Question 24 Outline
Prompt: Compare the goals and strategies of the African American reform
movement of the period 1890 – 1910 to the goals and strategies of the Black
reform movements in the period 1950 – 1970.
Thesis: Although the goals and strategies of the African-American reform
movements in the period 1890-1910 and the period 1950-1970 are similar in their
migration to the city and their participation to advocate equal rights, they differ in
their ways of advocating their rights such as law suits in court, passive
resistance, and radical black power groups.
I.
Similarities
A. Migration to the cities caused the fight for civil rights to not only
affect the South but the entire country. Evidence of the effect is all
the race riots that occurred in the North thereafter.
B. Participation in advocating equal rights
1. Both worked for immediate self-improvement which
showed blacks straying away from strategy to be
patient and wait for rights to be granted.
2. Not support segregation and accept nothing less than
equal education.
II.
Differences
A. 1890 -1910 African-American reform group’s strategies
1. Exceptional blacks should gain positions of full
equality to later benefit all blacks. Shows their
unwillingness to directly help all blacks at the same
time like the 1950 – 1970 movement.
2. Used law suits in federal courts to advocate their
rights which is different from the 1950 – 1970
movement which included any blacks, not just
intelligent ones, who participate in protest and
demonstrations.
B. Passive resistance strategy of 1950 -1970 movement
1. Bus boycott shows how all blacks
peacefully protest segregation on
buses and eventually won rights.
Different from progressive
African-Americans in that every
black person who rode a bus was
involved, not just the intelligent
people.
2. Sit-ins again show how everyone
is involved including students at
protest segregated restaurants.
3. March on Washington was a
peaceful march that involved
many protesters who advocated
civil rights.
C. Radical black power group’s strategies
1. Malcolm X threatened to use violence to ensure civil
rights if black people can’t vote which is different
from the peaceful strategies of the other 2
movements.
2. Malcolm X also supported black people carrying
weapons and his violence by saying white people do
the same. Blacks should defend themselves and he
will keep his violent strategies as long as whites are
violent (KKK). Shows willingness to fight physically
for rights.
Conclusion:
-The reform movements during both those periods began to publicly advocate
immediate integration.
-However, the progressive African-American reform movement included only
intelligent blacks who used the courts to obtain rights unlike the 1950 – 1970
movement which included all blacks to openly protest discrimination.
-That movement included groups who used peaceful resistance and violent
resistance.