events would took place match Eckfords account but just from a different perspective. Despite
probably being white, the writer didn't water down what he saw, he made a point to show the
rest of America the way black were received in south America. Source C backs up Eckfords
account because it gives a visual account of what happened which bears many similarities to
Eckfords account of the events that took place in Little Rock High School in September 1957.
The differences between the written accounts we are given are subtle but noticeable. Eckfords
account is from someone who the abuse is directed at whereas the article's stance is someone
looking over the situation. The situation is also covered in different ways, Eckfords relocation
comes across in a way to get the reader to despise these white oppressors, but in the article the
writer is just writing about what he saw. The article would of meant different things to different
people. To people who supported segregation this would of been seen as acceptable behaviour
whereas to people who supported the Civil Rights Movement, this would of been looked upon
as over-dramatic racism at it's worst. Also, Eckford describes her feelings to maybe try and
gather some sympathy but the writer seems more concerned to cover what the white students
were feeling.
I feel that we can trust Elizabeth Eckfords account of the events that took place at Little Rock
High School in Alabama in 1957 because of many reasons. One reason being that someone as
well known as her wouldn't be able to exaggerate what went on because it would be received
very badly and she'd get a bad name for herself and that wouldn't help the Civil Rights
Movement. Another reason why her account would be reliable because she wasn't the only one
who had to go through the same treatment so if 8 other people said the same things as her it
would be very hard for anyone to doubt her story. One more reason to back up the reliability of
her account is the fact that her ordeal was caught on national TV and national press and most of
America saw the unadulterated hate spewed towards her.
3. For a very long time Martin Luther King Jr. was a spearhead for the Civil Rights Movement,
50 years on he is still considered a legend by black people around the world for the work he
did for black people in America. He bled and fought for his beliefs, he was a devout Christian
and a family man. Martin Luther King will best be remembered for his peaceful protests and
anti-violent demonstrations. He fought non-stop for the desegregation of America, He event
went as far as trying to get John. F. Kennedy to pass a second Emancipation Proclamation. Not
only was he loved and respected by black people around the world he was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize on the 10th of December 1964. He won the support of black people and white
liberals alike. His "I have a dream" speech will go down in History as one of the most immortal
speeches ever. Despite his successes his methods also had it's faults.
Martin Luther King Jr's Civil Rights Work were not in vain, some of his successes included; the
desegregation of interstate bus stations in 1956, The desegregation was the first of many
achievements for Martin Luther King's Civil Rights struggle. He was also the cofounder of the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), This organisation was committed to use a
non-violent form of protest. Martin Luther King Jr. also wrote many books that talked about the
Civil Rights Movement, the most important book being "Stride Towards Freedom" this book
was to have a considerable influence on the Civil Rights Movement. King's main form of
peaceful protest was his "Sit In's" Martin Luther King and his followers would stage sit-in's at
places normally reserved for white people. For a long time Martin Luther King could do no
wrong with the government, black people or white liberals. He will probably be credited for
helping black people get the equality to able them to vote. King was even present on the 2nd of
July 1964 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
In contrast to his successes his failures were there to see too. Black people could vote but that
doesn't mean all white Americans wanted them too, they were kept from voting by violence, in
some states, if a black person tried to vote they were beaten and made examples of. Despite
having support of many elder black people and white middle-class liberals he had very little
support from young black Afro-Americans who usually had to get the bad end of the abuse
given to them by the white Americans who opposed the Civil Rights Movement. Even though
the peaceful protests were getting some good results most black people still lived in the urban
slums and in desperate poverty. Not all of his protests were as successful as the Montgomery
Bus Boycott, when King tried to end segregation at Lunch Counters in the spring of 1963,
Police fired hoses and let dogs attack the protesters, this would of lost the support of many
black Americans, especially the ones involved. Not only was he losing support from young
black Americans, he was losing support from the government because it cost them money to
help Martin Luther King Jr. fund the Civil Rights Movement, and when he made remarks about
the Vietnam conflict and President Kennedy's handling of the Birmingham Bombs the FBI
turned against him and started to put him under surveillance. I can see from these sources why
Martin Luther King Jr.'s methods were starting to be questioned, were all the beatings and
deaths worth being allowed on the same bus with the people do did such crimes to blacks? Did
black people want to be integrated with people who would rather lynch them than school with
them? All these questions were asked and Martin Luther King didn't have much of an answer to
give them, but along came someone who did...
Malcolm X, another black activist like Martin Luther King Jr. who also wanted the best for
Black Americans but wanted to get it a different way. Malcolm X's methods were welcomed by
the young black Afro-Americans who were considered the future of the Civil Rights Movement.
Malcolm X didn't want to be integrated with the same white people who did his people wrong.
He believed that it was time to take control from white people and this scared many white
people, and fear leads to violence and that's what happened but rather than protest in a non-
violent way, Malcolm X told his followers to give as good as they got. If they were struck, they
should strike back Malcolm X wanted to be given his own state so black people could live off
each other and not be controlled by "the white devil". His main argument against white America
was the fact that they sent black soldiers to fight for America but when they came home from
battling for America, they were still treated like slaves. When there was talk about a black
revolution, Malcolm X reminded America that there has only ever been one type of revolution,
one that was bloody and was caused over ownership of land. He compared the problems with
integration and shared land with past revolutions such as the French and the Russian. He
strongly supported Black-Power and Black self-respect he believed we should not have to
suffer for our freedom, we should fight for a freedom and fight they did. This proved popular
with many young black Americans because it was an alternative to Martin Luther King Jr's
peaceful protests. Malcolm X didn't have a problem with what Martin Luther King Jr was doing
he just didn't think it was the right way to go about it.
Martin Luther King Jr. belonged to the Civil Rights Movement and Malcolm X belonged to the
Nation of Islam which served the needs for black people across the country with things such as
Schools, Stores, Farms ect...These weren't the only groups however and there were others who
were preaching Black-Power groups like that included the Black Panther Movement. The
Black Panthers were a direct contrast to the Civil Right Movement, while the Civil Right
Movement sang 'We shall Overcome' the Black Panthers chanted things such as 'Burn Baby,
Burn' and 'I'm black and I'm proud' the timing of this group was crucial because the country was
at war in Vietnam and weakened by the antiwar protesters so if there ever was a time to get
America to listen, it was now.
Malcolm X and MLK. Didn't dislike each-other they respected each other for the work they
did for the equality of black people. They did it in very different ways and only one can wonder
what they could have achieved if they worked together. Despite sharing the same struggle they
only ever met for the first and only 24th of March 1964. They died within 5 years of each other,
both at 39 years of age.
4. In 1962 America's main worry was the Vietnam War, In 1963/64 America became more
concerned with Racial problems and Integration there are many reasons for this.
The concerns about War, Peace and International problems stemmed from the Vietnam/Cold
War America was having with the communist U.S.S.R. The threat of nuclear war scared the
whole world into believing the end was near and the Vietnam conflict didn't do anything to calm
the nerves of Americans. Race and mostly Integration was beginning to become a worry for
white Americans because Communists wanted everyone to be equal in their country and as did
The Civil Rights Movement. Many blacks were accused of being communists because they
wanted the same things as communists did but what they failed to realise is, is that they didn't
want to get it in the same way, they wanted to be treated like Capitalist Americans and not
Communist Americans but with people are in a state of panic they were, they didn't see it from
the black side of the argument.
The communists wasn't the only reasons why America had become concerned about race. The
aforementioned Panthers started to grow in numbers around this time and this caused dissension
within the white community because they followed Malcolm X's teachings. Even though the
Black Panthers weren't violent by nature, if they were pushed hard enough they would fight the
whites.
It wasn't just the Black Panthers that were worrying America, even peaceful Martin Luther King
came under scrutiny when the FBI tried to undermine the Civil Right Movement by paying some
aggravators to turn Martin Luther King Jr.'s peaceful protests into full-scale riots. This was most
evident when a peaceful march in Memphis turned into a riot which embarrassed Martin Luther
King Jr.
Another thing that would of worried Americans during the 60’s is the assassinations of the
biggest political figures of the decade. Starting with John F. Kennedy getting assassinated by a
sniper by the name of Lee Harvey Oswald. Then Malcolm X was assassinated which led Martin
Luther King Jr. to believe that he would soon suffer the same fate and like Moses, he may never
reach the promised land with his people the next day he was shot by an escaped convict by the
name of James Earl Ray. Two months later Robert Kennedy was assassinated. All these deaths
could of been connected to communism in some way which Americans feared the most, for the
white Americans, their President was dead and for the black Americans their two most
influential leaders had been assassinated.
5. I agree with the statement that television and the media played a crucial part in ending
segregation in the USA because it opened not only America's eyes but the worlds eyes to the
disturbing antics of southern America. The treatment of blacks made America look bad to the
rest of the world and America had set standards that it wanted the rest of the world to follow
and when things like that are seen on TV's across the word it makes America look hypocritical.
Although television helped end segregation it wasn't the only reasons why black people were
given equality. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr's tireless work towards the Civil Rights
Movement played a big part in giving blacks something they had fought for over the span of 20
years. Even though the Civil Rights Movement was helped by Television, it was also kept back
by the coverage of black people being violent.
Not all TV stations were fair and many stations only showed the black people being violent
towards the white people but the truth is, many were defending themselves from attacks from
white oppressors and this gave America a reason not to give blacks equality. It wasn't just the
bias news that stopped the Civil Rights Movement from progressing it was many Sitcoms on TV
that sent a stereotypical message out to the whole country. Many shows showed black people
as drug-abusing, stupid and primitive which gave white America even more reasons to stop
blacks from being equal. An example of this was a show aired in America that showed a family
built it's life around selling crack. When things like these are shown to people it gives them the
message that blacks are below them.
When someone says that television helped end segregation they are partially right but they might
forget to mention that television also helps Americans build a stereotypical view of black
Americans. It will give out ideas that despite they have the power to vote doesn't mean they
have the mind power to actually use the vote to their advantage. Maybe it's Americas way of
getting back at black Americans for getting the equality they deserved.
For around 400 years America treated black people as second class citizens and/or slaves. 160
years ago slavery was abolished and 40 years ago so was segregation, but how far has the
black power movement really come? Sure they have equality and respect on paper but do they
have the respect of their white counterparts? Would a white person and a black person be paid
the same for the same job for the same hours? Do most Americans still picture black people as
primitive second class humans? People say that TV helped segregation but after segregation
was abolished TV started to show more black people on TV because people no longer had a
"problem" with black people but the problem with that was they only showed one kind of black
person, A drug-dealing, sleazy, common, uneducated full-of-brawn oaf. Is this the right message
for America to send to the young children of it's country? Because what a child sees on TV is
something that will stick with them for the rest of their lives unless told differently. If nothing is
done then white people will always look down on black people. That raises the question, what
will it take to shake that label and be accepted as normal people? Will there ever be a black
president? maybe if there were then America would overcome that racial barrier that has been
blocking them for centuries. We had the first black lead actor in 1960 Sidney Poitier and we
had the first black sporting superstars in Basketball and Golf, Michael Jordan and Tiger Wood
respectively. We now have a black man in one of the most important roles in American Politics
with Colin Powel. Black culture is being accepted by white Americans from it's dress-sense to
it's music but it is still seen as the lesser race. It's true what some people say, even though
they're free, they're still slaves.
