Militancy and Frustration
US History Name: ______
Do Now:
The Ghettos Erupt, 1965 – 1968:- In the North, African Americans faced segregation based on residential living patterns; Many African Americans were confined to decaying inner cities
- In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee
- African American frustration erupted in a series of riots that shook Northern cities three summers in a row
- The Kerner Commission concluded that the lack of job opportunities for African Americans, urban poverty, and racism were the chief factors for the riots
The Black Power Movement:
- New militants believed in Black Power – that African Americans should use their votes to win concessions from government and that they should control their own communities, patronize their own businesses, and free themselves from domination
- Advocates believed that they should be proud of themselves and that “Black is Beautiful”
- New groups challenged the leadership of traditional, non-violent organizations like the NAACP
b)Black Muslims believed Islam should be the religion of African Americans
c)Black Panthers demanded reparations to the black community
Malcolm X:
- A leading black Muslim, questioned Dr. King’s policy of non-violent resistance
- He urged African Americans to obtain control of their own businesses and communities; he was assassinated by rival black Muslims in 1965
Native American Indians:
- Under the slogan “Red Power,” Native American Indians formed the American Indian Movement
- Sought greater pride and respect for their heritage
- Introduced the term “Native American” and protested racial biases and stereotypes commonly found in textbooks, television, and movies
- Dramatized the plight of Native American Indians by temporarily occupying government monuments like Alcatraz Island and Wounded Knee, South Dakota
1-What is a ghetto? ______
2-Why did many African Americans live in ghettoes in the North? ______
3-What happened in the late sixties in some ghettoes? ______
4-Why did this happen? ______
5-Explain “Black Power.” ______
6-Explain “Black is Beautiful.” ______
7-What did the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee bar? ______
8-What did Black Muslims believe? ______
9-What did Black Panthers want? ______
10-Define reparations. ______
11-Who was Malcolm X? ______
12-What did Malcolm X believe? ______
13-What happened to Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King? ______
14-What does “Red Power” mean? ______
15-What did Native American Indians want in the sixties? ______
16-What organization did Native American Indians form in the sixties? ______
17-What did the American Indian Movement do to dramatize the plight of Native American Indians? ______
18-Define militant. ______
19-Why do you think some African Americans became militant in the sixties? ______
20-How did American society fail African Americans in the sixties? ______
21-Why do you think some Native American Indians became militant in the sixties? ______
22-How did American society fail Native American Indians in the sixties? ______
23-Does racism and discrimination still exist in the United States today? ______
24-In what ways has American society improved regarding racism and discrimination? ______
25-In what ways has American society not improved regarding racism? ______
26-Should African Americans and Native Americans be given reparations for past injustices? ______
- After the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, African Americans continued to experience political and economic oppression mainly because
(2)many African Americans distrusted the Federal Government
(3)Southern legislatures enacted Jim Crow laws
(4)poor communications kept people from learning about their legal rights
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.’” —Martin Luther King, Jr. Washington, D.C., 1963, March on Washington
Which step was taken following this speech to advance the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.?
- desegregation of the Armed Forces
- ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson
- elimination of the Ku Klux Klan
- passage of new civil rights acts
- Cesar Chavez created the United Farm Workers Organization Committee (UFWOC) in 1966 primarily to
(2)improve working conditions for migrant laborers
(3)provide legal assistance to illegal aliens
(4)increase farm income /
- Filibusters were used by United States Senators from the South in the 1950s and 1960s to
(2)protest United States involvement in Vietnam
(3)override presidential vetoes of environmental bills
(4)gain approval of presidential appointments to the Supreme Court
- During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, activities of the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Urban League, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) illustrated that
(2)different approaches can be used to achieve a common goal
(3)organizational differences usually lead to failure
(4)violence is the best tool for achieving social change
- Lunch counter sit-ins and the actions of freedom riders are examples of
(2)programs dealing with affirmative action
(3)violent acts by the Black Panthers
(4)nonviolent attempts to oppose segregation
P.S Definition: Filibuster
“Informal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.”
~ senate.gov
Primary Source: Excerpt from Black Power by Stokely Carmichael, 1966
“Black power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it. We should begin with the basic fact that black Americans have two problems: they are poor and they are black. All other problems arise from this two-sided reality: lack of education, the so-called apathy of black men. Any program to end racism must address itself to that double reality.
Almost from its beginning, SNCC sought to address itself to both conditions with a program aimed at winning political power for impoverished Southern blacks. We had to begin with politics because black Americans are a propertyless people in a country where property is valued above all. We had to work for power, because this country does not function by morality, love, and nonviolence, but by power. Thus we determined to win political power, with the idea of moving on from there into activity that would have economic effects. With power, the masses could make or participate in making the decisions which govern their destinies, and thus create basic change in their day-to-day lives.
But if political power seemed to be the key to self-determination, it was also obvious that the key had been thrown down a deep well many years earlier. Disenfranchisement, maintained by racist terror, makes it impossible to talk about organizing for political power in 1960. The right to vote had to be won, and SNCC workers devoted their energies to this from 1961 to 1965. They set up voter registration drives in the Deep South. They created pressure for the vote by holding mock elections in Mississippi in 1963 and by helping to establish the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) in 1964. That struggle was eased, though not won, with the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. SNCC workers could then address themselves to the question: “Who can we vote for, to have our needs met – how do we make our vote meaningful?”
…Ultimately, the economic foundations of this country must be shaken if black people are to control their lives. The colonies of the United States – and this includes the black ghettoes within its borders, North and South – must be liberated. For a century, this nation has been like an octopus of exploitation, its tentacles stretching from Mississippi and Harlem to South America, the Middle East, southern Africa, and Vietnam; the form of exploitation varies from area to area but the essential result has been the same—a powerful few have been maintained and enriched at the expense of the poor and voiceless colored masses. This pattern must be broken. As its grip loosens here and there around the world, the hopes of black Americans become more realistic. For racism to die, a totally different America must be born.
…As for white America, perhaps it can stop crying out against “black supremacy,” “black nationalism,” “racism in reverse,” and begin facing reality. The reality is that this nation, from top to bottom, is racist; that racism is not primarily a problem of “human relations” but of an exploitation maintained—either actively or through silence—by the society as a whole. Camus and Sartre have asked, can a man condemn himself? Can whites, particularly liberal whites, condemn themselves? Can they stop blaming us, and blame their own system? Are they capable of the shame which might become a revolutionary emotion?
Identify five significant points made by Stokely Carmichael regarding Black Power:
- ______
- ______
- ______
- ______
- ______
Analyze the following images:
Explain the meaning of the political cartoon: ______
Explain the meaning of the political cartoon. ______
Who was CésarChávez and why was he significant? ______
Explain the meaning of the political cartoon. ______