situation for black Americans 1945

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  • Created by: callum
  • Created on: 01-04-12 14:43

civil rights 1945-1968 : political

south 1945 - blacks denied vote through poll taxes, literacy tests. in 1945 only 12% of blacks were registered to vote.

south 1968 - 1965 voting act ends discriminaation in regaurds to voting rights,- 3 million black voters in south, however still only 62% or blacks registered to vote compared to 71% or whites.

north 1945 - blacks could vote, WW2 increased political awareness.

north 1968 - state governor of north reponds to demand of black voters by appointing blacks to senior positions. however there were still less black voter compared to white in north.

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civil rights 1945- 1968: social

south 1948 - Plessy Vs Ferguson had legalised segragation : 'seperate but equal' . segregation in schools, transport and public facilities was prominent. the KKK was rife in south and mid-west.

south 1968 - segregation was slowly eroded due to campaigns of civil rights groups- e.g. Brown vs board of education in 1954 which ended segregation in schools. browder vs gayle which ended segregation on buses in montgomery. most importantly it was the 1964 civil rights act that ended segregation across all of America. the federal gov. now could enforce de segregation. however segregation was not enforced everywhere, e.g. mississippi and alabama still segregated bus terminals.

north 1948 - de facto segregation led to ghetto areas and some segregated schools

north 1968 - de facto segregation continued as the civil rights act only applied to legal segregation. lots of segregated schools in north.

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civil rights 1945- 1968: employment

south 1945 - poor sharecroppers and lack of education and segregation meant there was little chance of getting a good job, and lot of poverty existed. however segregation did help black owned business.

south and north 1968 - gwrowth of the black middle class by late 1960's, and under johnson black unemplyment decreased by 34%, but unemployment rates still remained higher than whites with blacks earning on average 61% of the average white persons earnings.

north 1945 - oppurtunities were better than in the south and lots of blacks migrated to the north after WW2 but blacks were still paid less.

north 1968 - de facto segregation and poor education and poverty meant that economic equality was not the case in the north.

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civil rights 1945-1968: housing

south 1945 - blacks lived in segregated areas in poverty

south 1968 - many blacks still lived in run down poor areas.

north 1945 - de facto segregation led to ghetto areas and slum housing . landlords charged blacks higher rent and estate agents impose segregation to stop blacks moving to white areas which would mean house prices would decrease.

north 1968 - slum housing and ghettos. fair housing act of 1968 tried to outlaw discrimination in the renting and selling of properties but it was ineffective and only two northern states had commisions that enforced fair treatment in housing and employment.

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civil rights 1945 - 1968: racism

south 1945 - KKK active in south

north 1945 - KKK less prominent, but racsim still exists , riots in chicago in 1943

north and south 1968 - decrease in KKK activity although they remained prominent in south. more white support for raical equality seen on tv. e.g. start trek screened the 1st interacial kiss. however racist governors were still elected in south, plus riots in north showed racism still existed in north.

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