4.3.2
Divisions in the Civil Rights Movement
Divisions in the Civil Rights Movement
Divisions in the Civil Rights Movement
Divisions within the Civil Rights movement began to grow as some black people were dissatisfied with the progress made to help them financially, socially and politically.
Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction
- Some black people were dissatisfied with the progress made to help them financially (especially those in Selma when King left after the Voting Act was passed).
- Malcolm X’s campaigned for Black Power and gained followers by focusing on the horrific treatment of the people living in ghettos.
Detroit Riot, 1967
Detroit Riot, 1967
- Between 1964-1968 rioting in black ghettos increased all over the country.
- In 1967, the cities of Newark and Detroit saw large scale riots and the government sent in troops to stop them.
- The troops used brutal violence against the rioters.
- In Detroit, 2,700 US Army troops used 201 rounds of ammunition to stop the riots.
Newark Riot, 1967
Newark Riot, 1967
- The Newark riot was caused by the long-standing horrendous living conditions in ghettos but was incited by police brutality against a black taxi driver.
- The National Guard was sent into Newark to stop the rioting.
- Violence and looting broke out.
- The police unleashed extreme violence against the black people of Newark, including shooting elderly people through the windows of their home and one 11-year-old boy in the back of his parent's car.
- 26 people died.
- Following the riot and the condemnation from authorities and the NAACP, 1,000 people went to a Black Power Conference.
Response to the riots
Response to the riots
- Johnson authorised investigations into the cause of the riots.
- Unsurprisingly, economic deprivation was identified as a cause.
- Yet, whilst the authorities understood that money needed to be spent on tackling the economic deprivation faced by many black people living in ghettos, the government didn’t want to back spending on them, especially as military spending on the Vietnam War had to be increased.
'Self-improvement'
'Self-improvement'
- Many white people advocated black ‘self-improvement’.
- They refused to recognise that the poverty and ghettoisation of black neighbourhoods were caused by racism.
- They stereotyped black people as lazy and believed they needed to help themselves through hard work.
- This encouraged many black people to turn to movements such as Black Power.
Radicalisation of CORE and the SNCC
Radicalisation of CORE and the SNCC
CORE and SNCC became more radical and violent in the late 1960s.
Radicalisation of CORE
Radicalisation of CORE
- In 1966 CORE adopted the principles of Black Power, declaring non-violence inappropriate if black people had to defend themselves against violence.
- By 1968, white people were expelled from CORE.
Radicalisation of SNCC
Radicalisation of SNCC
- The SNCC became frustrated and impatient at the seeming lack of progress for black people.
- One event that highlighted this especially was when black delegates were not allowed to sit at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City in 1964.
- The leadership of the SNCC became more radical.
- Stokely Carmichael was replaced by Henry ‘Rap’ Brown who advocated armed self-defence.
SNCC and the Black Panthers
SNCC and the Black Panthers
- In 1968 SNCC merged with the Black Panthers.
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
Jump to other topics
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
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