In What Ways Did Black Americans Secure Improved Civil Rights: 1945-1964? Black Americans had often been looked down upon by White Americans and always suffered racial prejudice. Their struggle for equal racial rights had begun from the end of slavery in 1865, only until the late 1960’s did significant improvement was made. Following the events and ending of World War II, Black Americans began what would become known as the Civil Rights Movement. In 1951, the father of a black student named Linda Brown sued the Board of Education because a white school had prevented Brown from attending a school which was only seven blocks away, compared to the segregated black school she was attending which was more than seven blocks away from her home.
This allowed many Black Americans to get jobs and played a major role in the country’s war effort. As a result of the boom, the number of unemployed black Americans fell from 937,000 to 152,000. 48% of the black population was urban at the end of the war and jobs in the cities paid more than those in the country allowing Black Americans to be paid more than ever before. This shows an improvement of the position of Black Americans in society. Voting rights were also improved during this time period.
When the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas heard their case, the NAACP argued that segregated schools gave the message to black children that they weren’t equal, and naturally inadequate. The board the segregated schools prepared them for their life under future segregation, and that segregation was not necessarily harmful to blacks, saying that they can succeed under those circumstances. After agreeing with Brown the segregated schools were damaging to blacks, but taking into account that no Supreme Court ruling had overturned the Plessy versus Ferguson case, they decided to rule in favor of the Board. Brown overrode the decision of the District of Kansas and went to the Supreme Court. They combined their cases with many others in various states.
Also, the vast majority of black Americans were disenfranchised by grandfather clauses and literacy tests which made it very hard for black Americans to vote. Finally the Ku Klux Klan terrorised black Americans using techniques such as lynching. By contrast in the Northern States, segregation was rare. What is more, Black Americans has greater access to higher-paid industrial jobs and many were organised in unions. However, on average black workers earned 50% less than their white counterparts.
White people were not only the majority, they were also given many more employment opportunities then blacks as well as immensely better living conditions. Their communities remained predominately in the north for the elite, as well as the east and west side of Chicago. The Black population grew more centered around the south side of Chicago, in an aging dilapidated housing project, which would soon be named the “black belt”. The black belt stretched 30 blocks wide, with more and more families trying to convert even the smallest one room apartments into permanent homes, for in this region was the only place they could find government assisted housing, that wouldn’t discriminate against them for being black. But even the Black belt section of Chicago housed according to economic status.
How far do you agree with the statement that the position of black Americans changes little during the period 1945-1955? It may be argued that during the period 1945-55 the position of the black Americans changed unnoticeable, yet there had been certain factors that in longer term resulted in improving the position of white Americans in a big scale. The improvements consisted of army. Truman desegregated the armed forces in 1948 and appointed the first black federal judge. This meant that the American workers left their jobs to join the army, which created many job opportunities for black Americans, which were needed especially in the defence industries, which now grew in importance as they had to make supplies for the Army such as guns and tanks.
However, many southern states found ways around the laws to disenfranchise the black populations. They did this by introducing a ‘Grandfather Clause’, which is that only people whose grandfather voted, gave them the ability to vote. Also literacy test was another method used, which in most ways wasn’t made fairly and even well educated people were disenfranchised and not allowed to vote. However, in 1946 President Truman established The President’s Committee on ‘Civil rights’, producing a report examining the experiences of racial minorities in America. The report was called ‘To Secure These Rights’, this report highlighted the problems facing African Americans and proposed radical changes to make American society better.
The suffragette movement gained strength in America after black men got the vote (though most southern black men were effectively disenfranchised by literacy laws, the poll tax, threats and intimidation etc). Just as, in the UK, the movement grew when working class men got the vote. In both countries there was great resentment amongst upper class women that men of inferior social status could vote, when they couldn't. It spurred them on to greater efforts. The abolition movement was the movement to abolish slavery.
The Brown family's case was brought to the Supreme Court by the NAACP; they were an organisation which fought for the rights of coloured people. The NAACP won this important case, and the Supreme Court decided to integrate schools, this was the first victory for the Civil Rights Movement. The supreme court decided to outlaw the statement that was made in 1896; 'separate but equal', and make this illegal, the supreme courts reasons for this were that black children had been raised as inferior beings within the community and this should change. Although the supreme courts decision had been made this caused many problems for the white southerners, many riots broke out as there were still strong racial attitudes within the south. Many white southerners did not want their children in the same classroom as
In short, the Court was asked to determine whether the segregation of schools was at all constitutional. In this case discrimination was the main factor in which affected the rights of African American’s to have more freedom. The Supreme Court's opinion in the brown case of 1954 legally ended decades of racial segregation in America's public schools. Originally named