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USA - A Divided Union 1941-80
Key Question: What were the tactics of the Civil Rights movement?
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Quick Links - WWII - Women, Blacks, Economy; Women in 1950s, McCarthyism, Civil Rights Reasons, Montgomery, Little Rock, Tactics, Successes; Black Power, Youth and Students, Women's Movement, JFK's New Frontier, Johnson's Great Society, Watergate |
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Key Words are explained down the page
What
you need to know about…. Martin
Luther King and ‘Direct Action’. Martin Luther was a
‘Christian Pacifist’. He knew that battles in the courts were slow
and laws were not always obeyed. Physical violence would put the Civil
Rights Movement on a level with their enemies. The answer was ‘direct
action’ and non- violent protest against segregation, which
meant protesters held the ‘moral high-ground’. Tactics
‘Sit-ins’.
In 1960, 4 black students asked to be served at Woolworth's lunch
counter in Greensboro, reserved for white customers only. When refused
they staged a sit-in protest. By 1961, 70,000 had taken part in similar
sit-ins. These protests gained publicity for the plight of blacks
in the South.
Freedom-Riders. These were groups of black and white protesters who rode
segregated buses across the Southern States. Sometimes, they were
ambushed and attacked by white youths or the KKK. When they reached
their destination – usually a heavily segregated town, they would
organise sit-ins. Freedom-riders got great publicity for the
Civil Rights cause. Demonstrations
and Marches. Peaceful demonstrations and marches were very powerful
Civil Rights tactics. When demonstrators were attacked by white
police forces e.g. Birmingham, Alabama, April 1963, (dogs, fire hoses
and cattle prods used) public opinion came down on the Civil
Rights protestors, rather than bigoted police chiefs such as Bull
Connor (Birmingham Police Chief). Martin
Luther King’s finest hour came in August 1963 when he led 250,000 in a
march on Washington. Here he delivered the “I have a dream”
speech…. Key Words Direct Action - Political action which doesn't involve elections or traditional government-endorsed campaigning.
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Web Links
African American Odyssey - Civil Rights Era
veteran Civil Rights Activist
Martin Luther King website at Western Michigan University
Unbroken Circle - an audio history of the Civil Rights Movement
Howard Zinn recalls the Freedom Riders movement in 'Going South'
'The Death of Emmett Till' - web page about the song by Bob Dylan
Recommended Revision Guide £5.99
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