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04/16/2015
1
What was “Bloody Sunday”?
• In early 1965, Dr. King led a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
• The demonstrators had to start out several times because of police violence.
• They were only able to continue once they received the protection of federal troops.
• Americans were able to watch the marchers being clubbed and tear‐gassed on national television.
How did President Johnson respond to this violence?
• He was outraged and immediately summoned a joint session of Congress where he proposed a new voting rights bill.
• Voting Rights Act of 1965– Echoed the 15th Amendment
– States prohibited from using any “test or device” to prevent citizens from voting
– Prohibited poll taxes
– Authorized special “federal examiners” to register voters
White Northerners had fled the inner cities for the suburbs, leaving African Americans behind in decaying urban neighborhoods. Frustrations boiled over into a
series of riots
• Summer 1965
– Watts Riots in LA over police brutality
• 34 people were killed and 900 wounded
• Summer 1966
– Harlem and Chicago
• Summer 1967
– Newark and Detroit
• Detroit is the worst riot
• 43 dead more than 1,000 wounded
• Fires destroyed thousands of buildings before army regained control
And then in the Spring of 1968…
• Dr. King was shot and killed while standing on his hotel balcony in Memphis by a white supremacist
• This sparked the final summer of rioting
– Occurred across the nation
– Worst in Washington, D.C.
04/16/2015
2
Black Power Movement
• Thought the Civil Rights Movement was too slow and limited
• Disagreed with its program of non‐violence and interracial cooperation
Black Power Movement
• Wanted African Americans to:
– take control of their own communities
– fight racism directly
– avoid contact with whites
• Inspired by independence movements of African Nations
Malcolm X
• Preached Islam = Nation of Islam
• Believed African Americans should form separate state because interracial cooperation was impossible
• Fight violence with violence
• “black nationalism” = black self‐government
• Was assassinated in February 1965 when he decided to renounce their ideas
Black Panthers
• Used Malcolm X’s ideas to promote revolution
• Organized by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale
• Wanted to protect black neighborhoods in Oakland, California
• Called for arming African Americans
• Also had many strong social programs
“Black Power”
• Meant different things to different people
1) Call for violent revolution
2) Call for greater appreciation of black culture
• An important aspect of Black Power was sheer pride in being African
– Created the “afro” hairstyle
– New clothing fashions
– Black studies courses and departments at American universities