Racism in the 1960s was a huge decade and a war/battle between White and Colored people. Propaganda played a big part in changing people's minds. There is a whole range of media used to spread this propaganda, from prejudice commercials and segregation (where whites and black had their own water foundations, schools and public bathrooms) to inspiring speeches(I have a Dream, Letter From Birmingham Jail). People such as Martin Luther King Jr. tried to draw people to him by giving harrange speeches to the American public into changing peoples mind on segregation and to put a end to racism. Groups such as the KKK didn't like to copoorate and scared blacks into trying to leave town by putting up signs, burning homes down and killing people throughout the entire country, to show people the stand for what they believe in. Blacks were viewed in the 1960s as horrible people, if someone saw a black person on TV or walking around their first impression would be what's he or she doing here or their.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
King wrote a letter from a city jail in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was taken several times to jail after being arrested for his leadership in a non-violent protest to stop segregation throughout the United States. King’s was a response from a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen on April 12, 1963, titled “A Call For Unity.” The clergymen agreed social injustices existed but argued that the war against racial segregation shouldn’t’ be fought on the streets where chaos and problem would happen, they believe it should be dealt in the courts. King responded, that without nonviolent forceful direct actions such as him, true civil right could never happen or be accomplished in any way. King said, “This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'" King said this trying to say no matter what he does, it will never happen. King also said “That not only was civil disobedience justified in the face of unjust laws, but that one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. Quote from MLK: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Justice too long delayed is justice denied.” King uses frequent allusions and very detail metaphors, to relate to his audience and convey his passion for equality. One Metaphor that connects MLK him to his readers and to help his argument about the racial inequality. For example, he says that the word “wait” to a Negro “has been a tranquilizing thalidomide, relieving the emotional stress for a moment, only to give birth to an ill-formed infant of frustration.” Most of MLK allusions come from Bible versus, so people can relate to it. MLK’s form of propaganda is getting more people to listen to him speak. MLK uses a lot of emphasis on every word by making it larger, bigger and sound more emotional that how he gets his attention. The same way he was able to attract 4,000,000 people to his I have a Dream speech. People care about what he does and what he stands for.
Our group researched for a couple of days on different topic and finally found one. We decided on Racism in the 1960s. As a group we picked this topic because we felt that their was so much information we could find on racism and 1960 was definitely the right decade. Their was so much going on in just these 10 years (1960-1969), from Civil Right Movements to the death of Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, their was so much information we couldn't leave out and couldn't have pick a better decade.
During the 1960's, the Civil Rights movement began and a new era of violence for Ku Klux Klan. KKK members were upset that African Americans were getting all these rights, and members had to do something about it. In Mississippi, three civil rights leaders were killed; in Birmingham, Alabama a church was bombed, killing four black girls. President Lyndon B. Johnson used the Federal Bureau of Investigation to further investigate the Ku Klux Klan and ending up sending hundreds of KKK members to prison. Following this, Klan member ship fell to about 5,000 by the early 1970's.
KKK members convinced other people to join by telling them they were going to give them the food, shelter, money and they were all going to be a family. It was basically a cult and a brainwashing technique to enlarge their organization, which they did. They killed hundreds of people in the 60's including Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King.
Monday, December 15, 2008
In some states, a citizen must pay a poll tax before he or she can vote in state and local elections. The tax is seldom more than two dollars, but it sometime keeps very poor people from voting. Some Southern States use poll taxes to discourage African Americans from voting in state and local elections. Amendment 24 to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1964, provides that a citizen's right to vote in national elections cannot be restricted by any tax. A year later in 1965, another Right was passed by Johnson called, The Voting Rights Act, this outlawed discrimination in voting. This allowed all Africans Americans to be able to freely vote for the first time. For Centuries and Centuries African Americans weren't allowed because they weren't the perfect skin color until 1965. This was one of the greatest accomplishments in African American history.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Because of Martin Luther King in some ways we are all equal, because of King, blacks and whites can drink from the same water fountains, because of King, blacks and whites can go to the same school, and because of king, blacks and whites can eat in the same restaurants. Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister, the led a Negro movement to end a racial segregation. In the 60's King organized protest parades and other peaceful demonstrations as part of his passive resistance in other words a method of nonviolent protest against laws or policies in order to force a change or secure concessions. Since Luther was the leader of these protest he was arrested more than once on counts of civil disobedience. In 1963 he was able to end segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
KKK members wore white robes and masks to symbolize their color and to sometimes act like ghost. Some activities the KKK would like to do would be sitting around a cross in a group and light it on fire. One of their most frequent activities during the 60's would be riding on horses around through African American towns and demand for water. When they were done they would say, he hadn’t drunk anything since he died on the battlefield. Then they would ride away while the black families would think the Klan member was a ghost! While these incidents were not harmful to the black families, the Klan were responsible for many more dangerous things, such as mobbing, hangings, and shootings.