1.​ Why was there so much resistance to the Arkansas Nine?

How was this resistance

manifested in Little Rock? Why did President Eisenhower send in the 101st Airborne
Division?

There was so much resistance to the Arkansas Nine because white people were
afraid that once they started attending the same schools as them, they would keep asking
for more, and eventually they would gain the same civil rights as them. President
Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to the school with the Arkansas nine to help
keep them safe, as this was an unprecedented situation, and what was going to happen
next was unknown.

2.​ Ernest Green compares going to Little Rock Central High in 1957 to going to war. What
made it a war-like experience and how do you think the Arkansas Nine survives it (Little
Rock Nine)?

Going to Little Rock Central High in 1957 as one of nine Black students in a white
school was a war-like experience due to everyone’s reaction and views on the nine kids.
When they first arrived at the school, without the Airborne Divisions, they were denied
entry by the National Guard. Once the Airborne Division arrived, the school environment
was still very hostile as he white students would threaten the Ninne and call them
disrespectful names. This made it a very hostile environment, filled with much tension, just
like war.

3.​ Why did the four college students launch the sit-in at the Greensboro, North Carolina
Woolworth lunch counter in 1960? Why did other students join in, and to what effect
(Reflections on Greensboro)?

The four college students in Greensboro, North Caroline at the Woolworth lunch
counter in 1960 decided to sit-in because they wanted to take a stand. They couldn’t
believe that they were second class citizens that were being treated as inferiors solely
based on the color of their skin. They were not served, but decided to keep going back until
they were served, they also agreed to be non-violent. Other students decided to join in
because they wanted to incite change and show their support for the four students. They
wanted to show that they would not tolerate segregation and wanted to be integrated.
This started a revolution in 13 states, at lunch, there would be sit-ins to show support. Even
Martin Luther King Jr. decided to sit in to “stick up” for these four college men, as well as all
of Black America.
4.​ What were the Freedom Riders attempting to do? What did they achieve?

The Freedom Riders were attempting to test the 1960 Supreme Court decision
that decided that segregated facilities for interstate passengers were illegal. They would
volunteer to travel through the South on busses to see what would happen and the
reaction of the Southern white people. They received training in nonviolent tactics for
when dealing with violent reactors. Robert Singleton believes that the rides of the
Freedom Riders can be connected with the election of President Obama in 2008, as
Obama was born in 1961, which is when this all happened.

5.​ Why was the decision to bring children into the 1963 Birmingham March so
controversial? How did the movement activists justify allowing children to march
(Birmingham March)?

Bringing children to the 1963 Birmingham March was a very controversial decision
as many parents of these children were unsure of what would be done to their kids if they
were arrested. The movement justified the decision to allow children to march because
Martin Luther Kings said that these children would set an example for all other children,
showing them what it is like to peacefully protest, which would also allow them to see the
difference between right and wrong.

6.​ How were the children prepared from the March (Birmingham March)? How did the
March affect the movement?

To prepare the children for the march, they were told that if they were to
encounter police that were violent, to not respond to their violence, as the Birmingham
March was a peaceful, non-violent demonstration. Once pictures of the brutality that the
children endured were seen around the world, many people were in disagreement and
shock about what was going on. To see these young children being treated worse than
criminals, for a peaceful, non-violent protest, was enough to change the minds of
Americans who were once against the movement. This helped to change the minds of
white leaders as well, and led them to end segregation, as well as leading to President
Kennedt introducing the federal civil rights legislation.

7.​ How did Martin Luther King justify the use of direct action (over negotiation) in his
Letter from a Birmingham Jail? On what grounds does he refute the claims that his
actions have been untimely (King letter)?
Martin Luther King justified the use of direct action as opposed to negotiation in his
Letter from Birmingham by pointing out that he tried to negotiate but was undermined by
the leader of Birmingham’s economic community. They promised to remove humiliating
racial signs from the stores and also to a moratorium on all demonstrations. However, they
 did not follow through with these promises, leaving King and all the others waiting for
change from them for months. After this, he decided that direct action was the best option
to show the importance of their campaign.
He refutes the claims by Birmingha, that his actions were untimely by saying that,
while the new administration may be more gentle, they are still all segregationists that
must be continuously reminded about the issues at hand in order to begin making any type
of change.

8.​ What, according to King, is the difference between a just and unjust law (King letter)?

According to King, the main difference between a just and unjust law is that unjust
laws are “out of harmony with the moral law”. He believes that any law that uplifts human
personality is just while any law that degrades it, is unjust. In his letter, he explains that any
law that supports segregation is unjust as segregation damages the personality and
distorts the soul. He also makes sure to mention that some laws may seem just on the
outside, but upon deeper analysis and investigation they turn out to be unjust. He says that
a person who breaks an unjust law and accepts the consequences that comes with doing so
is not a person who defies laws, but is a person who does not stand for injustice and is
expressing the highest respect for the law by breaking it.

9.​ Why is King disappointed in the white clergy? In King’s view, why is the white moderate
just as dangerous, or more so, to the cause of civil rights than the white supremacist
(King letter)?

In his letter, King expresses that he is disappointed in the white clergy because he
has come to see that they are more concerned with “order” than they are with justice. He
believes that they prefer negative peace over positive peace and justice. He believes that
the white moderate is just as, or even more, dangerous to the cause of civil rights than the
white supremacist because they block social progress. Without any social progress, the
transition from negative peace to positive peace would not be possible. This would leave
the Black community stuck in a negative and suppressed way of life, rather than allowing
them to be free to do what they want.

10.​Why is Stokely Carmichael critical of the civil rights movement’s early emphasis on racial
integration (“What We Want”)?

Stokely Carmichael is critical of the civil rights movement’s early emphasis on racial
integration because by trying to achieve an integrated society would require Black people
to change their lifestyles in order to fit in with white people. This would require Black
people to move into white neighbourhoods and go to white schools, to prove that they are
just the same. However, by doing this, it implies that white people are better than Black
 people and so that if they want equality, they need to act like a white person. Carmichael
greatly disagrees with this way of thinking, he believes that Black communities should
organize for Black communities, because only they can set the example of what they want
for themselves, white people can not pretend to be them and show them how they must
live.

11.​Why does Carmichael come to the conclusion that Black people must organize
independently of white allies? How does his position reflect and advance the goals of
Black Power (“What We Want”)?

Carmichael suggests that Black people must organize independently of white

people because only they know how they feel about their situation. To elaborate, only
those in the Black community (when talking only about white and Black communities) can
start a revolution that expresses the idea that Black people are in fact independent of
white people. He states that Black people should be able to use the words they want to use,
not the ones they know white people want to hear. He expresses the importance of having
Black leadership in Black communities and how this gives them a sense of possibility and
power. Having a white leader for Black programs, initiatives, protests, riots, or any other
event would not allow for a full encapsulation of what it is like to be that person and how
they are feeling. This would not allow for said event to be presented with full emotion. He
also mentions white supremacy, saying that though the allies don’t realize it, they are
promoting white supremacy. By having white people organizing in the Black community
gives the white person control and charge, which is the opposite of the purpose of these
organizations. Carmichael’s position reflects and advances the goals of Black Power as it
gives the Black people the power they are looking for to lead and have a real sense of
belonging. By seeing Black organizations, it shows them that they are accepted and seen as
equal, which is what all that they want.

12.​How does Malcom X address the criticism that Black Power activists are promoting hate
(of white people)?

Malcom X says that the critics are claiming that Black Power activists are
promoting hate of white people because these Black Power activists have been dealing
with the problems from the root of the cause, rather than dealing with each situation on a
case by case basis. He goes on to describe the brutality that Black Power activists have
been facing and how the only way to overcome them is to come together and go against
the common enemy, which is what is being seen as hate by critics.
13.​How is Angela Davis’s response to the interviewer’s question about the use of
confrontation rooted in her lived experience (Angela Davis)?

Angela Davis’s response to the interviewer’s question about the use of

confrontation is rooted in her lived experience because she had an experience of being
confronted due to her race. She was once stopped by the police just because of her race.
She talks about her traumatic experiences and brutal behaviours that she witnessed with
others, also based solely on their race.

14.​Why, according to Betty Friedan, are women disoriented, and who/what is responsible
for this?

According to Betty Friedan, women are disoriented, and this is because of

psychologists, psychoanalysis and sociologists, as they try to tell a woman exactly who they
are and why they are that person. She explains that these experts are always voicing their
opinions on what females should do and how they should live their lives, from girlhood to
old age. They also tell us exactly what defines a “woman” and how they should act to please
society’s standards. She also says that they expect women to be mothers, wives, and
daughters, but fail to help them acknowledge that they are just human beings too, and do
not always have to fulfill other people’s expectations of them. These experts stunt a
woman’s personal growth and give her a blurry vision of what reality looks like, never
allowing her to have the chance to discover who she really is.