The Movement Takes a New Turn

1
The Movement Takes a New Turn

• Civil Rights 21.5

2
Malcolm X and Black Nationalism

• More radical and militant political leaders
  emerged
• Malcolm X of Omaha, NE was the most well known of
  these
• At age 20 he was arrested for burglary and served
  seven years in prison

3
Malcolm X and Black Nationalism

• While in prison he joined the Nation of Islam,
  better known as Black Muslims
• Viewed white society as oppressive
• preached black separation and self-help

4
Black Nationalism

• Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam
  taught the enemy of the black people was white
  society
• Members did not seek change through political
  means but waited for Allah to create the Black
  Nation

5
Black Nationalism

• Malcolm X spent 12 years as a Minster for the
  Nation of Islam, spreading the ideas of black
  nationalism, a belief in the separate identify
  and racial unity of the AA community
• His fiery speeches won him many followers

6
Opposition to Integration

• Malcolm X disagreed with both the tactics and the
  goals of the early civil rights movement
• He made a pilgrimage to Mecca
• He was profoundly affected and changed his views
  about separatism and hatred of white people
• When he returned he was ready to work with civil
  rights leaders
• Malcolm X was shot at a rally
• Three members of the Nation of Islam were charged

7
The Black Power Movement

• SNCC
• As young more radicals gain power the group
  changed
• Workers were to carry guns for self defense
• Wanted to make the group only black

8
Black Power Movement - Stokely Carmichael (SNCC
chairman 1966)

• His idea of black power was a call to unite, to
  recognize their heritage, to build a sense of
  communityto begin to define their own goals, to
  lead their own organizations and support those
  organizations.

9
The Black Power Movement

• The Black Panthers
• 1966 a new militant political party, the Black
  Panthers, was formed by activists
• Wanted AA to lead their own communities
• Demanded the federal government rebuild the
  ghettos
• Wanted to combat police brutality

10
The Black Power Movement

• Gave rise to the slogan Black is beautiful
  which gave people racial pride
• More radical groups were moving away from the
  NAACPs nonviolent techniques

11
Riots in the Streets

• Early civil rights movement focused on battling
  de jure segregation
• Racial separation created by law
• However new laws didnt change de facto
  segregation
• The separation caused by social conditions, such
  as poverty
• Discrimination continued in education, housing,
  and employment

12
Riots in the Streets - Watts, CA

• Residents of the ghetto neighborhoods, viewed
  police officers as dangerous oppressors
• Riots broke out in several cities
• One of the most violent was in Watts a
  neighborhood in LA, police officer hit a suspect
  with a riot baton and a crowd of AA started six
  days of rioting
• When the national guard and local police gained
  control 34 people were dead and a thousand were
  injured

13
Tragedy Strikes in 1968

• A series of tragic events in 1968, many felt the
  nation was coming apart
• Dr. MLK Jr. Assassinated
• Robert Kennedy Assassinated

14
Tragedy Strikes in 1968 - MLK Jr. is Assassinated

• Martin Luther King Jr. is Assassinated
• Convinced that poverty bred violence, he
  broadened his approach to attack economic
  injustice
• During a stop on a speech tour he was shot by a
  high-powered rifle on a hotel balcony
• AA rioted in more than 120 cites and 50 people
  were left dead

15
Robert F. Kennedy Is Assassinated

• Since the assassination of President John F.
  Kennedy his brother Robert had come to support
  the civil rights movement
• In 1968, entered the race for President
• June 4th, he won a key victory in Californias
  primary
• Just after giving his victory speech he was shot
  by an assassin

16
1968 in Pictures
17
Legacy of the Movement

• Thousands of AA could now vote
• Number of AA elected officials rose by 88 percent
  between 1970 to 1975
• Many black mayors were elected
• Many other accomplishments have had a lasting
  effect