TOPIC 3: CIVIL SOCIETY PROTESTS 1950s TO 1970s

TIMELINE
DATE EVENT
1955 Montgomery Bus Boycotts

1957 School Desegregation in Little Rock Central High School

1960 Greensboro Sit-ins

1961 Freedom Rides

April 1963 Birmingham Campaign

August 1963 March to Lincoln Memorial (Washington)

1964 Freedom Summer

1965 Selma to Montgomery Marches

KEY CONCEPTS

CONCEPTS MEANING
The right to equal treatment, to vote and to receive legal
Civil Rights
justice
Integration Closing the racial divide in an attempt to give equal rights
Jim Crow Laws Segregation Laws that were enforced in the Southern States
Civil Rights A protest campaign in USA aimed at gaining full civil rights for
movement African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s
Segregation An act of separating people according to race
Desegregation Putting an end to racial segregation/divide
Violation of human rights according to gender, race and
Discrimination
religion
Civil Disobedience Peaceful protests of unjust laws
The non-violent protests initiated by Mahatma Gandhi and
Passive Resistance adopted by Martin Luther King Jr and other Civil rights
activists
 ACTIVITY
QUESTION 3: WHAT ROLE DID THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (CRM) PLAY IN
BRINGING ABOUT CHANGE FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA IN THE 1960s?

Study Sources 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D and answer questions that follow
SOURCE 3A

The source below is part of a letter written by Martin Luther King Jr while he was in jail
in Birmingham.

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The
nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet-like speed (fastest) toward the goal of political
independence, and we still creep at horse and buggy pace (slow and old-fashioned) toward
the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.
Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dart of segregation to say,
'Wait.' But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch (hang) your mothers and fathers at will
and drown your sisters and brothers at whim (as you wish); when you have seen hate-filled
policemen curse, kick and even kill your brothers and sisters; when you see the vast
majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in
the midst of an affluent (rich) society…
When you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking “Daddy, why do
white people treat coloured people so mean?”. then you will understand why we find it
difficult to wait.
[From For the Record: A Documentary History of America Volume Two by DE Shi]

3.1 Refer to Source 3A and answer the following questions

3.1.1. Define the concept segregation in your own words. (1 x 2) (2)
3.1.2. What do the words 'We have waited for more than 340 years for our
constitutional and God-given rights' tell you about how African
Americans were treated? (1 x 2) (2)
3.1.3. What point was Martin Luther King Jr making when he compared
Asia and Africa to America? (1 x 2) (2)
3.1.4. Quote a phrase from the source that suggests white people lived a
far better life than African Americans. (1 x 2) (2)
SOURCE 3B
This is a photograph showing an African-American demonstrator being attacked by
police dogs in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963.

[From Race Relations in the USA Since 1900 by V Sanders]

3.2 Study Source 3B and answer the following questions

3.2.1. Why, do you think, this photograph was taken? (1 x 2) (2)

3.2.2. Refer to Sources 1A and 1B. Explain how the information in

Source 1B supports the evidence in Source 1A regarding the
treatment of African Americans. (2 x 2) (4)
SOURCE 3C
The following is part of the famous 'I have a dream' speech delivered by Martin Luther
King Jr.

In 1963, King led a huge march for equal rights in Washington, DC. With a massive
crowd of over 250 000 followers, King marched on the state capital and delivered his
now famous 'I have a dream' speech, calling for equal treatment for all Americans. As a
result of the march and the speech, the citizens of the nation began to put growing
pressure on the presidential administration of John F Kennedy, encouraging the
President to push for civil rights laws to pass through Congress and become recognised
on a national level.

'… I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face difficulties of today and
tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I
have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed (statement of belief). We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of
former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at
the table of brotherhood …'
[From [Link]
Accessed on 21 April 2021.]

3.3 Refer to Source 3C to answer the questions below

3.3.1. What, according to the source, was Dr Martin Luther King Jr hoping to
achieve in the March to Washington? (1 x 1) (1)
3.3.2. Who, according to the source, was the President of USA during the
March to Washington? (1 x 1) (1)
3.3.3. Explain the impact of the ‘I have a dream speech’ on the history of
USA? (1 x 2) (2)
3.3.4. Comment on the usefulness of the source to a historian studying the
importance March to Lincoln Memorial in USA in the 1960s. (2 x 2) (4)
SOURCE 3D
The extract below illustrates how the marches eventually culminated in the passing of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Thirty-five years ago, civil rights activists marched from Selma to Montgomery in a
protest that led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Back then, Selma was a small southern town of 28 000 people with segregated
schools, housing, jobs, theatres, swimming pools. Like millions of African Americans,
those in Selma were denied the right to vote by poll taxes, literacy tests, and other
intimidation tactics.

… In January 1965, King launched a series of demonstrations in Alabama. 'We must

be willing to go to jail by the thousands,' ... 'We are not on our knees begging for the
ballot, we are demanding the ballot ...'

… On Sunday 7 March, hundreds of demonstrators led by John Lewis and Hosea

Williams of the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) set out on a 54-
mile (86-kilometre) trek. At the Edmund Pettus Bridge they confronted Alabama State
troopers sent by Governor George Wallace, along with Sheriff Jim Clark and his
'posse' (sheriff's assistants). Ordered to disperse (break up), the marchers stood fast
… Clark's men, some on horseback, charged in. A chaos of tear-gassing, whipping
and clubbing left several demonstrators unconscious … Televised images of flailing
(swinging) clubs spilled into living rooms across the country. Americans were horrified.
Ironically, a non-violent march ended violently in 'Bloody Sunday'.

… Momentum began building for another march. On Tuesday 9 March, Martin Luther
King Jr led 2 000 people across the Pettus Bridge. Once again state troopers blocked
the way. King turned the marchers around, and no one was injured.

The following week President Lyndon Johnson went on television to call for legislation
banning restrictions that denied blacks the right to vote.
'The march was a turning point in the movement,' said John Lewis. That August,
Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.

[From an article in National Geographic, February 2000, by C Stone]

3.4 Read Source 3D and answer questions that follow

3.4.1 Quote evidence from the source that indicates racial segregation was a common
practice in the USA in the 1960s. (1 x 2) (2)
3.4.2 Comment on Martin Luther King Jr's statement, '... We are not on our knees
begging for the ballot, we are demanding the ballot ...’. (1 x 2) (2)
3.4.3 Explain the impact that media (television) coverage of the Bloody Sunday had on
the Civil Rights Movement. (1 x 2) (2)
4. Using the information in relevant sources and your own knowledge, write a
paragraph of about EIGHT lines (about 80 words) explaining the role played by
the Civil Rights Movement in bringing about change in USA in the 1960s. (8)

RESPONSES TO ACTIVITY
3.1.
3.1.1 [Definition of a concept from Source 3A –L1]
 An act of separating people according to race
 To separate races politically socially and economically
 Any other relevant response (any 1 x 2) (2)
3.1.2. [Analysis of evidence from Source 3A –L2]
 They were discriminated for too long.
 They were physically tortured and abused.
 Their rights were not recognised at all
 Any other relevant response. (any 1 x 2) (2)
3.1.3. [Interpretation of evidence from Source 3A - L2]
 Asia and Africa had a political desire to grant
independence unlike the US
 Asia and Africa were committed to bringing about
changes unlike the US
 Any other relevant response (any 1 x 2) (2)

3.1.4. [Extraction of evidence from Source 3A – L1]

 “when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro
brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of
an affluent (rich) society…” (1 x 2) (2)
3.2.
3.2.1. [Interpretation of evidence from Source 3B - L2]
 To expose police brutality against the Civil Rights protesters.
 To show how African Americans were treated during their fight
for equality.
 To demonstrate that America did not uphold the rights of all its
citizens as enshrined in their Constitution
 Any other relevant response (any 1 x 2) (2)
3.2.2. [Comparison of evidence from Sources 3A and 3B – L3]
 Both sources highlight the harsh, hate-filled actions of the state
troopers.
 Both sources show what African Americans had to endure in
their struggle for freedom.
 Any other relevant response. (2 x 2) (4)
3.3.
3.3.1. [Extraction of evidence from Source 3C – L1]
 ‘equal rights’ (1 x 1) (1)
3.3.2. [Extraction of evidence from Source 3C – L1]
 ‘John F. Kennedy’ (1 x 1) (1)
3.3.3. [Interpretation of evidence from Source 3C – L2]
 American citizens put pressure on John F. Kennedy to allow the
civil rights laws to be adopted by the Congress.
 The Civil rights laws had to be recognised at a National level.
 It made the Congress to move faster in passing the Civil Rights
Act.
 Any other response (any 1 x 2)
(2)

3.3.4. [Ascertaining the usefulness of Source 3C – L3]

 It highlights the significant support that the Civil Rights
Movement gained when the March took place.
 The ‘I have a dream speech’ reminded all US citizens about the
injustices faced by the Coloured communities whilst promoting
a need for brotherhood.
 It demonstrates how the ‘Speech’ accelerated the passing of
the Civil Rights Act.
 Any other relevant response. (any 2 x 2) (4)
3.4.
3.4.1. [Extraction of evidence from Source 3D –L1]
 ‘Back then, Selma was a small southern town of 28 000 people
with segregated schools, housing, jobs, theatres, swimming
pools.’
 ‘Like millions of African Americans, those in Selma were
denied the right to vote by poll taxes, literacy tests, and other
intimidation tactics’ (any 1 x 2) (2)

3.4.2. [Analysis of evidence from Source 3D – L2]

 The right to vote is a basic human right.
 African Americans were subjected to segregation and
discrimination in daily life.
 African Americans were loyal citizens contributing to American
economy yet denied the right to vote.
 Any other relevant response (any 1 x 2) (2)

3.4.3. [Analysis of evidence from Source 3D – L2]

 The Americans were appalled.
 Sympathizers staged sit-ins and demonstrations to show their
support to the African American struggle.
 The Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.
 Any other relevant response (any 1 x 2) (2)

4. [Interpretation, evaluation and synthesis of evidence from

 relevant sources - L3]

Candidates could include the following aspects in their response:

 USA was very slow in committing to granting rights to African
Americans (Source 3A)
 Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights activists had to endure
beatings, torture, arrests and murder. (Sources 3A,3B and
3D)
 Civil Rights activists demanded their Constitutional rights
(Source 3D)
 They planned several protests e.g. in boycotts, sit-ins, marches
etc (Source 3A, 3C and 3D)
 Civil Rights Movement pressurised the government to introduce
reforms (Source 3C and 3D)
 They were able to gain masses of support from sympathizers.
 The Government had to desegregate Public facilities, Public
Transport, Restaurants etc.
 The Voting Rights (Source 3D) and Civil Rights Acts were
passed.
 Any other relevant response

• Uses evidence in an elementary manner e.g. shows no

or little understanding in explaining the role played
MARKS
LEVEL 1 by the Civil Rights Movement in bringing about
0–2
change for the African Americans in USA in the 1960s.
• Uses evidence partially or cannot write a paragraph.
• Evidence is mostly relevant and relates to a great extent
to the topic, e.g. shows some understanding in MARKS
explaining the role played by the Civil Rights Movement in
LEVEL 2 bringing about change for the African Americans in USA in the 3–5
1960s.
•
Uses evidence in a basic manner to write a paragraph.
• Uses relevant evidence e.g. demonstrates a thorough
understanding in explaining the role played by the
Civil Rights Movement in bringing about change for MARKS
LEVEL 3
the African Americans in USA in the 1960s. 6–8
• Uses evidence very effectively in an organised
paragraph that shows understanding of the topic.
Use the following rubric to allocate marks

(8)