the quest for civil rights
1917-80
Great migration’s impact:
- KKK membership from 1921-24 great from 100 000 to 4 million
- Philip Randolph set up trade unions in 1925 and provided political representation
- Oscar DePriest elected to HOR in 1920 as the first African American
- More black people could vote in the North due to the lack of KKK threat of assault and
lynching
- Advertisements from the North attracted Black people to migrate
- 1919 race riots occurred when a 15-year-old boy accidentally crossed a segregation line
in Lake Michigan which led to 1000 houses of Black families burnt, 500 injured and 25
killed
New Deal and Roosevelt’s impact:
- Black americans in the federal bureaucracy increased from 50 000 to 150 000 in 1941
- Roosevelts “Black Cabinet” had 50 Black politicians like Mary McLeod Bethune who was
head of the Negro division
- WPA employed 5000 black teachers to teach 250 000 students
- WPA placed quotas on employers to increase the amount of Black people in
employment from 8-15%
- Black people received ⅓ of accommodation from Wagner-Steagall Act
- Black people received ⅓ of FERA’s relief
- FEPC banned discrimination in defence industries which led to a 4% rise in employment
- There was a resistance against the FEPC ban of discrimination as public transport
workers refused to employ Black people and went on strike as a result which led to
Roosevelt having to send in 8000 troops
, - NRA nicknamed the “Negro Removal Act” as they decreased wages for Black workers
by categorising their jobs wrong and also firing ½ million of them for White men and
women
- Officials for FERA would distribute relief unfairly by stating they could survive on less
than White people
WW2 impact:
- GI Bill of Rights 1944 provided college and business funds for veterans which included
Black people
- Adam Powell set up the Harlem Bus Boycott in 1941
- James Farmer set up CORE
- Black women in nursing courses increased from 1080 to 2600 from 1939-45
- Defence workers increased from 2-8% from 1942-44
NAACP achievements:
- Ossion Sweet Trial 1926 when a Black man accidentally killed a White man in Detroit led
to all the Black men being put on trial, it led to a legal defence fund being provided to
fight segregation
- Morgan V Virginia 1941 removed segregation on interstate transport and deemed it
unconstitutional
- Brown V Board of Education 1954 declared segregated schools unconstitutional and
damaging to students mental health
- Judge Earl Warren didn’t set a specific deadline for it to be implemented and only
said it should be implemented with “deliberate speed” in 1955
- This was due to Eisenhowers’ advice who said that that people don’t want their
“little girls around big overgrown bucks”
- Emmet Till’s case 1955 after he was put on trial with the support of the NAACP because
he allegedly winked/flirted at a White woman
- He died by a brutal lynching that was a set-back for civil rights
Trumans presidency:
- Fair Employment Board 1948 which aimed to ensure equal and fair treatment of
minorities
- In 1948, he used his executive powers to try end discrimination in the armed forces
- In 1946, he criticised Southern Law Officials and said something is “radically wrong with
the system”
Direct Action:
- Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955 led by MLK and Rosa Parks led to Browder V Gayle
1956 due to economic damage to bus business
- Little Rock 9 1958 was when 7 Black children protested by trying to enter a White school
and gain equal education rights. One of these students was Elizabeth Eckford who
arrived late and was attacked, spat on and verbally abused by the parents and students.
1917-80
Great migration’s impact:
- KKK membership from 1921-24 great from 100 000 to 4 million
- Philip Randolph set up trade unions in 1925 and provided political representation
- Oscar DePriest elected to HOR in 1920 as the first African American
- More black people could vote in the North due to the lack of KKK threat of assault and
lynching
- Advertisements from the North attracted Black people to migrate
- 1919 race riots occurred when a 15-year-old boy accidentally crossed a segregation line
in Lake Michigan which led to 1000 houses of Black families burnt, 500 injured and 25
killed
New Deal and Roosevelt’s impact:
- Black americans in the federal bureaucracy increased from 50 000 to 150 000 in 1941
- Roosevelts “Black Cabinet” had 50 Black politicians like Mary McLeod Bethune who was
head of the Negro division
- WPA employed 5000 black teachers to teach 250 000 students
- WPA placed quotas on employers to increase the amount of Black people in
employment from 8-15%
- Black people received ⅓ of accommodation from Wagner-Steagall Act
- Black people received ⅓ of FERA’s relief
- FEPC banned discrimination in defence industries which led to a 4% rise in employment
- There was a resistance against the FEPC ban of discrimination as public transport
workers refused to employ Black people and went on strike as a result which led to
Roosevelt having to send in 8000 troops
, - NRA nicknamed the “Negro Removal Act” as they decreased wages for Black workers
by categorising their jobs wrong and also firing ½ million of them for White men and
women
- Officials for FERA would distribute relief unfairly by stating they could survive on less
than White people
WW2 impact:
- GI Bill of Rights 1944 provided college and business funds for veterans which included
Black people
- Adam Powell set up the Harlem Bus Boycott in 1941
- James Farmer set up CORE
- Black women in nursing courses increased from 1080 to 2600 from 1939-45
- Defence workers increased from 2-8% from 1942-44
NAACP achievements:
- Ossion Sweet Trial 1926 when a Black man accidentally killed a White man in Detroit led
to all the Black men being put on trial, it led to a legal defence fund being provided to
fight segregation
- Morgan V Virginia 1941 removed segregation on interstate transport and deemed it
unconstitutional
- Brown V Board of Education 1954 declared segregated schools unconstitutional and
damaging to students mental health
- Judge Earl Warren didn’t set a specific deadline for it to be implemented and only
said it should be implemented with “deliberate speed” in 1955
- This was due to Eisenhowers’ advice who said that that people don’t want their
“little girls around big overgrown bucks”
- Emmet Till’s case 1955 after he was put on trial with the support of the NAACP because
he allegedly winked/flirted at a White woman
- He died by a brutal lynching that was a set-back for civil rights
Trumans presidency:
- Fair Employment Board 1948 which aimed to ensure equal and fair treatment of
minorities
- In 1948, he used his executive powers to try end discrimination in the armed forces
- In 1946, he criticised Southern Law Officials and said something is “radically wrong with
the system”
Direct Action:
- Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955 led by MLK and Rosa Parks led to Browder V Gayle
1956 due to economic damage to bus business
- Little Rock 9 1958 was when 7 Black children protested by trying to enter a White school
and gain equal education rights. One of these students was Elizabeth Eckford who
arrived late and was attacked, spat on and verbally abused by the parents and students.
