Introduction
Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement Web Quest
This year in United States history we have spent the last two weeks studying the Civil Rights Movement. We have spent a lot of time on the major events and figure heads of the Civil Rights movement. This Web Quest will teach us about the philosophy and background of some of the most prominent leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. This knowledge should illistrate how each figures background lead them to organize some of the most impackful movements during the Civil Rights Era.
Task
During this Web Quest, you will navigate through the process by following the links and reading the provided material to find the answers to the questions on the worksheet. Be sure to answer the questions in complete sentences. Through this search, you will be learning more about some of the main leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.
Process
Follow along the webquest and explore each Civil Rights leader in order to answer the coinsiding questions on the worksheet.
Martin Luther King Junior
MLK and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
http://www.thekingcenter.org/bus-boycott-sparks-movement
Exerpt from MLK s 1959 Radio Address to India
It may be that, just as India had to take the lead and show the world that national independence could be achieved non-violently, so India may have to take the lead and call for universal disarmament.
May I also say that, since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of non-violent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation.
Many years ago, when Abraham Lincoln was shot – and incidentally, he was shot for the same reason that Mahatma Gandhi was shot for; namely, for committing the crime of wanting to heal the wounds of a divided nation...
And if this age is to survive, it must follow the way of love and non-violence that he so nobly illustrated in his life. Mahatma Gandhi may well be God’s appeal to this generation, a generation drifting again to its doom. And this eternal appeal is in the form of a warning: they that live by the sword shall perish by the sword.
We must come to see in the world today that what he taught, and his method throughout, reveals to us that there is an alternative to violence, and that if we fail to follow this we will perish in our individual and in our collective lives. For in a day when Sputniks and explorers dash through outer space and guided ballistic missiles are carving highways of death through the stratosphere, no nation can win a war.
Today we no longer have a choice between violence and non-violence; it is either non-violence, or non-existence.
The Rise of Black Militancy in Urban Centers
Throughout the nation, impatience with the lack of greater substantive progress encouraged the growth of black militancy. Especially in the slums of the large Northern cities, King’s religious philosophy of nonviolence was increasingly questioned. The rioting in the Watts district of Los Angelesin August 1965 demonstrated the depth of unrest among urban African Americans. In an effort to meet the challenge of the ghetto, King and his forces initiated a drive against racial discrimination in Chicago at the beginning of the following year. The chief target was to be segregation in housing.
In Illinois and Mississippi alike, King was now being challenged and even publicly derided by young black-power enthusiasts. Whereas King stood for patience, middle-class respectability, and a measured approach to social change, the sharp-tongued, blue jean-clad young urban radicals stood for confrontation and immediate change. Malcolm X went so far as to call King’s tactics “criminal”: “Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.”
Side Information
-“Coming up on December 1965, the 10th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, I called Dr. King to ask him to write a piece for our publication,” says Smith.
When King turned in the article a few days later, Smith was struck by references to Greek philosophers and became worried that the words would not resonate with King’s largely uneducated audience. Even so, Smith ran King’s piece on the front page and the next day’s paper was a big seller. “I was worried about the references, but he assured me that wisdom is present in people even in the most humble circumstances,”
Stokely Charmichael
Stokely and MLKs Relationship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uNCmvYTwBw
Stokelys ideological change over time
Carmichael spent the early '60s firmly embracing and helping to organize nonviolent protest such sit-ins, marches, assemblies. Stokely marched side by side with MLK during the March on Selma. But the soaring victories of the late '50s and early '60s seemed to bog down after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Joseph says Carmichael began to wonder if new methods needed to be considered.
By the mid 1960's he was also rethinking the practicality of nonviolence in an environment where black life was often viewed as disposable.
The 1964 murders of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner in Neshoba County, Miss., the assassination of Malcolm X and the crushing government response to the unrest that had blazed through several cities by the late '60s caused Carmichael to rethink his beliefs.
King (who regarded the younger Carmichael as one of the movement's most promising leaders) believed in the concept of "redemptive suffering" and thought the sight of protesters accepting beatings, dog bites and fire-hosing would soften America's heart and inspire the country to reject segregation. But after seeing so many of his comrades maimed and killed, Carmichael no longer shared that belief. King had gotten a lot right, Carmichael said, but in betting on nonviolence, "he only made one fallacious assumption: In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent has to have a conscience. The United States has no conscience."
Here is the closing statement to Stokelys famous 1966 Speech
And then, therefore, in a larger sense there's the question of black people. We are on the move for our liberation. We have been tired of trying to prove things to white people. We are tired of trying to explain to white people that we’re not going to hurt them. We are concerned with getting the things we want, the things that we have to have to be able to function. The question is, Can white people allow for that in this country? The question is, Will white people overcome their racism and allow for that to happen in this country? If that does not happen, brothers and sisters, we have no choice but to say very clearly, "Move over, or we’re going to move on over you."
Thank you.
Stokely Speaks on Passive Tactics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_QbWDoJBvk
Ralph Abernathy
Ralph and MLK making history back in the day
The King/Abernathy partnership spearheaded successful nonviolent movements in Montgomery, Albany, Georgia, Birmingham, Mississippi, Washington D.C.,Selma, Alabama, St. Augustine, Chicago, and Memphis. King and Abernathy journeyed together, often sharing the same hotel rooms, and leisure times with their wives, children, family, and friends. And they were both jailed 17 times together, for their involvement in the movement. Their work helped to secure the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the abolition of Jim Crow Segregation Laws in the southern United States.
Abernathy suffered bombings, beatings by southern policemen and State Troopers, 44 arrests, and daily death threats against his life and those of his wife and children. His family land and automobile were confiscated (his family had to re-purchase his automobile at public auction). Some of his colleagues and some volunteers in the civil rights movement who worked with him were murdered. As a result of the boycott on January 10, 1957, Abernathy's home was bombed — his family was unharmed. Abernathy's own First Baptist Church, Mt. Olive Church, Bell Street Church, and the home of Reverend Robert Graetz were also bombed on that evening, while King, Abernathy, and 58 other black leaders from the south were meeting at the Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration, in Atlanta.
Ralph Focuses on the Plight of the Poor
In early 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders planned a Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C., for the spring. The group planned to demand that President Lyndon Johnson and Congress help the poor get jobs, health care and decent homes.
Campaign organizers intended the campaign to be a peaceful gathering of poor people from communities across the nation. They would march through the capital and visit various federal agencies in hopes of getting Congress to pass substantial anti-poverty legislation. They planned to stay until some action was taken.
But weeks before the march was to take place, King was assassinated. His widow, Coretta, and a cadre of black ministers, including the Revs. Ralph Abernathy and Jesse Jackson, decided they would pick up where King had left off and that the Poor People's March on Washington would go forward.
After King’s assassination in April 1968, SCLC decided to go on with the campaign under the leadership of Ralph Abernathy, SCLC’s new president. On Mother’s Day, 12 May 1968, thousands of women, led by Coretta Scott King, formed the first wave of demonstrators. The following day, Resurrection City, a temporary settlement of tents and shacks, was built on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Braving rain, mud, and summer heat, protesters stayed for over a month. Demonstrators made daily pilgrimages to various federal agencies to protest and demand economic justice. Mid-way through the campaign, Robert Kennedy, whose wife had attended the Mother’s Day opening of Resurrection City, was assassinated. Out of respect for the campaign, his funeral procession passed through Resurrection City. The Department of the Interior forced Resurrection City to close on 24 June 1968, after the permit to use park land expired.
Although the campaign succeeded in small ways, such as qualifying 200 counties for free surplus food distribution, and securing promises from several federal agencies to hire poor people to help run programs for the poor, Abernathy felt these concessions were insufficient. and the inner cities of the North under the leadership of Abernathy to reside on the Mall of the Washington Memorial in Resurrection City. Hoping to bring attention to the struggles of the nation's poor, they constructed huts in the nation's capital, precipitating a showdown with the police.
--On June 19, Ralph spoke at the Lincoln Memorial in front of tens of thousands of black and white citizens. The Poor People's Campaign reflected Abernathy's deep conviction that "the key to the salvation and redemption of this nation lay in its moral and humane response to the needs of its most oppressed and poverty-stricken citizens". His aim in the spring of 1968 was to raise the nation's consciousness on hunger and poverty, which he achieved. The Poor People's Campaign led to systematic changes in US Federal Policies and Legislation creating a national Food Stamp Program, a free meal program for low income children, assistance programs for the elderly (some of which wouldn't take effect for a decade). Others say that although as many as 50,000 people ended up marching, the Poor People's Campaign was considered a failure by people who had grown weary of protesting and did not see immediate changes.
Malcom X
Listen to Malcom X speak about how black people can succeed in white America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1MXcacOIjA
If that video does not work, try one of these
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eofuFmZEzyw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXXfN8y_Ldc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka341GxUla4
Malcolm X describes the racist attitudes of the Harlem police and how this builds resentment in the black community. (June 8, 1964)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adiy075EGOs
If that link does not work, try either of these
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAylAbx849s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOF9WU7VCRA
If the youtube link does not work, try this quick, short website and watch the video at the bottom
http://countercurrentnews.com/2015/02/malcolm-x-knew-the-answer-to-police-brutality-50-years-ago/
Malcolm X went so far as to call King’s tactics “criminal”: “Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.”
Malcolm X Bio
--skim read the bio--
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/malcolm-x
Malcolm X: LBJ had no "genuine interest" in blacks pre-1964
Malcolm X's "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech, Cory Methodist Church, Cleveland, USA, Friday 3 April 1964. "A ballot is like a bullet. You don't throw your ballots until you see a target and, if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket."
Malcolm X noted that 1964 was an election year, a time: "When all of the white political crooks will be right back in your and my community with their false promises which they don't intend to keep." He said that President Johnson and the Democratic Party supposedly supported the civil rights bill but there was very little evidence of genuine interest. He maintained that, even though the Democrats controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate, politicians hadn't taken genuine action to pass the bill.
--Malcolm X criticised King’s decision to allow this as he believed that Kennedy was attempting to take over and orchestrate the march. Malcolm X was to nick-name the march “The Farce on Washington”.
An Exerpt from a letter Malcom X sent home from Mecca in Spring of 1964
"I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca, I have made my seven circuits around the Ka'ba, led by a young Mutawaf named Muhammad, I drank water from the well of the Zam Zam. I ran seven times back and forth between the hills of Mt. Al-Safa and Al Marwah. I have prayed in the ancient city of Mina, and I have prayed on Mt. Arafat."
"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white."
"America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white - but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color."
"You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it. I have always kept an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth."
"During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept on the same rug - while praying to the same God - with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the deeds of the white Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana."
"We were truly all the same (brothers) - because their belief in one God had removed the white from their minds, the white from their behavior, and the white from their attitude."
"I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man - and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their 'differences' in color."
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Southern blacks reacted with fear when LBJ became president
That Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, I was in Mrs. Riles' geography class. She stopped and went to the door. I heard her wail. "The President's dead," she said, "and there's a Southerner in the White House. What's going to become of us now?"
School was dismissed. We got in the car and headed to my grandmother's house, [and when asked how I felt], I said I was very sad. "And scared," I added. Mrs. Riles had given me a reason.
I doubt if many children outside the South would have described their reaction to his death as fear.
Fortunately, though Lyndon Johnson was a southerner, he carried through on Kennedy's promise to end segregation. As a political scientist, I have read scores of academic papers on Johnson's legislative approach. Some believe that Johnson was able to do what Kennedy could not have: assemble a coalition of northern Democrats and liberal Republicans to ram through landmark legislation.
Spearheaded passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 & 1960
In the field of civil rights, there were those who doubted that a native of the state of Texas would do anything effective in this area. Johnson said in a speech on the Senate floor:
"For those who would seek to keep any group in our nation in bondage I have no sympathy or tolerance. I believe sincerely, that we have a system of representative government that is strong enough, flexible enough, to permit all groups to work together toward a better life."
As Majority Leader, he lived up to the sentiments he had expressed when he was a freshman Senator. He spearheaded the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. It was the first civil rights legislation to be enacted in 82 years. He was equally successful in getting congressional approval for the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which established a new registration procedure designed to insure Negroes the right to vote.
LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(Stop after 1:14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXIaFLPjYgU
If that link does not work, try this one. A very similar message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC-XEm24vFA
John F. Kennedy
Kennedy Speaks on Civil Rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWX_pjyIq-g
JFK Wins Black Vote
Rallied nation to pass civil rights bill as JFK legacy
In 1952 and 1956, a majority of blacks backed the Republican Party. The Democratic domination of the African American vote really did not begin until 1960, when Kennedy dramatically called Coretta Scott King, the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, after her husband was sent to prison in Georgia. On Election Day, blacks showed their appreciation by voting for Kennedy by a margin of 70-30, more than enough to give the Democrat the victory over Richard Nixon.
In 1964, the black preference for the Democrats became a landslide, as president Lyndon Johnson rallied a grieving nation after Kennedy's assassination to demand passage of the strong civil rights bill JFK had proposed during his last year in office. Backed by a national outcry, Johnson jammed through the far-reaching legislation, which ended discrimination against blacks in virtually every area of national life. Ironically, it was only with strong Republican support that the bill was able to pass.
Kennedy and Black federal employment
--Kennedy put pressure on federal government organisations to employ more African Americans in America’s equivalent of Britain’s Civil Service.Kennedy did more than any president before him to have more African Americans appointed to federal government posts. In total, he appointed 40 to senior federal positions including five as federal judges.
Kennedy: Civil Rights vs Cold War
Kennedy felt strongly about both national and international events. The reaction of the KKK to the Freedom Rides of 1961 was shown on national television and clearly shocked the public. Kennedy himself condemned the Riders for their lack of patriotism at a time of international tension over the Berlin Wall, Cuba and the Bay of Pigs fiasco. For many Americans the world scenario was of much greater importance than specific ‘home difficulties’.
Kennedy and voting rights
--In terms of voter registration, Kennedy’s administration did nothing in its first year in office. On the advice of his Attorney-General brother, Bobby, Kennedy claimed that it was the duty of the states to reform this area and that it was not a federal issue.
Kennedy darned if he does, darned if he doesn't
--In many senses Kennedy was damned if he did and damned if he did not. If he helped the African Americans in the South, he lost the support of the powerful Democrats there. If he did nothing he faced world-wide condemnation especially after the scenes vividly seen in Birmingham. Even civil rights leaders in the South criticised Kennedy for doing too little. In the north, the majority population was white. This group felt that its problems were being ignored while the problems of the African Americans were being addressed. The militant African Americans of the north as seen in the Nation of Islam condemned Kennedy simply because he epitomised white power based in Washington.
Credits
"IIP Digital | U.S. Department of State." Martin Luther King Inspired by 1959 Journey to India. N.p., 04 Feb. 2009.
"The Bus Boycott Sparks a Movement." The Bus Boycott Sparks a Movement. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Ralph D. Abernathy." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web.
Bates, Karen. "Stokely Carmichael, A Philosopher Behind The Black Power Movement." NPR. N.p., 10 Mar. 2014. Web
http://islam.uga.edu/malcomx.html
http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Lyndon_Johnson_Civil_Rights.htm