The Struggle for Black Civil Rights: 3 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. By 1965 attention turned to the Black economic issue. Instead of being confined to the South this problem was widespread throughout America. The Watts ghetto riots of 1965 shocked King, who had become involved in the North in order to broaden his influence. With the Watts ghetto in mind, in which northern city did King begin a campaign in 1966 aimed at tackling Black economic issues as well as preventing riots?

Answer: Chicago

King began the campaign by leading reporters round the ghettos of Chicago in order to show America how many Black citizens lived.

The lack of a clearly defined aim resulted in splits forming between King's SCLC and local activists. Later demonstrations had poor turn outs and the movement lost momentum.

As well as the tensions within the movement, there were several other reasons why the campaign failed. Firstly, economic issues were harder to solve than those tackled in the South such as voting rights, which could be solved by a government act. Also, the fact that Mayor Daley did not oppose the demonstrations and actually gave a grant of $4 million to improve housing meant that white sympathy was not gained as it was in the South. The fact that the SCLC accepted the grant gave the impression that they had sold out. Finally, many of those who participated in the ghetto riots were young Blacks, who were frustrated with the slow pace of change and found it difficult to relate to King's methods.

2. King's methods of gradual change seemed outdated and many younger Blacks demanded greater pace. For this reason more radical organisations began to become more popular. Groups such as CORE and the SNCC now began to advocate a violent black backlash to the white oppressors, an ideal which many young people could relate to. Stokely Carmichael, the new radical leader of the SNCC, coined the phrase "Black Power". In which 1966 demonstration did he famously use this phrase?

Answer: The Meredith March

The Meredith March was initially a one man march from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. However, both King and the SCLC and the newly radicalized CORE and SNCC soon became involved after hearing of it.

"Meredith" was James Meredith, the man who took a stand against the racism he faced upon his enrolment in Mississippi University in 1962. This march is also referred to as the "March against Fear".

Soon after this march, there was the predicted white backlash, only this time with a violent black retaliation. Tired of the violence, King asked for President Johnson to intervene, but he refused.

It now became hard to see what role King could play in this style of campaign.

3. Stokely Carmichael was the new, radical, charismatic leader of the SNCC. However, which other man, leader of CORE from 1966, became one of the great advocators of "Black Power" alongside Carmichael?

Answer: Floyd McKissick

It is ironic that the SNCC became a great advocate of Black violence as their name stood for the Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee.

McKissick became the leader of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) in 1966.

4. During the entire Black civil rights campaign, many of the great changes came about not because of the efforts of its leaders, but by events which were not directly linked to it. One such event was the Vietnam War, which had an extremely negative affect on the movement. Which of the following was NOT one of the negative affects of the war on the Black civil rights movement?

Answer: Many key leaders were absent as they had been drafted to fight in Vietnam

The reason that there was so little money for the campaign was that the Vietnam War was much more technologically advanced that any before it. It is stated that more bombs were dropped in Vietnam than in the entire Second World War. This was due to military operations such as "Rolling Thunder" which entailed the continuous bombing of Vietnam.

In truth the Vietnam War could not have occurred at a worse time, as it prevented President Johnson from carrying out many of his ambitious plans relating to Black civil rights. Such plans included education acts and his "Great Society".

5. One Black radical organisation which had existed since 1934 was the Nation of Islam. They believed in black supremacy and the segregation of Blacks and whites. Who was the founder of the Nation of Islam as well as its leader until his death in 1975?

Answer: Elijah Muhammed

The fact that the Nation of Islam believed in the segregation of races meant they had actually been involved in talks with the Ku Klux Klan who shared this belief.

One famous member of the Nation of Islam was Malcolm X, who learnt about their teachings in 1946 whilst in jail. Once he left jail, he became a member and soon rose up the ranks due to his great oratorical skills. However, he chose to leave the organisation in 1964 after his suspension following his public comments about the assassination of John F Kennedy, describing it as "chickens coming home to roost".

Louis Farrakhan has been the leader of the Nation of Islam since 1978.

6. Malcolm X is arguably one of the most famous leaders of the civil rights movement and his influence was great in life and death. After his bitter split from the Nation of Islam, which organisation did Malcolm X establish?

Answer: The OAAU

This stood for the Organisation of Afro-American Unity. It aimed to stimulate Black economy and Black Nationalism.

X now rejected racism and toured African countries in an attempt to gain support from their leaders. On his return he claimed he would work with leaders such as King, who he previously denounced as an "Uncle Tom".

The bitterness of X's split from the Nation of Islam was shown in his assassination in 1965, carried out by two members of the organisation.

7. The phrase "Black Power" was first used by Stokely Carmichael. However, what did this phrase mean? It was viewed in different ways by different people. Carmichael saw it as unity between all Black people and McKissick saw it as economic power. Which man, a leader of the NAACP, denounced the slogan as racist?

Answer: Roy Wilkins

In truth "Black Power" gave many young radical Blacks a common phrase which formed the basis of this new radical movement.

Roy Wilkins was also a notable figure in the 1963 Washington campaign.

The "Black Power" campaign soon died. The violence it brought was targeted by police. Also, the vagueness of the phrase meant many who campaigned with the slogan were in fact campaigning for different things, leading to splits within the movements.

8. The Black Panthers who were established in 1966 and aimed to increase Black nationalism and to help the black working class struggle. Which two famous Black leaders were the founders of this organisation?

Answer: Bobby Seale and Huey Newton

The Black Panthers did much to help the poor ghettos, such as setting up of clinics to help with the health and legal issues that Blacks faced.

Members of the Black Panthers were often portrayed wearing berets and leather jackets and wielding guns. This was often the uniform worn whilst following the police in order to prevent unjust actions towards Blacks.

The Black Panthers were was destroyed by the FBI by 1969.

9. From Truman's Executive orders to Johnson's great society, it can be argued that much was done by U.S Presidents to help the black civil rights campaign. Which President's actions included creating the CEEO (intended to ensure equal employment opportunities) as well as appointing 40 Black Americans to top posts in the government?

Answer: John F. Kennedy

Truman set up the civil rights committee in 1946 in order to investigate violence against Blacks and the resulting legislation was "To Secure These Rights" which stated that action must be taken. Truman also made many speeches in support of Black civil rights.

Although Eisenhower seemed less willing to help Blacks, his involvement in events such as Little Rock in 1957 (sending in 1,000 paratroopers) along with the appointment of the liberal Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court did much to advance Black civil rights.

As well as those listed above, Kennedy passed an executive order in 1962 to end discrimination in housing. Kennedy also became directly involved in events such as Birmingham 1963.

Johnson passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act which both provided a huge leap forward in terms of equality.

However, all four presidents were subject to limitations, whether it be a republican congress, the Vietnam war or just plain lack of commitment to the cause.
In reality many of the positive actions brought about by these presidents were direct results of the mass demonstrations carried out by the charismatic leaders of the Black civil rights movement, who are the ones who deserve the credit.

10. Martin Luther King Jr had been one of the most effective leaders in the civil rights campaign in the mid 20th century, proving to be extremely successful at gaining support for other peoples campaigns as well a leading his own. He was assassinated in 1968 by James Earl Ray. On what date did this occur?

Answer: 4th April

King contributed significantly to the increase in Black social and political status. Through his involvement in campaigns such as Birmingham, Montgomery and Washington he created a profile for himself of a man pivotal in changing the way Black Americans are treated, and his famous words have ensured he will live forever in history.

Source: Author doublemm

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The third in a series of quizzes looking at the events and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in Black America.

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