 18

It was initially led and founded by Ella Barker with the help of the SLCC. Later Stokely Carmichael became the leader who took a more radical approach.

Question 19

What did Bob Moses try and achieve as leader of the SNCC?

Answer 19

He was leader throughout 1961 and pushed heavily for voting rights, they targeted the vote in Alabama, Georgia and Mississipi.

Question 20

What setbacks did Bob Moses face?

Answer 20

His campaigns faced severe police brutality and arrests as well as KKK violence with shootings and bombings occurring regularly. African Americans who tried to vote were still threatened.

Question 21

What did the SNCC do in regards to education?

Answer 21

They placed a heavy emphasis on education and believed that educating young black people was crucial which is what they achieved through setting up freedoms schools.

Question 22

Why did the SNCC begin to witness a shift in ideology?

Answer 22

They had initially cooperated with other non violent groups however, they had become disillusioned, they had faced shocking levels of violence in the 1961 Freedom Rides and the 1964 Freedom Summer.

Question 23

How successful had the SNCC been in achieving voting rights in the South? prior to their ideological shift.

Answer 23

By the end of the Summer of 1964 only 17’000 African Americans in the South had registered to vote and only about 1’600 were able to do so.

Question 24

What problems did the SNCC face in the Summer of 1964?

Answer 24

6 SNCC members had been killed and a further 35 were victims of shootings and violent beatings, furthermore only those who could avoid the cost of their bail could join.

Question 25

Why did the SNCC split in 1965?

Answer 25

One group favored the continuation of non violent action alongside other groups, meanwhile the other group moved towards black power and Marxism.

Question 26

What was Carmichael’s first action as leader of the SNCC?

Answer 26

He set up the Lowndes County Freedom Organization which placed an emphasis on Black People voting for Black candidates rather than their only option being a white supremacist.

Question 27

What did Carmichael do in 1966?

Answer 27

He pushed for the CRM to remove its association with white campaigners and replaced their slogan of “freedom” with “black power” which was symbolized by a raised arm with a clenched fist.

Question 28

Who led the Black Panthers?

Answer 28

Led by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.

Question 29

What did the Black Panthers do in regards to community efforts?

Answer 29

They provided free school breakfasts and lunches for African American children as well as maintaining order within African American communities.

Question 30

What about the Black Panthers gained government attention?

Answer 30

They were very militant in nature and would wear uniforms as well as carry firearms.

Question 31

When was the Black Panthers founded and how did it quickly gain influence?

Answer 31

They were formed in Oakland California in October 1966 and chapters were set up across the country in part due to media attention.

Question 32

Who was J. Edgar Hoover and what he brand the black panthers as?

Answer 32

He was the director of the FBI and he stated that they were “the greatest internal threat to the security of the USA”.

Question 32

What international backers did the Black Panthers have?

Answer 32

They gained the support of Mao Zedong as well as Fidel Castro and their berets were inspired by the ones worn by Che Guevara.

Question 33

What actions did the FBI do to attack the Black Panthers?

Answer 33

Nixon approved of the use of COINTELPRO operations to destroy the Panthers and over 30 members were killed by Police or the FBI.

Question 34

What problems did the Panthers face in 1967?

Answer 34

Newton was convicted of murdering a police officer in Oakland and furthermore the assassination of MLK led to a shootout in Oakland in which two officers were shot and Bobby Hutton was killed.

Question 35

What did the 10 point program of the Black Panthers set out?

Answer 35

• We want freedom, We want power to determine the destiny of our black community.
• We want full employment for our people.
• We want an end to the robbery by capitalists of our black community.
• We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings.
• We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in present day society.
• We want all black men to be exempt from military service.
• We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people.
• We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county or city prisons.
• We want all black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their black communities, as defined by the constitution of the United States.
• We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.

Question 36

What issues did the Black Panthers bring to prominence?

Answer 36

The push for an end to job discrimination and lower pay as well as black university staff and the teaching of black history.

Question 37

How did the Black Panthers influence the NAACP?

Answer 37

Although they certainly didn’t adopt their more militant methods they did start to advocate for the “we want action now approach”.

Question 38

What impact did Black power have on the Civil Rights Cause?

Answer 38

When riots broke out in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia in 1964 the federal government sent in police however, as African American people fought back police brutality began to be seen as more acceptable.

The media now began to publish pictures of black militants armed with petrol bombs beginning to fight back.