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

Boston, Mass. 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

Affirmati 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