How successful had the Civil Rights Movement been by the late 1960s? (20)

Authors Avatar

Daniel Cross        History CW

        Mr Walters

How successful had the Civil Rights Movement been by the late 1960s? (20)

        By the late 1960s, the civil rights movement had not been as successful as most Blacks would have liked.

        Things like the Buss Boycott of 1955 and the lynching of Emmett Till, a fourteen year old schoolboy, really paved the way for change. People like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were the driving force behind the civil rights movement.

        Although Blacks had success during the civil rights movement, the problems with racism continued in most areas. From 1964 to 1968, the average income for black families roes from $5,921 to $7,603. Despite this, the average income for white families was still $5,000 higher. Newark and Detroit were areas that still had problems. In 1967 there were terrible riots, in which, 83 people were shot dead. Blacks argued that the police used the riots as an excuse to attack them. Most of each city was burned down and many families were left homeless. This made things worse for Blacks, with most of them still living in poverty. The actual number of blacks who lived below the poverty line was 33%.

Join now!

        Throughout this time, however, Blacks had successes as well. In 1967, Carl Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland. He was the first black mayor elected in a major city. Also, Colin Powell became the first black chief general in the army.

        The civil rights movement had concentrated in trying to promote equality in the south, but in the north, the problems were still evident. In 1965 50% of blacks lived in city ghettos, with poor housing and healthcare as well as an inadequate educational system. Towards the end of 1966, the slogan ‘Black Power’ became popular and a lot ...

This is a preview of the whole essay