In Source C The leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, said that the Civil Rights Movement had a ‘remarkable record of achievements’ thanks to direct non-violent actions. As Martin Luther King was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, his comments should not be used to judge its success. Even though all his comments are true they may be exaggerated as he is so involved in the whole event.
Martin Luther King believes that the recent changes in civil rights have happened thanks to the direct non violent actions of the Civil Rights Movement. Whereas Source D, the conversation between two young blacks printed in Newsweek, is not positive about the Civil Rights Movement. The two young blacks think the changes came about thanks to the race riots held in areas such as Watts, Newark and Harlem. The riots were organised by the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers, led by Malcolm X, dismissed Martin Luther Kings not violent methods of protesting and believed that Black Americans should arm themselves and force the whites to give them equal rights.
The conversation is held in Detroit which was ‘the riot to end all riots’. The comments made by the two young blacks may be exaggerated as they were involved in the riots but also they do not give a very positive image of blacks and also they are being racist as they call white people ‘Honkies’. Although Newsweek has a reputation as a good magazine, the conversation may not be reliable as it is not painting a very positive picture about young blacks. It criticises the Civil Rights Movement and its method of direct non violence and it thinks that the reason why black Americans are becoming accepted as part of the USA is because the race riots and violent actions of the Black Panthers.
The winning of the vote can not be disputed as a major achievement for the Civil Rights Movement. The huge increase in the majority of southern states, regarding the number of blacks being registered to vote shows that blacks are finally becoming part of the American society and are having a say in the way the country is run. The statistics shown in Source E are from the US government, so they are accurate and can be trusted as being reliable. The figure for Arkansas has risen from 42% to 81% this is probably because of the events that happened at Little Rock. The President had sent in Federal Troops to escort black students into the previously all white school because the State Governor had stopped them. The local black population would be angry with the state for doing this and would vote to try and change the state officials. The increased voter registration in 1971 was not as high in other states, some were still below 50% and in Tennessee and North Carolina the figure actually went down, to below what it was before the voting rights act in 1965. Although the Civil Rights Movement gained the Voting Rights Act and allowed blacks to have an active say in how America was run, it also intimidated the whites. They became concerned about the growing strength of blacks which made them more determined to stop the Civil Rights Movement.
Source F, the film Mississippi Burning is fictional, however it is based on historical facts. Therefore actions portrayed in the film may not be entirely true but have relevance to the Civil Rights Movement. The film begins by showing how intolerant white people in the south are, as they murder the three civil rights activists. It then shows that things are changing as the American government is beginning to take things seriously and sends the FBI to try and solve the crime and punish the murderers. Throughout the film we see numerous attacks on the black people, which further prove how racist the people of the Deep South are. However, near the end of the film many of the whites begin to change there opinions and begin to lose there prejudices and are not Anti-Black anymore. This film makes the Civil Rights Movement seem successful as it has managed to change the attitudes of white Americans which was what they set out to do.
The Civil Rights Movement did achieve a great deal in the 1950s and 1960s. It increased awareness of the problem of racism and protested for change. Thanks to the protesting of the Civil Rights Movement they managed to gain the right to vote for blacks and also helped to get desegregation in schools. The actions of the Black Panthers may have been more hard hitting but it also caused further racial tensions because of the violent methods involved. The Civil Rights Movement Managed to improve the quality of life for black Americans and make them an important part of society which they had never been before.