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MYP Year 11 Assessment Civil Rights in the USA

1. According to Sources 1-3:

What impact did the Jim Crow laws have upon the social and legal lives of African Americans living in the Southern States?
The Jim Crow laws were a set of laws in the Southern American States that legalized segregation between Caucasians and African Americans (Blacks). They had a negative impact on every aspect of the Blacks lives due to the fact that while they were meant to be constitutionally separate but equal due to the fourteenth amendment in which all citizens were suppose to be treated fairly under the law, regardless of their race. However, this doctrine was far from reality, due to the separate and unequal legal and social standing Blacks received from these laws. Legally, Blacks were considered a substandard race in the opinion of Caucasians. Source 3, an Arizona Sate Law regarding marriage and was passed in 1956, is one of many examples of this legal discrimination. It states that the marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro shall be null and void. This source clearly shows that Blacks were considered different in comparison to Caucasians and were treated with legal discrimination. Socially, interaction between the two races was forbidden. This is noticeable from Source 1, a recollection from a resident of Natchez, Mississippi, where as a Black man, you dont even find yourself in the presence of white women alone, exhibiting the unequal treatment Blacks received under Caucasians in common working environment, resulting in the lack of ability to act normally in a public setting. It is also shown that Blacks were considered inferior in terms of intelligence as you could not talk about politics with a Caucasian. Furthermore, many facilities also differed greatly. Source 2 gives us two examples of this - a vending-machine in Jackson, Tennessee and water fountains in Mississippi. The origin of these two photographs show that the problem of discrimination was widespread, all over the southern states.

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2. Using the Sources 4-8 and your own knowledge discuss:

Martin Luther King was vital to the gaining of civil rights for African Americans.
The Civil Rights Movement occurred in the USA from 1955-1968. The cause behind this movement was racial discrimination, something that violated the rights belonging to an individual from their citizenship, also known as ones

civil rights. A prominent figure in this movement was Martin Luther King, Jr. This
essay will analyze and explain the factors that affected the American CRM including what King contributed and failed to contribute to the CRM, as well as the influential actions of the federal government and other civil right parties, and come to a conclusion regarding how each of these factors interconnected to influence the importance of Kings involvement. It will be argued that while Kings ability to inspire people and his advocate for non-violence made him a valuable figure in the movement, his actual participation and organization of events was negligible, in addition to the action of the executive branch of the American federal government and other civil right parties (NAACP, CORE), making him one of many factors in the success for the gaining of civil rights for African Americans, and not a vital factor. Kings ability to inspire people was one of his contributions that made him a valuable factor to the success of the CRM. As stated in Kings obituary, he had a gift of eloquence and personal charisma, a skill he used to his advantage often during the CRM while making speeches.1At his Holt Street Baptist Church Speech at the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott, he spoke forcefully and was able to encourage Blacks present that they should have the moral courage to stand up for their rights.2At his Washington March in 1963, his famous speech, I Have a Dream, appealed to the White public due to references to the

After the death of Martin Luther King: chaos or community, The Guardian [UK] 6 April. 1968. Cone, James H. "'I Have a Dream' (1955-64)." Martin and Malcolm and America (New York: Orbis Books, 1991) 61.
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Declaration of Independence and the Bible.3 Kings verbal encouragements ability to inspire people to support the Blacks cause, was what made him a valuable factor in the gaining of civil rights for African Americans. Kings advocate for people to take non-violent action was another factor that made him a valuable part of the CRMs success. Kings verbal action all demonstrated his heartfelt commitment to non-violence, a strategy he realized as the only realistically possible strategy Blacks had at the time4 5. In April 1963, his Birmingham, Alabama march drew even more public attention and criticism to the unjust Blacks faced, due to the actions of the police force upon the peaceful protesters.6 Furthering his verbal encouragement for non-violent action, King set up the SCLC in 1957, a churched based organization. By making it church based, it was less prone to violent attacks by racists, an action that he followed with a large scale protest to support Eisenhowers civil rights bill.7 Kings preference to oppose racial discrimination with civil disobedience instead of violence attracted sympathy for blacks and portrayed racists in a negative manner, increasing the importance of his participation in the CRM.8 Kings lack of organization and direct participation in many significant events and the failure of some of his actions, lead to the decrease in the importance of his participation in the success of the gaining of civil rights for African Americans.9 While some of Kings direct participation gave good results, mentioned above, King himself admitted in April, 1963 that he had yet to engage in a direct action campaign, even though the SCLC had partially funded the Freedom Rides of 1961. 10 In 1959, King decided to move to Atlanta to concentrate on the SCLC. The biggest difficulty King faced was other civil rights
Sanders, Vivienne, The 1960s - I: King of the Civil Rights Movement? Race Relations in the USA 1863-1980 3rd ed. (London: Hodder Murray, 2006) 135. 4 After the death of Martin Luther King: chaos or community, The Guardian [UK] 6 Apr. 1968. 5 Murphy, Derrick The United States 1776-1992 N.p.: n.p., 2011. N. pag. 6 Walsh, Ben, GCSE modern world history 2nd ed. (London: John Murray, 2002) 380. 7 Sanders, 126. 8 http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marchonwashington.html 9 Ling, Peter. Martin Luther Kings Half-Forgotten Dream. History Today Apr. 1998: n. pag. Questia Online Library. 10 Harlan, Louis R. Thoughts on the Leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. . We Shall Overcome By United States Capitol Historical Society. (New York: Pantheon Book, 1990) 64.
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groups that he was unable to join together, even under a common cause. 11 Kings ability to inspire groups of people, but failure to bound groups together exhibits his problematic organization skills. These divisions would affect the Meredith March in 1966 due to the lack of a united focus that alienated white sympathizers.12 In 1960, student sit-ins occurred across the South, something King joined but never led.13 Kings lapse in leadership and organization skills in the case of direct action, negatively influenced aspects of the CRM, affecting the vitality of his participation. The participation of the executive branch of the American federal government was vital to the success of the gaining of civil rights for African Americans, due to their ability to gain mass support from the Caucasians. In 1961, President Kennedy set up the Committee of Equal Employment Opportunity, increasing the prospects of Blacks through the social aspects of education and employment. 14 Following the Washington March in 1963, Kennedy proposed voting privileges and appointed Blacks in federal positions, a first for America.15 1963 onwards, the voting percentage of Blacks increased by 5% to 50% in the 1960s.16 By giving Blacks the chance to vote, they finally had to ability to change discriminatory laws. Segregation in buses was outlawed which was one of many small aspects that affected the daily lives of Blacks. In March, 1965, President Johnsons speech praises the American Negro and shows his support for the equality the Blacks should face in America. Kennedy and Johnsons opinion on racial segregation and their action against it drastically improved the legal conditions Blacks faced in America and was a vital factor for the success of the CRM. The success of the CRM was also influenced by the actions of other civil rights parties that King was not part of. NAACPi successfully defied the Jim Crow

Sanders, 127. Sanders, 144. 13 Sanders, 128. 14 McCulloch, Tony. The Supreme Court and Civil Rights: the struggle against racial discrimination, 1945-60. 20th Century History Review Vol. 18 (N.p.: n.p., 2006) N. pag. 15 http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/jfk.htm 16 Walsh, 380.
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Laws, with a success in the desegregation of interstate transport, Morgan v Virginia 1946, schools, Brown v Board of Education 1954, and busses, Browder v Gayle 1956.17 COREsii 1961 Freedom Ride brought an immense amount of public criticism upon Alabama racists as they attacked passengers and burnt busses.18 The various civil groups had the ability to organize masses and defy legal segregation as well as handle the aftermath of landmark rulings, effectively making sure that the public acted appropriately after desegregation, making them a vital factor in the CRM. In conclusion, Martin Luther King, Jr made a significant impact on the success of the CRM. However, Kings vices affected the overall influential power of his actions, and so it can be said that other factors as a whole played a bigger role, thus making King not vital to the gaining of civil rights for African Americans. While racial discrimination still has a place in todays society with the appearance of white power groups (i.e. KKK), it can be said that with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the civil rights of African Americans have drastically improved since the mid-20th Century.

Word Count: 1090

17 Smith, Neil. Progress towards civil rights in the USA, 1945-70. 20th Century History Review (N.p.: n.p., 2012) 17. 18 Sanders, 130.
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NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People CORE: Congress of Racial Equality

Bibliography
Periodicals After the death of Martin Luther King: chaos or community? The Guardian 6 Apr. 1968: n. pag. Print. Ling, Peter. Martin Luther Kings Half-Forgotten Dream. History Today Apr. 1998: n. pag. Questia Online Library. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. Books Cone, James H. "'I Have a Dream' (1955-64)." Martin and Malcolm and America. New York: Orbis Books, 1991. 58-88. Print. Harlan, Louis R. Thoughts on the Leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. . We

Shall Overcome. By United States Capitol Historical Society. New York:

Pantheon Book, 1990. 59-68. Print. McCulloch, Tony. The Supreme Court and Civil Rights: the struggle against racial discrimination, 1945-60. 20th Century History Review. Vol. 18. N.p.: n.p., 2006. N. pag. Print. Murphy, Derrick. The United States 1776-1992. N.p.: n.p., 2011. N. pag. Print. Sanders, Vivienne. The 1960s - I: King of the Civil Rights Movement? Race

Relations in the USA 1863-1980. 3rd ed. London: Hodder Murray, 2006.
121-150 . Print. Smith, Neil. Progress towards civil rights in the USA, 1945-70. 20th Century

History Review. N.p.: n.p., 2012. 17. Print.

Walsh, Ben. GCSE modern world history. 2nd ed. London: John Murray, 2002. Print. Web sites, e-sources John F. Kennedy. ThinkQuest. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/jfk.htm>.

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Ross, Shmual. Civil Rights March on Washington. infoplease. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/ marchonwashington.html>.