The African-American Odyssey, 6eDarlene Clark Hine, William C. Hine, Stanley C. Harrold

Unit 6

A More Perfect Union1968-Today

The Rise of Black Nationalism (cont’d)

• Police Repression and the FBI’s

COINTELPRO

• Violence dwarfed community projects

Free breakfast and health care programs

Some of the earliest drug education programs

• FBI Counterintelligence (COINTELPRO)

Destroy black nationalist groups

- Ridicule, discredit leaders, worked with local officials

- Undercover agents infiltrated the Panthers

- Provoked violence and criminal acts

The Rise of Black Nationalism (cont’d)

• Prisoners’ Rights

• Black prisoners out of proportion to

population

Unfair sentences and deplorable conditions

• Angela Davis, black philosophy professor

involved with prisoners rights

The Black Arts Movement

and Black Consciousness

• Black artists creating black art

for black people

Black arts movement criticized

Celebration of black maleness,

racial exclusivity, homophobia

Art should be combined with

involvement in politics &

community life to help blacks

gain status.

The Black Arts Movement

and Black Consciousness (cont’d)

• Poetry and Theater

• Movement’s greatest and most

significant impact

Adoption of “Black” to indicate African

Americans

Chicago-Detroit published new poets like

Nikki Giovanni

New poetry was free, conversational and

militant

The Black Arts Movement

and Black Consciousness (cont’d)

• Poetry and Theater (cont'd)

• Poetry combined sounds & rhythms of

the street, music, and religious sermons

• Theater portrayed ordinary black life,

racism

• West Coast literature movement

compared with Harlem Renaissance

The Black Arts Movement

and Black Consciousness (cont’d)

• Music

• Cultural nationalist saw jazz as

politically useful, independent

• Most blacks preferred rhythm and blues,

gospel, soul

Berry Gordon and Motown contributed to

black freedom struggle

The Black Arts Movement

and Black Consciousness (cont’d)

• Black Studies

• A collective, interdisciplinary scholarly

approach

Black students at white campuses

demanded courses relevant to them.

Federal legislation banned discrimination

Financial aid programs

Presidential Election of 1968 and

Richard Nixon (cont’d)

• The “Moynihan Report” and the Family

Assistance Plan

• Daniel Moynihan, Nixon advisor issues report

• Conclusions:

Breakdown of lower-class black family leads to:

higher crime and poverty, increased drug use

Matriarchal structure and weak family structure

Three centuries of exploitation as factor

Presidential Election of 1968 and

Richard Nixon (cont’d)

• The “Moynihan Report” and the

Family Assistance Plan (cont’d)

• “Retards the progress of the group”

Principal cause for anti-social behavior

Black scholars condemned report

Matriarchy a functional adaptation in a

hostile world

- Diverted attention from positive thrust

Presidential Election of 1968 and

Richard Nixon (cont’d)

• The “Moynihan Report” and the

Family Assistance Plan (cont’d)

• Family assistance plan

Nixon asked for plan for poor families

To give annual payment food stamps

Senate killed it: mixture of oppositions from

conservatives and liberals

Presidential Election of 1968 and

Richard Nixon (cont’d)

• Busing

• Major battles over civil rights in 1970s

focus on desegregating schools

Whether to bus students across district

lines

• White people opposed busing and

demonstrated against having their

children bussed to black communities

• Boston site of many protests

The Rise of Black Elected Officials

• A new generation of black elected officials

• Black power and Voting Rights Act, 1965

Encouraged political involvement

The Rise of Black Elected Officials (cont’d)

• The Gary Convention and the Black

Political Agenda

• 8,000 people gathered to develop an

agenda for black empowerment

Shift from demonstrations to electoral

gains

The Rise of Black Elected Officials (cont’d)

• Shirley Chisholm: “I Am the People’s

Politician”

• First African American woman to serve in

Congress

The Rise of Black Elected Officials (cont’d)

• Black People Gain Local Offices

• African Americans registered impressive

gains in electoral politics

• 2,427 black elected officials, 1972

• 8,106 black elected officials, 1993

The Rise of Black Elected Officials (cont’d)

• Economic Downturn

• 1970s decade of recession, economic

hardships

• Poor black people were loosing ground

• But black middle-class grew

Conclusion

• Civil rights victories changed lives and

culture

Black power, black arts

Black political movement, more black elected

officials

Black studies as a new academic field

• Black arts, consciousness

Opened avenues of new expression

Progress and Poverty: Income,

Education, and Health

• Civil rights progress has led to

socioeconomic changes

• Blacks lead longer, healthier lives

• But disparities remained between blacks

and whites in:

Wealth, schooling, health after centuries of

racial oppression

Progress and Poverty: Income,

Education, and Health (cont’d)

• High-Achieving African Americans

• Oprah Winfrey in television

• Ronald Brown, Secretary of Commerce

• Colin Powell, former Secretary of State

Tiger Woods, golfer

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., public intellectual

• Numerous wealthy black entertainers,

athletes, and business leaders

Progress and Poverty: Income,

Education, and Health (cont’d)

• Oprah Winfrey is an example of black

success today because her media empire

has made her the richest African-American

woman in the world.

Progress and Poverty: Income,

Education, and Health (cont’d)

• African Americans Growing Economic

Security

• White-collar occupations

1940s: 5.2% black men, 6.4% black women

2000: 35.3% black men, 62.3% black women

• Black family income has increased

By 1998, 50% of black families’ at poverty line

Black women earn 94% of white women’s earnings

• Blacks’ average wealth lags behind whites’

By 2000, 48% of blacks owned homes

Progress and Poverty: Income,

Education, and Health (cont’d)

• From the mid 1900s to the 1990s, black

family income increased dramatically for the

middle & upper classes.

• For them, the civil rights laws had led to

improved job prospects, income, &

education.

• The inner-city poor though, faced a decline

in jobs, income, & quality of life.

Persistence of Black Poverty

• Poverty rate dipped in Clinton years,

Rose under G. W. Bush to 24.5%

• Poor blacks trapped in inner-city areas

Marked by crime, drugs, high rates of

HIV/AIDS

Black poverty also persists in South

55% of black children:

- At or near the poverty level in 2000

Persistence of Black Poverty (cont'd)

• Economic restructuring affects blacks in

cities

• Deindustrialization wiped out jobs that

African Americans with limited education

and few skills once held

• Inner cities are often cut off from the rest of

society in terms of access to social

services.

Persistence of Black Poverty (cont'd)

• Deindustrialization

Beginning in the late 1960s,

major manufacturing companies

and industries moved the

production of their goods and

products off shore and relocated

to countries with lower wage

standards and little protection

against labor exploitation.

Persistence of Black Poverty (cont'd)

• Deindustrialization (cont’d)

While companies maximized profits, the

closing of plants and loss of jobs at home had

a devastating impact on black workers whose

high unemployment rates continued to soar

into the new millennium.

Deindustrialization, advances in labor-saving

technology, and the growth of low-wage

offshore production have wiped out many

jobs that African Americans with limited

education and few skills once held.

Persistence of Black Poverty (cont'd)

• Black poverty and the plight of the inner

city remains a major problem today.

• Impact of the 2008–2010 Economic

Recession on Employed Black Women

• Black Female heads of household in 2008

Unemployment rate of 11 percent

In 2009, 3.7 percent higher than 2008

Extended unemployment benefits, nutrition

programs, Medicaid, and tax cuts offer some

immediate relief for families

Persistence of Black Poverty (cont'd)

• Racial Incarceration

• Vast increases in male African-

American imprisonment rates

• African-Americans make up almost half

of nation’s prisoners

Persistence of Black Poverty (cont'd)

• Education One-Half Century

After Brown

• Educational attainment key factor in economic

success

By 2000, 86.8% of blacks had graduated high school

- (Compared to 94% of whites)

By 2000, 1.5 million blacks in college

• African Americans among most educated groups in

world

• Public schools starved for funds

Persistence of Black Poverty (cont'd)

• Challenging Brown

• For over fifty years, conservatives

challenged Brown

• Supreme Court decisions affect racial

diversity in classroom

Persistence of Black Poverty (cont'd)

• The Health Gap

• Shorter lives, worse health

care

Cancer and HIV/AIDS are

greatest threats

Health problems caused by

smoking, obesity, alcohol,

drugs

Blacks more likely to have

HIV/AIDS

African Americans at the

Center of Art and Culture

• Intellectual Movements at the

end of the Millennium

Cultural renaissance emerged,

1980s

- Black history, culture museums,

festivals, literary

Black playwrights

- August Wilson, won Pulitzer

Prize

African Americans at the

Center of Art and Culture (cont'd)

• New Movement differed from 1960s,

1970s

More inclusive, more appreciative of women

Black women novelists include Toni Morrison,

Alice Walker

- Toni Morrison awarded Nobel Prize

African Americans at the

Center of Art and Culture (cont'd)

• African Americans Recognized in Stage

and Film

African-Americans spearhead Broadway

productions

- Oprah Winfrey, The Color Purple

African-Americans win acting Academy

Awards

- Forrest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

- Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

The Hip-Hop Nation

• Hip Hop backup music for rap

• Rap music arose in 1973 in New York

City’s South Bronx

• First commercial rap hit, “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugar

Hill Gang (1979) popularized the term hip-hop

• Grandmaster Flash pioneers scratching, altering

turntable speeds

• Hip Hop offers entertainment and political critique

The Hip-Hop Nation (cont’d)

• Origins of a New Music: A Generation

Defines Itself

• Rap music emerged from black urban

communities

And from younger African-Americans

- Known as “hip-hop nation”

• Rap traced to street boasting, black

preaching,

Afro-Caribbean rhythms

The Hip-Hop Nation (cont’d)

• Rap Music Goes Mainstream

• Russell Simmons, Run DMC early

leaders

• First hip-hop entrepreneurs take control of

production and business side of music

• Def Jam Records expands to clothing, comedy,

poetry

• White suburban teens become fans of hip hop

The Hip-Hop Nation (cont’d)

• Gangsta Rap

• NWA (Niggas With Attitude)

California group

• The group NWA’s 1988 album

Straight Out of Compton

heralded the rise of gangsta rap

and shocked many with its

sexist and violent lyrics.

Black women as objects

• Many rap bands explicitly reject

hard-core obscenity, violence

African-American Intellectuals

• Prominence of black scholars

Black intellectuals participate in public debate

Redefine black identity

Explore race in social and political works

- John Hope Franklin, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

- Nell Irvin Painter, Cornel West

• African-American Studies doctoral degrees at prestigious

schools

• American universities initially rejected but now embrace

black studies programs.

African-American Intellectuals (cont’d)

• Afrocentricity

• African-centered perspective

Championed by Molefi Kete Asante

Goals: Celebrate and reclaim positive African

identity

Afrocentricity needs to challenge Eurocentric

values

- Indictment of American ideals and institutions

• Many black people reject it as

regressive

African-American Intellectuals (cont’d)

• African-American Studies Come of Age

At Harvard’s W. E. B. Du Bois Institute

Henry Louis Gates

Emergence of scholarship that questioned prevailing

gender assumptions also influenced African-

American studies

Black Religion at the

Dawn of the New Millennium

• Religion remains at heart of

African-American experience

Twenty-five million members of

black churches

• African-American membership

growing in Catholic, Episcopal,

others

Demographic changes have

altered churches

Black Religion at the

Dawn of the New Millennium (cont'd)

• Middle class moved to suburbs with new

megachurches

Stress individual relationship to God

Bishop T. D. Jakes

- Best-known minister of new traditions

Black Religion at the

Dawn of the New Millennium (cont'd)

• Black Christians on the Front Lines

• Developed outreach programs for inner

cities

• Help embattled and vulnerable, against

drugs, crime

Black Religion at the

Dawn of the New Millennium (cont'd)

• Tensions in the Black Church

• Tensions over socially conservative

message, patriarchal structure

Staid ritual, and lack of social engagement

- Gender and sexuality key areas

• Black women have challenged churches

African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church

Led way with 3,000 female ministers

Black Religion at the

Dawn of the New Millennium (cont'd)

• Black Muslims

• Nation of Islam: gaining converts

Small portion of 1.5 million black American

Muslims

Clarity and discipline, solidarity with other Muslims

Connection with latest trends

Sept. 11 left many Muslims conflicted

- Denounced attacks

- Troubled by anti-Muslim feeling in U.S.

Louis Farrakhan and

the Nation of Islam

• Potent source of racial division

Son of immigrant parents from West Indies

Dropped out of black teachers’ college

Converted in 1955

• Leader of the Nation of Islam, 1978

Expanded into economic ventures, 1982

- $5 million start-up from Colonel Muammar

Qaddafi

- Supported Jesse Jackson, 1984

- Anti-Semitism and verbal assaults

Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Always controversial, Farrakhan achieved the greatest feat in the history of black mass mobilization, the Million Man March. The actual numbers of black men who heeded his call on October 16, 1995, to attend the Million Man March may forever be in dispute. The figures range from 400,000 to 1.2 million.

Louis Farrakhan and

the Nation of Islam (cont'd)

Millennium Marches

• Farrakhan has reached out to broader

groups

• Million Man March gathered in Washington

D.C., October 16th, 1995

Inspired men to engage with families and

communities

Some goodwill dissipated with Farrakhan’s

later meetings with military dictators in Africa

Louis Farrakhan and

the Nation of Islam (cont'd)

• Farrakhan thought Nation of Islam

members should help themselves by

emulating Booker T. Washington.

• The Million Woman March

Philadelphia, October 25th, 1997

Symbolized the ongoing struggle of black

women

Complicating Black Identity in the

Twenty-First Century

• In 2000 census, 34.7 million African

Americans

12% of total (281 million)

Blacks not largest minority group

- 54% of blacks lived in South

- New York City had 2.3 million blacks

Complicating Black Identity in the

Twenty-First Century (cont’d)

• Census respondents could choose more

than one race

• Challenge to long-standing notions of

“race”

Complicating Black Identity in the

Twenty-First Century (cont’d)

• Immigration and African Americans

• 1965 Hart-Cellar Act

Opened door to immigrants of African descent

• One million Caribbean people to U.S. in

1990s

New cultural patterns emerged

Many migrants from societies with less racial

discrimination

• Some increase in Africans’ migration

Complicating Black Identity in the

Twenty-First Century (cont’d)

• Black Feminism

• National Black Feminist Organization

Articulated concerns, 1973-1975

- Black men-white women relationships

Attacked stereotypes and myths of black women

- Black women outnumber black men in higher

education

- Black women’s history in academia

- Women gained access to affirmative action

programs in higher education.

Complicating Black Identity in the

Twenty-First Century (cont’d)

• Gay and Lesbian African Americans

• Civil rights movement:

Encouraged gays, lesbians, others to fight

for rights

• Struggled against identity in African

American community

• Many black leaders, organizations

embrace movements’ agenda

Conclusion

• Progress despite poverty and racism

“Black soul” contributes to American culture

• Diversity in African Americans’ lives:

Led to changes in conceptions of identity

• Tensions between racial and other

identities:

Will shape 21st century African-American

Odyssey

Jesse Jackson and

the Rainbow Coalition

• Civil rights activist, aide to M. Luther King

• Headed Operation Breadbasket in Chicago

• Founded PUSH after Dr. King’s death

• Shirley Chisholm, first black

Congresswoman, 1972

Sought Presidential nomination, 1984 and

1988

Jesse Jackson and

the Rainbow Coalition (cont'd)

• Rainbow Coalition

Group backing Jesse Jackson’s bid for the

presidency in 1984.

Angered by Reagan’s civil rights, social

welfare rollbacks

- Black people, white workers, Latinos, feminists,

liberals

Jesse Jackson and

the Rainbow Coalition (cont'd)

• Comprehensive and progressive economic

policy

Jackson garnered one-fourth of Democratic

primary votes

Supporters disappointed Jackson not Vice

Presidential nominee

Jackson wanted to represent people who felt

politically marginalized.

Blacks made up almost half the population of

inner-cities in early 1980s.

Ronald Reagan and

the Conservative Reaction

• New Right

American politics shift to the right, 1970s

Ronald Reagan, 1980 Presidential election

- Supported by groups opposed to changes in

society

- Reduced welfare programs

- Staffed agencies with opponents of affirmative

action

Republicans ended Democrats dominance in South

White northerners unhappy about busing &

affirmative action programs supported Reagan

Ronald Reagan and

the Conservative Reaction (cont’d)

• The King Holiday

• Signed into law on November 2nd, 1983

• Officially start celebrating MLK Day in

1985.

Ronald Reagan and

the Conservative Reaction (cont’d)

• Dismantling the Great

Society

• New Right’s goals

Reagan and Bush

- Reduced federal grants

to cities by half

- Appointed black

conservatives

Ronald Reagan and

the Conservative Reaction (cont’d)

• Dismantling the Great Society (cont’d)

• Ended programs crucial to many

black families

Inner-city neighborhoods became

unstable

“Trickle down” theory of

economics

Eventually the poor would benefit

Black Conservatives

• Black Republican politicians

rarely exercised power within

party

William Bell

Clarence Thomas

Clarence Pendleton

Black Democratic politicians

more influential

Debating the “Old” and

“New” Civil Rights

• Reagan and Bush supported “old civil

rights” laws

Brown and 1965 Voting Rights Act

Banned discrimination

New civil rights laws measured statistical

disparities and discriminatory outcomes

Exit Ticket

Why did some black Americans do better than others from the 1970s to the 2000s? How are tensions surrounding class stratification manifested within the black community?

Debating the “Old” and

“New” Civil Rights (cont’d)

• Affirmative Action

• Opposed “new civil rights” laws

Discriminatory outcomes

Statistical disparities with affirmative action

Few civil rights policies in the twentieth century

proved more controversial than affirmative action.

Debating the “Old” and

“New” Civil Rights (cont’d)

• The Backlash

• California center of storm

Alan Bakke sues Univ. of California

White man who said university’s

admission requirements discriminated

against him.

Republican Governor Pete Wilson

- Ended affirmative action in state

employment, 1995

Debating the “Old” and

“New” Civil Rights (cont’d)

• The Backlash (cont’d)

• California center of storm

• Minority admissions at University of California

have dropped

Black Political Activism at the

End of the Twentieth Century

• Increasing participation

• Black men and women in Congress

• Indispensable base of the Democratic Party

• Civil Rights Act of 1988

Black Political Activism at the

End of the Twentieth Century (cont’d)

• Reparations

• Slavery and racism justified

reparations

Reparations for HIV/AIDS

Jesse Jackson and others called

attention to HIV/AIDS epidemic

Randall Robinson calls for

financial indemnification for

slavery

• Reparations (cont'd)

• In the black community, opinion is

divided over reparations.

• Some writers, journalists reject idea of

reparation

Propose more investment in education for

African Americans

Black Political Activism at the

End of the Twentieth Century (cont’d)

The Rise in Black Incarceration

• Rodney King

• Victim of police beating, 1991

Jury acquitted police

- White people saw police upholding law and order

- Black people saw police repression, injustice, racism

- Subsequent federal court case convicted several

officers, another jury awarded King 3.8 million

• Riot

Fifty-two people died and thousands injured

The videotaped beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police—shown repeatedly on national television— bolstered charges by African Americans in Los Angeles that they were frequent victims of police brutality. Despite the graphic evidence, the officers were acquitted of using excessive force.

The Rise in Black Incarceration (cont’d)

• Human Rights in America

• Amnesty International

Report on police brutality in America, 1998

- Excessive force on mentally ill or disturbed

people

- Suspects shot fleeing from minor crimes

- Beating unresisting suspects

Misuse of batons, chemical sprays

Victims

- Members of ethnic or racial minorities

Black Politics, 1992-2001:

The Clinton Presidency

• Democrat Bill Clinton elected 1992

Garnered 78% of black vote

Did not win clear mandate with 43% of total vote

Republicans unleashed relentless campaign to

undermine Clinton’s presidency

Blacks considered Clinton best president on

race issues since Lyndon Johnson

Black Politics, 1992-2001:

The Clinton Presidency (cont’d)

• “It’s the Economy, Stupid!”

• Clinton focused on

economy

Increased taxes of higher-

earning Americans

College student-aid program

Earned income tax credit to

help poor

Black Politics, 1992-2001:

The Clinton Presidency (cont’d)

• Clinton Signs the Welfare Reform Act

• Combines Clinton/Republican ideas

• Reduced spending on welfare programs

AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children)

Food stamps

Temporary success-many return to poverty after

several years

Limited families to five years of benefits

- Most welfare recipients to find a job within two years

Republican Triumph

• George W. Bush’s Black Cabinet

• Republicans gained Presidency and retained

narrow majorities in House and Senate

• President George W. Bush’s Black Cabinet

• President Bush appointed accomplished

blacks to high positions

Colin Powell, Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser

Republican Triumph (cont’d)

• George W. Bush’s Black Cabinet

• Education Reform: No Child Left Behind

• Soon mired in controversy

• Not enough federal funding,

unrealistic goals

Republican Triumph (cont’d)

• September 11th, 2001

• Terrorist Attacks kill over

3,000 Americans

• Reminded blacks, whites, of

shared bond and history

Several hundred black

Americans casualties

Republican Triumph (cont’d)

• Black Politics in the Bush Era

• Democratic Nominee John Kerry v.

Republican incumbent George W. Bush

African Americans as reliable Democratic

base

• Black star of Democratic National

Convention, Barack Obama

Later elected to U.S. Senate for Illinois

Republican Triumph (cont’d)

• Hurricane Katrina and the Destruction

of Black New Orleans

• Bush’s inaction, government

unprepared for disaster

Funding had been reduced

Emergency services reduced

Louisiana National Guard deployed to Iraq

Republican Triumph (cont’d)

• Hurricane Katrina and the Destruction of

Black New Orleans (cont’d)

• Most affluent citizens escaped

• 100,000 citizens lacked means to

evacuate and were trapped

Individuals and groups bring relief

- Oprah Winfrey and Jesse Jackson

- Red Cross

- Dillard and Xavier Universities

Black Politics in the Present Era: Barack

Obama, President of the United States

• Obama Versus McCain

Worst financial crisis since

Depression, campaign turning

point

Obama won three debates

• 2008 Election Results

Obama win one of largest

percentages in history

Conclusion (cont'd)

• Barack Obama becomes first African

American President

Exit Ticket

To what extent and in what key areas did the Reagan and Bush presidencies nullify or dismantle Great Society legislation? How are their actions still affecting African Americans today?