JFK Civil Rights Flashcards
(14 cards)
How was life for African-Americans in the North?
- Poverty and discrimination remained issues- many big cities were dependent on low-pain and insecure work
What did data from the 1960 Civil Rights Commission show?
Black people’s life expectancy was 7 years lower than that of white people; infant mortality was twice as high and over half of housing they lived in was substandard
Who was one one of the most well-know civil rights leaders in the North?
Malcom X
- Made famous by ‘The Hate that Hate Produced’ TV documentary and meeting foreign leaders such as Castro
Why was Malcolm X not as ‘directly successful’ as other civil rights leaders?
- High profile, oratory skills and clashes with MLK
- But it was essential in the civil rights movement- MLK saying he made the white authorities more willing to engage with King’s side of the movement because they feared the radicalism of Malcolm X
What was life like for black Americans in the South?
- Supreme Court victories like Brown vs Board of Education should’ve ended segregation, but didn’t
- Frustration grew at the unfair system and at white politicians who were elected after promising to fight desegregation
- Attitudes amongst many of the Southern white population were slow-changing- laws against discrimination did not stop abuse and violence
- The adversity made the Civil Rights movement increase its efforts to achieve equality
What was George Wallace’s promise?
Elected governor of Alabama in 1962 for saying ‘segregation now. segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.’
What were the sit-ins?
- Started under Ike at a Woolworths counter in North Carolina
- Led to the formation of SNCC
- Kennedy secured King’s release when he took part in a sit-in in 1960, so Kennedy’s election encouraged the move
What were the Freedom Rides?
- 1961 CORE decided to repeat the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, which involved waiting rooms and restaurants in the South that remained segregated
- James Farmer led a group of 13 riders (7 white, 6 white) to travel from Washington to New Orleans
- Riders were met with violence- were beaten and attacked @ various stops
- In Annison, AL, the bus was firebombed and the riders badly beaten (nearly burned alive)
How did the did the administration react to the Freedom Rides?
- Robert Kennedy called for a cooling off period and secured agreement from the Govenors of Alabama and Mississippi to protect the riders.
- 300 riders were arrested in Jackson, MS
- RK applied pressure to ICC and in Nov 1961 they ended all segregation on inter-state travel and facilities
- Huge victory for CORE
- Shocking images shown across US and the World
What happened in Birmingham, AL?
- Nicknamed ‘Bombingham’ due to KKK bombings,
and with the police controlled by ‘Bull’ Connor, who called the KKK to attack the Freedom Riders - Birmingham was one of the most racist places in the US
- SCLC led marches, sit-ins and boycotts. King was arrested and wrote his Letterr from Birmingham Jail’
-Decision to use young children in demonstrations - Bull Connor deployed officers w/ dogs, clubs and arrested children- even used high-pressure hoses
- Kennedy admin secured King’s release, but his hotel was bombed
- Led to 3000 troops being moved to the area, the federalising of the Alabama National Guard became a possibility
What happened on 15th September in Alabama?
KKK bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church and killed 4 young girls
What was the March on Washington?
- Organised by the ‘Big Six’- leaders of CORE, NAACP, Urban League, Sleeping Car Porters and SCLC
- 27th August 1963- Washington, 200,000 marchers aimed to pressurise Kennedy to bring forward Civil Rights Legislation and highlight economic discrimination- ‘For Jobs and Freedom’
- Kennedy endorsed the march, 19,000 troops and no marchers were arrested
- ‘I have a dream speech’- possibly greatest speech of all time- 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, 1963 Time’s ‘Man of the Year’
What were Kennedy’s policies in response?
- Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Voting Rights- 57 cases brought against southern states violating black voting rights, but admin backed downtp pressure from Democratic senators over voting rights in Mississippi
- Kennedy wasn’t veryproactivee instead reacting, especially when it was harming the US international image
Who opposed the Civil Rights movement?
- White citizens council and the KKK: WCC exerted economic pressure and spread propaganda; KKK used violence and murder
- Members of the general population: the ‘mob’ often stirred up by anti-Civil Rights groups
