Black Power Interpretations Flashcards
(13 cards)
Who was Malcolm X?
A leading member of the Nation of Islam, arguing for pride in African American heritage and rejecting the idea of relying on white support to gain rights. He focused on social and economic change, not political rights. He spoke for poor African Americans in the North and stressed the distinctive nature of their African heritage, rather than integration. He rejected non-violence and believed in self-defence. By 1960 he was a well known and influential figure. In 1963 he was dismissed from the Nation of Islam after travelling to Africa and Asia he came to believe more in co-operating with the mainstream civil rights movement. He was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam in 1965, before the effects of change could be felt. The Black Power movement derived from the ideas of Malcolm X in opposing the over reliance of the civil rights movement on white support, anti-colonialism theories and the example of African nationalists in forming new independent nations, an interest in previous separatist movements e.g. Marcus Garvey and disappointment with the effects of political changes and the wave of riots in 1965.
What were the changes in the Civil Rights Movement by 1960 for African Americans?
The more critical outlook of the NOI passed into the Black Power movement and by 1964 the civil rights movement was losing its unity as many saw King and his organisation as little more than ‘Uncle Toms’ excessively dependent on white handouts. The limitation of King’ s achievements were shown when James Meredith, the first ever African American to enter the University of Mississippi in 1962 was shot and wounded on a civil rights march in 1966. The years between the Civil Rights Act and this event had seen increasing racial tension and often slow implementation of reform and change. The previous non-violent SNCC and CORE embarked on a new course. SNCC member Stokely Carmichael, in a rally following the event, said simply “what we need is black power”. There was a more radical, new course between the mid 1950s and mid 1960s. There were local African American leaders in the King era, who urged armed self-defence. The mood changed from cooperation with white America to isolation and confrontation. SNCC and CORE groups began to exclude whites and celebrate African culture, music, food and hair, and make much more radical political demands.
What was the Black Panther movement?
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale extended previous ideas of armed black groups to found the Black Panther movement in Oakland, California. Weapons were carried openly and defence groups were formed against police brutality. In some areas, fighting broke out in the streets and the distinctive Black panther salute was made by two African American athletes in the 1968 Olympics much to the consternation of white America. The 1972 Black Power convention excluded whites. Black Panther aims included economic equality, an end to capitalist exploitation, compensation in the form of land and housing and separate juries for black people and protection from police intimidation. This was a conflict between a white state and a separate black culture. The Black Power movement practised the idea of being self-reliant however it did not attract a huge membership and was heavily influenced by the Nation of Islam. Its goals were too diffuse to be easily realised. it gave rise to new confidence and pride in being black and a sense that white values could be challenged rather then accepted. The achievements of the civil rights legislation began to look at limited as the achievements of Reconstruction in promoting a harmonious society.
What was the Civil Rights movement like until 1992 for African Americans?
The violence in the US cities in 1965 and the rise of militant African American groups disappointed moderate supporters of civil rights. Local and state authorities were often reluctant to implement change. The widespread rioting in ghettos in Northern cities which resulted in 250 deaths, 10,000 serious injuries and 60,000 arrests disillusioned with many supporters of civil rights. The movement split and King’s later campaigns against poverty and the Vietnam war were less successful. Despite gains in voter registration and laws against discrimination, the economic inequality of African Americans was a bar to equal opportunity and fuelled more extreme African American opposition. Recognising the need to do more to reduce discontent and unrest, President Nixon took up positive discrimination in his Philadelphia Plan, and Congress and the Supreme Court backed the policy. The 1972 Equal Opportunity Employment Act helped to increase African American employment. Desegration of education improved, the radical idea of busing children from different areas into desegregated schools made a difference. However it was unpopular and declined in the 1970s as middle class parents found suburban areas where there was no integration policy. Both Nixon and Ford supported parental opposition to busing. By the mid 1970s, the Democrats were more likely to do more for the African American cause. President Carter was criticised for his limited measures. Economic problems dominated with higher oil prices causing inflation and a general slump in the US economy. This disadvantaged African Americans as it had in the 1930s. it made quotas for jobs unpopular and reduced opportunities, a disproportionate number of whom were dependent on state welfare. During the conservative administration of Reagan, there was some progress towards civil rights. The 1982 Voting Rights Act strengthened penalties against discrimination and there was a Civil Rights Restoration Act. From 100 in 1964 to 8000 in 1992 there was an increase in the number of African Americans holding public office. Reagan’s reductions of welfare benefits fell disproportionately on the African American population. Without a central unifying issue and faced with complex social and economic problems, the activities and membership of civil rights organisations declined from the high points of the 1960s.
What were the differences of the Black Power movement for African Americans?
Not have much of a base in the South but spread throughout the USA and even influenced other countries such as Jamaica and Britain. It did not focus on non-violence and perceived a need for African Americans to defend themselves with weapons. It rejected co-operation with white Americans and it saw African American civil rights in a wider context of African history and culture.
What were the gains for African Americans during the Black Power movement?
There was greater interest in African American history, music, dress and appearance. Courses were run on African American culture in schools and universities.There were powerful new ideas of aesthetics, the term ‘black is beautiful’ became linked to ‘afro’ hairstyles and a move away from typing to copy white Americans ‘ style. There was greater publicity for social grievances and inequalities and considerable publicity for a new confidence in African American identity. The 1968 Olympics with two African American athletes doing the black power salute. At a local level there were communities and groups to promote African American rights and economic activities and in 1972 a national Black Political Convention was held to urge reform. The shift from conventional politics to ‘identity politics’ introduced a new type of democratic discussion which impacted on a range of other issues such as LGBT rights and feminism.
What were the limitations for African Americans during the Black Power movement?
The divisions between white and African Americans increased and led to fears and repression, which weakened the impact of the movement and its ability to make changes. The association of civil rights and separatism, violence and radicalism alienated moderate opinion and weakened support for further extension of civil rights. In 1967 Martin Luther King was critical of the movement’s failure to see that progress depends on interracial cooperation. The power of the US state was too great and a considerable amount of police repression was used against radical leaders.
What were the gains for trade unions and labour?
The movement further encouraged the abandonment of any practices within unions that were racist.
It helped to focus concerns on the question of poverty which was a greater issue among African American workers.
This could be linked to Johnson’s Great Society, which aimed to reduce the numbers living below the poverty line.
Some of the civil rights legislation may have been influenced by the movement and this legislation did have a positive impact on the workforce particularly the Economic opportunity Act of 1964.
It also may have encouraged Nixon’s policy of affirmative action.
It provided practical help for African Americans who lived in ghettos and kept the issue of ghettos on the political agenda.
What were the losses for trade unions and labour?
Their militancy and violence lost support not just among whites but also African Americans.
Most of the campaigns did not argue for integration but about black culture and emphasising differences from whites.
Concern about the economic position of African Americans was just one issue among many in the ten-point programme.
It further divided both the civil rights movement and the union movement, with Black Power’s emphasis on African American worker solidarity, rather than worker solidarity.
In economic terms, the main concern was the poverty in which a large number of African Americans lived and this may have resulted in less support for advancing labour rights.
What were the gains for Native Americans?
The most militant Native American protest group was AIM and its emergence followed the period of greatest militancy among the civil rights campaigners, suggesting that it was influenced by it.
The Black Power movement aimed to bring unity to African Americans and this may have encouraged Native Americans to abandon tribal divisions that lessened the impact of previous protests.
The more aggressive tactics of the Black Power movement may have encouraged Native Americans to abandon their more peaceful methods, which they believed to have failed to bring any improvement. The actions of AIM and other Native American groups were much more aggressive in the later 1960s and 1970s.
The mass movement created by Black Power and the pressure it was able to exert on the government, may have encouraged the Native Americans to adopt a similar policy to abandon the NCAI which supported those Native Americans who had done well, rather than those who were struggling economically.
The term ‘Red Power’ was taken directly from ‘Black Power’ and the tactics mirrored this movement and emphasised pride in Native American culture.
What were the limitations for Native Americans?
Red Power arguably owed little to the Black Power movement:
After WW2 there was clear indication in response to termination that Native Americans were more unite in their protests and resistance to government policies and therefore did not influence the Black Power movement. Native American pressure groups were already achieving success and this has resulted in the establishment of the Indians Claims Commission. Militancy was already present among some Native American pressure groups such as the National Indian Youth Council and to suggest there were inspired by the Black Power movement would deny these developments. The growing militancy among Native Americans was more a response to the conditions in which they found themselves following the termination policy and moved to urban areas. This move made it easier for pressure groups to be organised to complain about working and living conditions. The alien conditions that Native Americans encountered in cities made them determined to preserve their distinct culture and way of life. There were a range of protest movements developing in the USA during this time and the protests from Native Americans should simply be seen as one element of that development. There was a change in attitude in American society reflected in the changing attitudes of presidents such as Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon and these changing attitudes encouraged groups to take up their causes as they believed they would have a greater chance of success.
What were the gains for women?
Women took a key role in shaping Black Power and women gained by participating in the movement. Pamphlets and posters produced portrayed women as revolutionary equals and women activists developed a wide range of aims involving day care, food aid and support for poorer neighbourhoods. In the early 1970s, women made up 2/3 of the membership of Black Panthers and their activities, particularly at local level, helped to define the movement (as much as the more dramatic image of male power.) Women had leading roles in the Birmingham Bus Boycott, Freedom Rides and sit-ins and were important organisers in the March on Washington. Female members of the Black Power movement were known as ‘sisters’. Women took leading positions and roles, such as Ericka Higgins who was a high ranking member of the organisation in Connecticut and Elaine Brown was second only in the responsibility on the central committee to the founder, Huey Newton. These leading positions increased confidence and pride.
What were the limitations for women?
The radicalism of the Black Power movement was harmful to the cause of women’s rights as it suggested that both were parts of a wider movement to destabilise US society and undermine the silent majority of middle-class conservative USA.
Traditional male attitudes impeded the rise of women to national prominence and decision making roles which was a feature of Black Power organisations.
Feminism was seen by African American male activists as a ‘white women’s thing’.
Separatist organisations, looking at traditional cultures, had opposed birth control.
Revolutionary violence was often seen as essentially male. Even a dedicated revolutionary, Angela Davis, found herself criticised by male members of Black Power groups. There was a considerable amount of male posturing and macho attitudes which were portrayed as somehow ‘authentically’ African.
For women, local activism often fell into traditional female roles of caring for families and supporting other women.
The fear of African American revolutionary activity provoked a backlash and encouraged conservatism. This may have prevented wider reforms to ensure equality such as the passing of the ERA.
