Source F is a speech made by one of the leading members of Black Power, James Foreman, who was also the minister of foreign affairs for the Black Panthers. It shows a more radical view of Black protest. It seems like an excuse to use violence and solely concentrates on this, but is rather useful, as it gives us insight into the mind of a Black activist, and how he tries to whip up a crowd. Historians can understand why people were frightened of Black Power, because they are planning to ‘attack the white western world’. Not only is how they will do this vague, but it’s rather intimidating to a listener, at least if they’re white. A speech is a piece of rhetoric that often uses exaggerations and other persuasive techniques, and this speech is quite eccentric and radical in places, emphasising the idea of all whites being racist. It is an emotive call to arms. From a leading spokesman for an organisation, which was increasingly unwilling to rely on legislation, passed by a white congress and signed by a white president.
Source G is a conversation between young blacks about the race riots in Detroit. The article was published in a famous magazine ‘Newsweek’, and I think it shows little progress. These boys are proud that they took part in a race riot and they seem to think they can get away with it, which gives the impression that they’ve no respect for the law. It seems to be a competition between young blacks for the best race riot. They don’t even care that it’s their city that going up in flames, they think it’s a white city. To me this gives the impression that whites and blacks are more divided in some cities. These boys could’ve been at school learning to be doctors, lawyers, teachers or plumbers, but instead they’re sitting here feeling satisfaction for attacking their own home town. They are sinking to the level of their opposition, for example the KKK, who also burned people’s houses. What does this prove? That they will do anything for their cause, or they don’t actually care about anyone but themselves? The source shows how strands of black opinion in America have been polarised, as this article was published in the same year as Martin Luther King’s book. The book talks about peace and what the Civil Rights Movement has achieved, whereas this source talks about violence and pride of that violence. It is safe to presume that young blacks are not going to listen to Martin Luther King, but are vastly more likely to listen to Source F, James Foreman speech. On the other hand, one of them says, “My kids are going to study about that in school”, which shows that they are more likely to get an education. At least they have started sticking up for themselves, but they’re going about it the wrong way. If you act with violence, all you will get back is violence.
There are still people who are racist in America. We know this because there are still mainly black and white areas in cities. They are still separated, although this is not enforced as a law. Even with the election of Barack Obama, there is still racism as some people refused to vote for a Black president. However, the election of a Black president is a huge hurdle that the Civil Rights Movement only dreamed to leap over. But the fact that people fear Obama will be assassinated is just another piece of evidence that America still has racist people.
Some of the sources do show a lot of progress, for example, I think Source H does this. This source shows that Black Power is fighting back and though it may not be ideal that one boy died, at least they are showing that they won’t be pushed around. It shows that the police are corrupt and that the Civil Rights Movement is trying to overcome this. Martin Luther King showed courage and determination, which is honourable and brought supporters to the cause, but Martin Luther King has been assassinated and the Civil Rights Movement doesn’t truly recover and is no longer united to the same respect. However, the work does continue because there has been an increase in equality’s popularity. 97% of whites thought that blacks should have equal job opportunities. The source ends with us learning that a black mayor was elected in 1973 in Los Angeles. This shows progress because this was exactly what Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement had been working for, and before them, this could only have been dreamed. This source is also more reliable, in that it’s taken from a textbook published at least ten years after the events it describes, and one may assume that the facts in it have been checked.
Source E shows a lot of progress, because Martin Luther King uses facts, which can be checked, although it’s interesting that the 1960 sit-ins mentioned were in fact organised by the SNCC, Students Non-violent Coordinating Committee. They were among King’s strongest critics; they felt his policies were too moderate. Although the fact that he is writing this book suggests that his position might be under threat, and is justifying it, he tries to show that his way is the best way. This illustrates the division in the Civil Rights Movement, as he fails to even acknowledge the possibility of other tactics, perhaps because he is losing support to Black Power. The title of the book ‘Chaos and Community’ clearly illustrates the crossroads reached by the Civil Rights Movement in the late 60’s. King represented the community solution and integration, whereas the Black Panthers represented the Chaos in King’s view of separate black government.
Source I also shows a lot of progress because blacks won the right to vote by the Voting Rights Act. This shows them exercising it, for example in Georgia and Alabama, to leading southern states, where the percentage of blacks registered has increased greatly. This is a huge achievement and one of the basic Civil Rights. Thousands of black people are voting and this means that they have more influence and power in the system, because either can now control who is elected as governor or mayor of a state. There is a huge increase of black voters in total, but many people still aren’t registered. This could be because they can’t be bothered or that they’re still afraid of racism. We can’t analyse the results fully unless we also know how many whites are registered, and there will also be white people who can’t be bothered to vote. The Voting Rights Act meant that so were not deprived of the vote. The terror and racism has also decreased incredibly, with the KKK seeming to have dropped of the map or at least vastly decreased. Some of the percentages haven’t got much higher, so there must still be some problems, but the majority have increased greatly, which shows great improvement. It is also more likely to be trusted as it comes from official sources. Perhaps the most important point of all is that, legislation and Supreme Court judgements have been handed down before, but not implemented. This shows that both government and state authorities had ensured that Blacks were able to exercise their right to vote, which is a fundamental civil right.
Source J, the film Mississippi Burning also shows great progress because at the end of the film there are blacks singing with whites openly in the church. Although this could just be a cinematic flourish by Alan Parker, rather than an accurate representation of the past. This is the makings of integration. The whites and the blacks are working together and they even have the support of the FBI, and therefore presidential support, in trying to ensure that people can live without fear. But the FBI couldn’t get the KKK members tried for murder. This is because murder is a state charge and the men would be tried in a state court, where they would not be convicted due to the corrupt judiciary system. So they were convicted with a lesser charge, violation of the Civil Rights Act for which the maximum sentence was ten years, because it is tried in a federal court. This proves that you can pass as many laws as you like, but until you can enforce them and people accept them there will not be substantial change. In addition, the murdered black boy’s gravestone has been repeatedly destroyed and replaced several times. So the racism that he died to eradicate is obviously still prevailing. Otherwise, people would see that he died so that others may live freely. The FBI, in the film, had to resort to criminal activities to get a conviction, because the police force and the judges are corrupt. The wife of the deputy says “You wouldn’t even be here if two white boys hadn’t disappeared”. The FBI agent denies this, but this belief shows that there is still racism in the North and perhaps that the disappearance of black boys is a frequent occurrence. But at least they were fighting racism and the KKK. The wife was willing to suffer to protect and help the blacks, but does the courage of the wife outweigh the strength of the racism? Nevertheless, the film is a piece of entertainment, and so its first purpose is to be enjoyable. There will be some parts of the film that are not true to the story. This is to dramatise it and make it more suitable for Hollywood.
Two amendments were implemented, the 14th, which gives equality before the law and was passed in 1868, in the aftermath of the Civil War and after the emancipation of slaves. And also the 15th-the right to vote-which was passed in 1870. These were finally enforced nearly a century later.
The Southern states said that the segregated education system was ‘separate, but equal’. However, the reality was that the Negro facilities were vastly inferior. If a Black student wanted a good education he or she had to attempt to enrol in an all-white school. Moreover, at the end of the 1960’s they are able to do this. So equality, or a sort, has finally been achieved in education.
The main things that were achieved in the 1960’s were: a black could stand before a jury for the same crime as a white and get the same verdict; a black could enrol in an all-white school; you couldn’t persecute someone because of their colour, and get away with it. Overall, this was the biggest achievement of the Civil Rights Movement. As these were the foundations, on which Blacks achieved equality in other areas.
