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● Why
Did the Social Movements Begin?
● Who
Worked in the Social Movements?
● What
Is a Social Movement?
● The
Civil Rights Movement
● Organizations
● Direct Action Tactics
● Changes
● The Youth Movement
/Anti-War Movement
● The Women's Movement
● Conclusion
Changes
 In
January 1965, President Johnson began his "war on poverty".
As racial violence continued, black people began to question the
nonviolent tactics used in the South, and black leaders in other
parts of the country spoke in favor of black separatism and against
nonviolence in fighting discrimination and racism. One strong black
leader was Malcolm X, a black Moslem leader who worked
in northern ghettos. He believed that blacks should arm themselves
and fight the Ku Klux Klan and other white terrorists. Although
he and Martin Luther King both worked to end discrimination and
raise the self-image of blacks, they disagreed about the means to
achieve their goal. In 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in New York.
Murders
of black and white civil rights workers in the South increased.
People continue to see white violence against nonviolent blacks
on TV. That summer, black people rioted in the Watts section of
Los Angeles in response to white violence.
SNCC
was also changing. Many of the members, tired of being beaten and
watching their friends beaten, began to think the tactic of nonviolence
was wrong. Some members also thought they needed one strong leader
rather than collective leadership. They elected a new chairman,
Stokeley Carmichael,
who believed that black people should work to end discrimination
without the help of white people. He spoke about "black
power" and encouraged white members of SNCC
to leave the South and work in white community.
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Black Power
|
In
June 1966, the first black student to enter the University of Mississippi,
began a "march against fear", walking all alone through
Mississippi. He was shot and seriously injured. The civil rights
leaders decided to continue the march, under these conditions: no
white people would march with them; they would be defended by the
Deacons
for Defense of Justice, a black, armed organization; and they would
organize independent black organizations in the places wherever
they marched.
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| Stokely Carmichael |
The
leaders who did not agree with these ideas left the movement. As
the civil rights leaders continued the "march against fear,"
they were viciously attacked by white police and arrested. When
Stokeley Carmichael was released from jail, he told a large crowd,
"This is the twenty—seventh time I have been arrested—and I
ain't going to jail no more!" He said that from now on, the
black people would be shouting, "Black Power!" In 1966,
the Black Panther Party for Self—Defense was organized in Oakland.
Their major work was to enforce civil rights laws, telling black
people of their rights. Martin Luther King disagreed. Although he
understood why black people wanted black
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|
Martin Luther
King,Jr
|
power, he thought the idea would be
misunderstood by the media, and in the end would defeat the movement.
Black power, he said, should come through programs, not slogans.
1968
was another violent year. In April, Martin Luther King was assassinated
in Tennessee. Many black people believed the FBI was responsible.
Rioting broke out in black communities in 125 cities in 28 states.
Robert Kennedy, who was running for president, was also assassinated.
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