Source 9 is a personal statement by Elizabeth Eckford that tells us how she has not got a bit of bitterness in her. She tells us of the people shouting abuse at her but also tells us of one white man who comes up to her, pats her on the shoulder and says ‘Don’t let them see you cry’. This source is of quite high reliability as it is a personal account and gives us her viewpoint of the situation.
Source 10 is a Gallup Opinion poll (13th Jan 1957) and asks the question about the situation of the schools and segregation. It shows that the souths are a lot more racist than the entire USA. This source is of limited reliability, as we do not know if as many blacks were asked as whites and how many were asked. Gallup has a high reputation, as it is the leading polling company in the US.
Question 4.
How useful is source 11 to an historian studying segregation in the American south?
Source 11 is a biased source, which decreases its usefulness and reliability. It is a speech made by James Eastland, A white member of the US senate of Mississippi, on the topic of racial segregation in the Senate on 27th May 1954. Mississippi was a place where segregation was violently and sometimes peacefully fought. This source can be reliable in a sense that it shows another view; in this case it shows how southern whites saw their situation and their justification of their actions. It is his opinion but ultimately stands as an opinion of most southern whites. Eastland is distorting the truth when he says ‘…segregation is not discrimination … segregation is desired…’ This is a contradiction to the state rights. I think Eastland is being led by the crowd and is not leading the crowd, he says what the people want to hear not what he wants them to hear. To an historian this source is of limited reliability and therefore in not useful.
Question 5.
How is the behaviour of white people towards black people in these sources?
Source 8 is a picture and shows Elizabeth Eckford walking into a previously all whites school. The white people, men, women and students are shouting at her hurling abuse. This can be shown as you can see the hatred in the eyes of some of the whites and their mouths open as if they are shouting at her. She is walking with pride and is calm and under control. She is clearly non-violent towards these people who are clearly abusing her mind by these insults. In the background you can see some troopers but we don’t know if they are state troopers and are blocking their way or if they are federal troopers and are keeping protesters back. Photograph sources can be hard to analyse as their caption can change the picture completely. The camera cannot be biased but the person taking the picture can. We do not know if the picture has had anything taken out which may be relevant to us. For example to the left or right of the picture there could have been people supporting her. Just because these people are black does not mean they are inferior.
Source 12 is another picture source and shows three civil rights protesters sit at a lunch counter reserved for whites at a Woolworth’s store in Jackson, Mississippi. In the picture we can see that they are surrounded by whites and are being abused. The whites are smearing them with mustard and sauce and are being sprayed with paint. You can see the whites laughing and having a good time. The three civil rights supporters are non-violent and are not giving any abuse back at them. This picture is a useful source as it shows two sides, the whites that are abusing the supporters and the white that is a supporter also. This tells us that not all whites hate blacks and some actually fight for black civil rights.
Question 6.
‘Bob Dylan promoted the civil rights movement’ How accurate is this view of Bob Dylan’s motives for writing ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol’
This view is not very accurate, as other factors are included in the motives of writing this song. The first motive is fame, every singer wants fame and to get it you need to sing about what they want. Also some people may become long-term fans and continue listening to his music. Another motive for this song could be the money; Dylan could have just been in it for the money. Another motive could be a true morale he has to support the black civil rights activists. He could have truly supported the AWM and may have been a supporter himself.
One man called Patrick Humphries who wrote books on Dylan. He knew Dylan very well and gives a positive view of Dylan. He could have been biased as he was also in the music business and was a good fan of Dylan.
Joan Baez, Dylan’s girlfriend, a folk singer and a civil rights activist speaks on Dylan’s motives. She believes he was in it for the money and the fame and not the moral. She mentions that he never went to any of the marches and was not interested in all that political stuff. She was not saying that he was not committed but that he was not severely committed in the long-term.
Bernice Reagan a black student activist in Albany, Georgia and a member of the freedom singers. She says how great he was and how he motivated all the civil rights activists to keep going. He believes that Dylan was a true supporter of the AWM and was in it for the morale.
Question 7.
‘The life of American Blacks has undoubtedly improved since the 1950s.’ Using all of the sources and your own knowledge how far do you agree with this interpretation of the changes in the life of American blacks?
The life of blacks has changed in some aspects but not in others. I think it hasn’t changed as much as it should. Since 1800’s it has changed a significant amount, but from the 1950’s it has not changed a lot.
Sources 1,2 and 3 all show how the life of blacks was in the 1950’s, which was a terrible time to be in America if you were black. In the 1800’s blacks were sold to whites as slaves because of the colour of their skin, nothing to do with what they were like as a person. They were mostly slaves in the south of America. They were abused and treated badly by their owners if they done anything wrong no matter how small. The sources mentioned above have many examples of Discrimination towards black people in the 1950’s. They show racial discrimination in the workplace, shops, buses, sporting, Health services, housing and education. Most of these do not exist anymore but they can in people’s heads. There are still some bitter whites that believe that they are better than black people. In source 4 a young girl Anne Moodey speaks of what she fears and how there is a new fear known to her. This new fear is that she may be killed just because of the colour of her skin. This source from 1968 is written shortly after the death of Emmett Till, it is reliable but only shows the view of one black girl. Source 5 is a song by Bob Dylan called ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’ that is about a 51-year-old kitchen maid called Hattie Carroll who is murdered by William Zanzinger a rich young white man. For the murder he only received 6 months sentence, this shows how America has an unfair justice system. Source 7 is an extract from the New York Times (September 1957); it is named ‘White reaction to desegregation of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas.’ In the source it shows some of the abusive things the whites say about the blacks, they quote ‘Look! They’re going into our school…They’ve gone in’ people began to panic and say more racial comments ‘the niggers are in our school’ then everyone went hysterical, women were crying and girls began to shriek. This source shows us how whites overreacted so much and only because a few kids with different coloured skin enrolled to the school. Source 9 is a source, which is of Elizabeth Eckford who is one of the black students who enrolled to Little Rock High School. She describes the day she first entered the school. This shows us that the white people were not all that bad as one of them comforted her when she was at the bus shelter. Source 11 is a speech by James Eastland, a white member of the Senate. He speaks about segregation and how both races desire it. This source shows us how the senate will try to make out as if people want segregation, but they don’t.
One true change in the life of blacks in America was the anti-discrimination laws. Some of these were about housing, employment, voting rights, etc. These were very significant to the black population as it gave them equal rights. This shows that there was change but laws cant stop peoples mindset towards racism. Source 14 also shows an improvement in the bus service. It is a picture of Rosa Parks, a black woman, sitting in front of a white man on a public bus. This was due to many campaigns for equal rights on buses. Source 15 is a very significant source; it shows us some vital statistics of where it shows the position of black Americans. Unemployment rose by 3%, Number of black elected officials rose from 280 to 7,552, the average household income quadrupled, poverty rate decreased by 20%, High school graduation rate rose by 13%, the population rose by 3%. The number of discrimination complaints in 1965 was 8,854 and then in 1991 it was 49,000. This shows an improvement as the black mans confidence has risen. Source 16 is a source about a journalist who travelled through southern America wrote about the following. He wrote all about the blacks and whites eating lunch together and integrated in the workplaces. Also he mentions how the police teams were made up of blacks and whites. This source shows us some of the good things other sources don’t. For example other sources usually say how there is no integration or blacks and whites eating together. This source shows the earlier improvements that are not mentioned in many other sources. Source 17 is a statement by Donald Hill a black professor of law at Texas Southern University. He says the same thing, as above only that there is only integration at work until 5 o’clock when the blacks and whites retreat to their own isolated worlds. This source is a view and does not support a wider view but his own. Source 18 is ‘Civil Rights in America 1945-89’ by Tony Lancaster. He mentions some black actors and how they have films built around their personalities. He also mentions that the ghettos are a reason for the high crime rates and drug problems. This is all down to inequality in housing and the area surrounding. This source is a neutral source and has its own capabilities.
I agree with the statement that the life of American blacks has undoubtedly changed since the 1950’s. There is a lot of evidence supporting this but also some evidence that goes against it.
