After looking at sources C to J that show the Civil Rights Movement was a success but it had its limitations.
Source C is a table showing the desegregation of schools in some of the southern states in America. The source tells me that the CRM did achieve integrating the schools and getting black children to school. I know this because during 1961 and 1962 their were 8 out of 11 states who had schools that were integrated and comparing 1957 to 1962 it shows that the number of black students has doubled due to the Civil Rights Act being passed by President Eisenhower. Although source C tells us that the CRM is going in the right direction, it doesn’t actually prove that all of the CRM’s aims were achieved. Also, from my own knowledge, the state of Alabama didn’t have integrated schools until 1963 and it was the last state in southern America to do so.
So it took 9 years, from when the Civil Rights movement started its campaign for integrated schools, until the major racial states in the south actually got rid of segregated schools. Another problem with the sources is that it doesn’t tell us whether schools became segregated because of the Civil Rights Movement or from government action. Source D is a photograph of the Civil Rights march on Washington. It was taken on the 20th August 1963. The source shows the strengths of the CRM as Martin Luther King is shown at the front of the picture and it shows how determined he was to hold a peaceful protests and demonstrations to achieve the CRM’s aims. The people were marching in the Capital City of America and there were 200, 000 people, including a lot of white support, so it was bound to make an impact on the achievements of CRM and that something had to be done about the black peoples position in society.
However, even though the march had a lot of support behind it for issues of the Civil Rights Movement, like an end to segregated schools and equal jobs for blacks it doesn’t actually show whether the march achieved any of these topics for the CRM. Also, through my own knowledge I know that the CRM wasn’t achieving a great deal in 1963. The march doesn’t show the white reaction either. Even though there were some white supporters there were many white people who didn’t agree with equality for blacks for example the members of the KKK. Source E is a quote from ‘ Chaos or Community’ in 1967.
It was written by Martin Luther King, who was the leader of the CRM, and it gives one view of the Black protests and power. It shows the strength of the CRM as MLK stresses the achievements of Non-violent action. MLK also tells of the achievements the CRM had already made for example the 1960’s “ sit-ins”. However, MLK doesn’t show the weaknesses of the Civil Rights Movements and he is very one-sided.
For example MLK didn’t mention that after Kennedy was assassinated there was violence so people could gain attention. The source also doesn’t tell us how much involvement the government had in the CRM for example when the government sent troops to Little Rock to ensure the safety of 9 black students. Source F is from a political speech made by James Foreman in April 1969 just after MLK had been killed. James Foreman believed in violence and that blacks were better than whites instead of equal.
The source doesn’t mention the CRM but it does convey the image of the black’s bravery and courage to fight for what they believe in. In this source it proves that the CRM had filed in one of its aims; to prevent violence. With the loss of MLK and the influence of Malcolm X, Stokey Carmichael and the Black Power movement who were encouraging black people to change their religion to the Islamic faith. Source G is from a U.
S. magazine written and published in August 1967. The source shows a dialogue involving 4 young boys. The source doesn’t mention any successes of the Civil Rights movement. Source G does tell us of some of the CRM’s failures. For example that it was unsuccessful because of the rioting in Americas major Cities like Watts, Newark and Harlem.
This shows that the rioting was widespread and wasn’t isolated to one area. The source is also a narrow minded view of what a small amount of black teenagers thought. Source H is taken from a history textbook which is used in British Schools. It tells us about the failures of the CRM due to the violence and the success of MLK and the non-violence. It shows success by mentioning MLK’s achievements and by saying that he was a target for assassination as he was powerful and people feared the strength of black people.
Also the source mentions the first Black Major in 1973 in L. A. this was thanks to the CRM giving blacks equal job opportunities. The source also shows that by the 1986, 97% of whites thought that blacks should have equal jobs but this was not apparent in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
The source also tells us how the non-violence failed and when violence did break out it caused death including that of a young boy this was mostly influenced by the Black Power movement. Source I is a table of official figurers from information received in 1964-1971. The source does show the success of the CRM in some states more than others. It also shows the success of the CRM in the dramatic increase of black people registering their vote in Mississippi.
However in the states where you see no dramatic increase or a slight decrease it could be because black people could think that their vote was in significant and that it wouldn’t make a difference because they don’t think they could change the system now. This is where the CRM had failed. Source J is a film called ‘ Mississippi Burning’ it shows how racial prejudice was dealt with in the South of America. The film does include specific a mentions of the CRM or MLK except the main theme of the film when 3 Civil Rights workers are murdered. ‘ Mississippi Burning’ boasts of the success the CRM has had on the treatment of blacks in the North of America. In Mississippi, at the time, the CRM had not achieved a great deal and there was still corruption in the local police, mayors, judges, juries and verdicts of cases involving black people.
There was still lynching and death apparent in the state. The film was directed by a white person and so some people could see the film as one-sided as the white people sort the problems out in the film. As the film is made in Hollywood the role of the CRM and the FBI could have been glamorised to add made tension and suspense between the different characters. The source shows us some downfalls of the CRM for example that in some areas the white people’s power was far beyond the blacks like in areas that the KKK is strong. In conclusion sources C to J all show the strengths and the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement even though they also show the weaknesses of the CRM.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s it achieved a great things but they also prove that more could be done but the CRM is moving in the right direction. To summarise there are 4 of the 8 sources which have more positive information about the Civil Rights Movement. The sources show the struggle that the black people went through to achieve their dreams. The sources are of very different material and give a wide range of opinions towards the CRM.
