2. ‘March on Washington’ August 1963 raised hopes of the Black population that civil rights might be close President Kennedy had promised to make changes… …. I shall ask Congress (the US parliament) to act, to make a commitment it has not fully made this century... that race has no place in American life or law.

3. Some people believe that President John Kennedy was very important to the story of black civil rights in the 1960s There are different views on why Kennedy helped the Civil Rights campaign View 1 - Kennedy was altruistic (did things because he thought they were good and right things to do) View 2 - Kennedy was pragmatic (did things after he had worked out how helping civil rights would help his own political career)

5. I don’t believe Kennedy cared about us black folk. He was just a smart politician. In the 1960 election 75% of blacks who voted had voted for Kennedy. The next election was in ’64. Kennedy needed as many black votes as he could get. Kennedy had promised a lot in the 1960 election but he failed to live up to his campaign promises. There was always an excuse to avoid taking action. He said it was more important to practise civil rights than pass laws so he gave several black people important jobs in his government, but that didn’t help the rest of us. Kennedy supported civil rights but he also knew about politics. If he pushed too hard he would make too many white enemies and they would wreck all his plans. This just ain’t possible for any US president to do just what he likes. A lot of people forget that. We should be thankful for what Kennedy did manage to do for us.

6. Civil Rights leaders felt they had a friend in Kennedy and that he would help the cause However, they were dealt a huge blow when Kennedy was assassinated on 22 Nov 1963

7. Kennedy was replaced by his Vice-President Lyndon B Johnson In 1964 President Johnson managed to get the new law passed, despite Southern politicians fighting against in with all their might.

9. Effect of the Civil Rights Act Many politicians believed it had gone as far as the law could to help Black Americans Most agreed it was major step forward in fight to achieve full Civil Rights  However, it was not the end of the road…  It did nothing to solve discrimination in housing  Did not give Blacks a fair and free vote  Did not end fear and discrimination  Klan, often helped by the police still used terror to stop Blacks using freedoms given in the act

10. HOW IMPORTANT WAS THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT? VERY IMPORTANT: Segregation in public places was banned Stopped racial discrimination in employment had support from the President, JFK step forward for the civil rights campaign

11. HOW IMPORTANT WAS THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT? NOT IMPORTANT: Didn’t improve blacks voting rights Didn’t tackle the problem of poverty Didn’t stop police brutality Southern politicians fought against the act and tried to stop it KKK continued to use violence