An Assessment of the CRM

An Assessment by the Numbers/Statistics

"Behind the civil rights movement lay a faith that the American creed of equality under the law and individualism—the right of the individual to reach his or her full potential—would inevitably triumph over its anti-black contradictions." (The Great Republic by Robert Dallek)

There is mixed evidence as to whether the movement was able to achieve everything it set out to do:

• The percentage of the African American population living in poverty fell from 41.8% in 1966 to 31% in 1976.
• 51.4% of African American teenagers completed high school in 1980, as opposed to 78% of white U.S. teenagers.
• In 1980, 7.9% of college graduates were African American, compared to less than 1% in 1960.
• Unemployment rates for Black people in the U.S. were nearly double those of white people in the 1980s. In the 1990s, African Americans constituted nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population, even though they comprised only 13% of the total population. In 1990, almost 50% of African Americans reported recently experiencing some form of discrimination (e.g., in retail stores or from police). Black people consistently voted in higher proportions than white people in the U.S. throughout the 1980s and 1990s. When asked by Gallup in 2010, only 21% of Black Americans believed that the goals of the Civil Rights Movement had been achieved, compared to 56% of white Americans who thought so.

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Rapid Fire Essay Preparation

During the period 1945–1989, to what extent did the movement for racial equality achieve meaningful change in the U.S.?

1. Define the scope and time period of the Civil Rights Movement. Mention key goals: ending segregation, securing voting rights, and achieving economic equality.
2. Legal Achievements - Discuss landmark legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
3. Desegregation - Explain the significance of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and the desegregation of schools.
4. Economic and Social Gains - Highlight improvements in African Americans' poverty rates, high school completion rates, and college graduation rates.
5. Ongoing Challenges - Mention areas where change was slower, such as unemployment rates and persistent discrimination.
6. The Impact on Society - Discuss how the Civil Rights Movement changed American society, including greater political representation and increased voter turnout.
7. Backlash and Limitations of the CRM: Address the rise of opposition, including the War on Drugs and its impact on African American communities.
8. Summarise the overall impact of the movement, providing a final commentary on whether you think meaningful change was achieved between 1945-89. (The answer may not be entirely positive, but there was certainly meaningful change overall when you compare.)

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Why did race relations remain a major issue in the U.S., 1945–1989?

1. Briefly outline the state of race relations and the Civil Rights Movement's goals at the start of the period.
2. Historical Context - Explain the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws that continued to affect race relations post-1945.
3. Legal and Institutional Barriers - Discuss the persistence of segregation and discrimination despite civil rights legislation.
4. Economic Inequality - Highlight how poverty, unemployment, and economic disparities contributed to ongoing racial tensions.
5. Urban Unrest - Mention the race riots of the 1960s, such as the Watts Riots, as symptoms of deeper racial issues. (You can certainly turn this into another paragraph's worth of information if needed. This is why having a good grasp of the CRM post-1965 is so useful.)
6. Political Opposition - Describe the backlash against civil rights advancements, including policies and rhetoric from conservative politicians.
7. Social and Cultural Factors - Discuss how stereotypes, media portrayal, and societal attitudes perpetuated racial divisions.
8. Summarise the reasons why race relations remained strained, emphasising the complexity and deep-rooted nature of racial issues in the U.S. (Keep in mind that with this question, it is best to agree. You can disagree and state that race relations were not strained, but it would be hard to prove extensively.)