Redefining Equality
Black Power James Meredith calls for a march from
Memphis to Jackson; shot 30 miles in MLK and Stokely Carmichael take over Carmichael calls for action
“It’s time we stand up and take over. We been saying freedom for six years and we ain’t got noghin’. What we gonna start saying now is black power.”
Tide is changing A move from nonviolence begins to emerge
Progress was too slow moving to wait 70% of Afr. Am lived in cities, usually in
ghettos or areas belonging to one ethnic group
Two reasons are ethnic background and economic status
Riots 1965, Watts (L.A.)-police brutality erupts
riot-continues through frustration Six days long, 34 deaths, 900 injured,
4,000 arrests, $45 million damages National Guard sends 14,000
Other places included Detroit, Michigan (43 dead) and Newark, New Jersey
Kerner Commission IL gov. Otto Kerner
Looked into start of these riots Pointed to ‘unfulfilled expectations’ Commissioner called for country to
‘make good the promises of American democracy to all citizens…’
Malcolm X Strayed to life of crime as boy-while in jail
learned of Nation of Islam, or Black Muslims African Americans’ condition was caused
by whites and they should separate from society
After prison, changes name from slave name of Little.
Called for black nationalism and armed self-defense
Was against nonviolence as the answer
Split with Nation of Islam and converted to orthodox Islam after trip to Mecca “blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I
could call my brothers.” This change upset many and three
members of the Nation of Islam assassinated him in 1965
Black Panthers Started by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton The name describes a ‘vicious animal, who,
if attacked, would not back up.’ Had a plan established for Afr. Am Offered food services for children and
medical clinics Sent observers to streets to watch for
police brutality, tape recorder to document, and a shotgun to show they were serious
Other influence SNCC changed by Stokely to all black
organization Wanted Afr. Am to articulate and run their own
organizations
Also brought Afrocentrism- look into African history and culture Miniseries Roots a product of this
Government fights back Following MLK’s assassination, over
100 riots broke out The government began to fight
racism after this tragedy MLK was fighting for economic
equality Specifically fought for equal housing
in Chicago, but not much was done
Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1968 to stop discrimination in housing and the govt could file a lawsuit against those who did not comply with the law
Occurred just days after MLK assassination and riots ended in Washington, D.C.
Still integrating schools Decade after Brown vs. Board 1.2% of Afr.
Am children in South went to integrated schools Government began to threaten cut off of
federal funds-by 1968 it rose to 32% Next, fought de facto housing
segregation by ordering busing to prominently white districts
“Desegregation cannot be limited to walk-in schools”
Both sides of the busing issue Fears
Unfamiliar neighborhoods Long bus rides
Positives Afr. Am students in integrated
schools had higher test scores
South Boston High School 90% of white students boycotted Afr. Am students pelted w/ rocks
while boarding After white student stabbed, angry
mob trapped 135 Afr. Am students in school for 4 hrs
Estimated 20,000 white students leave Boston over next two years
Northeast only 27.5% of Afr. Am attended integrated schools 1976
Affirmative Action-calls on employers to actively seek minorities for workforce Introduced by Kennedy in 1961 Nixon required a federal affirm plan
with goals and timetables Affirmative action is often seen as
necessary, but the debate is raised over the practices used to carry out the system.
The issue is based around preferential treatment-some see as discrimination against white males because a certain quota of minorities must be met. In a nut shell, when is the person
qualified and a minority or just a minority?
Allan Bakke challenges reverse discrimination against U of Cal Davis Med School after he is rejected twice
Supreme court rules in favor of affirmative action, but against racial quotas… The debate rages on however What do you think?
Shelby Steele feels that affirmative action forces Afr. Am to relive their past struggles and not their strengths by gaining positions as if they are less qualified rather than on merit