The consequences of such actions were evident in 1957 when at Central High School in Little Rock, Kansas as (source A illustrates), a young black student out of a possible 9 may her way into a previously all white school well after the desegregation law had been passed. Much antagonism was shown surrounding the event that president Eisenhower was forced to send in troops to protect the nine students, make speeches of restoring harmony yet said nothing of the future integration between blacks and whites.
Indeed was evident that the policy of desegregation within schools was a sensitive one, which consequently caused white backlash and upheaval, and where many young black students suffered verbal (source A) and physical assaults from white counterparts. Even after the Supreme court had declared that public school segregation was unconstitutional, schools opted to close rather than integrate and consequently there were only 2-3% of children attending desegregated schools by 1964 and 10 years on, many black children were still attending racially segregated schools (source F).
Black activism was indeed necessary to compel the federal government to implement the decision and extend its principles to all areas of public life rather than simply in schools. But even where the Supreme Court supported racial equality the federal government was slow to act.
In the North, although not faced with legal constraints on their freedom, African Americans suffered discrimination in housing, education and employment and it was only with the New Deal and the Second World War that employment and housing opportunities began to open up for them. Blacks along with whites benefited by the programmes introduced by Roosevelt to combat poverty through the numerous housing and employment schemes. Though such incentives lead to suggest because of this there was a growing improvement in the standard of life for both whites and black families (source Bii). Particularly since the source has no geographical breakdown of whom the data represented, the progress gained through employment if not limited was only an advantage to the small proportion of middle-class blacks whose numbers in professional occupations doubled before 1960 into the 1970s.
A small minority of black Americans in the South were provided with such opportunities and being largely of working class status were entailed in the menial and low-skilled work, living on or below the poverty line with median incomes significantly inadequate for the simple necessities of domestic life ‘ 1964: $5,921 - 1968: $7,603 for blacks’ compared to ‘1964: $10,903 – 1968: $12,668 for whites’ (source Bii). The extent of progress for African Americans was largely exaggerated and generalised by white Americans (opinionated white resentment) and was rather dependent on positive discrimination in employment rather than a gain in social acceptance.
Black activism was not only an effective factor alone but so too was presidential involvement although minimal. In the early 1960s President Kennedy was also drawn reluctantly into action on behalf of African Americans because Southern states were defying the federal government on the issue of civil rights. Ironically it took Southern democrat President Johnson to redress a century of inaction and unwillingness to become involved in the cause of African American civil rights. With the initial phase of black protest activity during the 1960s and a similar commitment from Johnson there began a growing encouragement into anti-discrimination and the citizenship of black Americans (source C). The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial discrimination in employment, restaurants, hotels and schools and the Voting Rights act of 1965 greatly increased the number of Southern blacks able to vote.
Still, by 1966 unemployment rate for blacks was twice the national average (source F) and yet, these laws were to be the last major racial protests of the 1960s to receive substantial white support.
The essence of change in legal perspectives reflected some presidential actions taken and the activism of black/biracial groups.
Nonetheless, some black individuals were less than supportive at their limited and restricted progress to legal term’s only. These laws had little or no great impact on society due to the prevailing persistence of white racism and its limitations to only economic and political issues such as voting and housing, where ‘many obstacles were overlooked’ (source Di). Such criticism was a result of the little felt in the way of equality being experienced by its black members. In some cases, one can justify why many blacks opted for the radical forceful actions ‘we want black power’ in accomplishing effective change which would bring about a turn in social policy alongside the law (source Dii).
Even in the later years (source F), as good as these laws were to do they actually had minimal effect in improving the social significance of blacks in American society ‘black ghettos…reminders of the persistence of white racism’.
Although some whites reacted negatively to the spreading protests of the 1950s and 1960s, much of what was achieved was due to the linkage of black militancy and idealism of effective leaders and organisations ‘black activism…played the most important part’. Their discontent forced action for the promotion of social equality and the break down of intense white resistance in the rural Black belt of the South. Such drive caused Southern segregation to shatter and create a rise in the confidence of black Americans (source E).
The most important achievements of the African American civil rights movement have been the post-civil war constitutional amendments that abolished slavery and established the citizenship status of blacks. However, despite the civil right gains of the 1960s, racial discrimination and repression remained a significant factor in American life. Civil rights advocates acknowledged that desegregation had brought about improvements in the lives of poor African Americans but they too were divided over the future direction of black advancement efforts. The modern African American civil rights movement like similar movements earlier had transformed American democracy and served as a model for the group advancement and group pride efforts.
