1. From Peaceful Protest to Black Power
The Split
From Peaceful Protest to Black Power

2. Overview of Early Civil Rights Movement Focus on ending “Jim Crow” in the South – Desegregation, Voting Rights, Civil Rights for Southern Blacks
Court challenges to Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) by NAACP throughout first half of 20th century
Formation of:
CORE
SCLC
SNCC
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Sit-Ins
Freedom Riders
Integration of public schools & universities
Protest Marches (DC, Selma)
Voter Registration Drives
Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954)
Supreme courts rules against “separate but equal”
Desegregation of Schools
Organization of the Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King, Jr. leader of movement
Philosophy of civil disobedience and “militant non-violence”
Southern white reaction: mass arrests, police brutality, white mob violence, bombings, murders & assassinations
National TV coverage 
Federal Intervention
Marshals, US soldiers sent into South
Civil Rights Act 1964
Voting Rights Act 1965
Martin Luther King wins 1964 Nobel Peace Prize

3. Why a Split?
Civil Rights movement had been successful at ending Jim Crow in the mostly rural South
70% of black population lived in metropolitan areas (cities)
1916 to 1970: over 6 million black people moved north
1940 to 1960: Chicago's black population grew from 278,000 to 813,000
Central-city ghettos were bypassed by post-war prosperity
Widespread employment discrimination, crime, lack of police
Forced to live in overcrowded slums or into public-housing high rises
Urban blacks grew very disillusioned with life in the north
Non-violent tactics that succeeded in the rural South did not readily worked in northern cities
Some questioned the nonviolent approach—was it really working?
Still much injustice and violence
Some African Americans believed that nonviolence and integration within white society wouldn’t work, prejudice was too deep

4. James Baldwin Author of over two dozen novels and essays
The Fire Next Time (1963)
Wrote that suffering and oppression set African Americans apart, but also made them stronger
African Americans were angry and tired of promises

5. Black Nationalism
Black Nationalism – a belief in the separate identify and racial unity of the African American community
Nation of Islam
founded by Elijah Muhammad.
Believed the enemy of the Nation of Islam was white society
Believed in taking no political action

6. Malcolm X Born Malcolm Little
Excellent jr. high school student, but with limited opportunities he turned to crime
Sentenced to 7 years in jail in Boston for burglary
took advantage of prison education system
In prison he joined Nation of Islam (aka the Black Muslims)
Changed name to Malcolm X
X replaced the slave-name he inherited
Believed white society was oppressive
Preached black separation from white society and self-help
Very charismatic, forceful speaker

7. Malcolm X & Non-Integration
Malcolm X disagreed w/ the tactics and goals of the early civil rights movement
Called for the complete separation of African Americans from white people
Proposed creating a separate country for black people until African Americans could return to Africa
Rejected the strategy of nonviolence
Taught that black people should use any necessary means of self-defense to protect themselves
Civil rights organizations denounced Malcolm X an irresponsible extremist
Malcolm X was equally critical of the civil rights movement
He described its leaders as "stooges" for the white establishment and said that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a "chump"
Called March on Washington “Farce of Washington”

8. Non-integration (continued)
Malcolm X's speeches had a powerful effect on his audiences, generally African Americans who lived in the Northern and Western cities tired of being told to wait for freedom, justice, equality, and respect
Many blacks felt that he expressed their complaints better than the civil rights movement did.
Eventually Malcolm X came to disagree with Elijah Muhammad on many things, especially lack of political action
Left the Nation of Islam to form his own religious organization, Muslim Mosque, Inc.

9. Malcolm X’s Assassination
After a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) and talking with African Muslims, Malcolm X changed his view on the civil rights movement
He was ready to work with other civil rights leaders and white Americans on some issues
February 21, 1965 shot to death at a rally in Manhattan NY
3 members of Nation of Islam charged with his murder

10. Malcolm X video clip

11. Black Power Stokely Carmichael Member of SNCC Heard Malcolm X’s
message
Rose to SNCC
leadership and the group
became more militant
After being jailed & beaten for participating in demonstrations, he was tired of nonviolence
Encouraged SNCC members to carry guns for self-defense
Wanted to make the group exclusively black, rejecting all white activists.

12. The Split with SNCC The March Against Fear, June, 1966
Greenwood, Mississippi, Carmichael was arrested; took the speaker's platform and delivered his famous "Black Power" speech
Called on African Americans to unite, recognize their heritage and build a sense of community
Blacks should define their own goals, lead their own organizations, and support those organizations.
SNCC's "Black Power" slogan was now competing with SCLC's "Freedom Now" slogan.
MLK had left for Chicago to organize the open housing marches, returned to to find that the civil rights movements' internal divisions between the old guard and new guard had gone public.
King’s followers were singing “We Shall Overcome”
Carmichael’s followers over-sang them with “We Shall Overrun”

13. Black Panthers Formed by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton
Wanted African Americans to lead their own communities
Demanded that the federal government rebuild the nation’s ghettos to make up for years of neglect
Newton followed words of Mao Zedong, “Power flows from the barrel of a gun”
Gave rise to the “Black is Beautiful” slogan

14. Black Power and Black Panther Video Clip

15. The Split Early Civil Rights Movement NAACP SCLC CORE
_____________________________________________
___________________
NAACP
SCLC
CORE
Moderate organizations
Sought desegregation and equal rights
Belief in nonviolent protest; court cases, marches, sit-ins
Civil disobedience
Later Civil Rights
Movement
_____________________________________________
SNCC
Nation of Islam
Black Panthers
Emphasis on “Black Nationalism”
Did not agree with integration with white society, separatist
Self-sufficiency for black community
Confrontational with police

16. Segregation De jure segregation (“Segregation of the day”)
Boston MA
De jure segregation (“Segregation of the day”)
Racial separation created by law
Early civil rights movement focused battles on this
De facto segregation
(“Segregation by fact”)
Separation caused by poverty, mortgage discrimination; “racial steering” restricted blacks to certain neighborhoods
“Redlining” – no services, supermarkets, banks, jobs
Later civil rights movement concentrated on this
Magenta = +50% Black
Los Angeles CA

17. Race Riots
, dozens of race riots broke out in black urban neighborhoods, mostly in northern & western cities
African Americans were frustrated, kept out of well-paying jobs, job training programs, and suburban housing
Inner-city schools were run-down & inadequate
Police officers were viewed as dangerous oppressors rather than upholders of justice
Many riots began after an arrest or incident of police brutality / shooting of an African American
“Violent urban renewal”

18. MLK after the split
1966 – had begun to focus on housing discrimination in Chicago when split occurred
Opposed Vietnam War
Saw a "cruel irony" of American blacks fighting, dying for a country which treated them as second class citizens
Poor People's Campaign, 1968
King / SCLC called on government to invest in rebuilding America's cities
Felt Congress had "hostility to the poor" by spending $ on the war rather than on urban blight

19. Assassination
March 29, King went to Memphis, TN to support black sanitation workers on strike for higher wages and better treatment
April 4 - King shot and killed as he stood on his motel's second floor balcony
King’s assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in Washington DC, Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kansas City, and dozens of other cities

20. Legacy of Civil Rights Movement
Civil Rights Act 1964 – ended much discrimination for blacks and women
Voting Rights Act 1965 – African Americans vote & hold office without restrictions
Number of African American elected officials rose by 88%
Civil Rights Act 1968 – Segregation made illegal
aka Fair Housing Act
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Gave rise to many other protest movements in the late 1960s - early 1970s