American Civil Right Movement
Compare and contrast the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) on the basis of their leadership, philosophy, and tactics.
Philosophy
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was a civil rights organization that was initiated by African-Americans in 1957 (Fairclough, 2001). The movement was primarily aimed at ending the segregation and discrimination against the black African population in the U.S. The core philosophy of SCLC revolved around to seek civil rights and economic justice for the people of Southern States having majority of African-Americans.
Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) actually aimed achieving same objectives as those of SCLC but through non-violent sit-in and defiance of segregated dining and lunch services. The core philosophy of SNCC was also eliminating segregation but the mission statement was narrower compared to SCLC.
Leadership
The most prominent leader of SCLC was Martin Luther King, Jr. Other prominent leaders of this organization included Ralph Abernathy and Joseph Lowery. On the other hand, it was Ella Baker that initiated the SNCC movement and with the support of one of the executive directors of SCLC in 1960. Further, leadership of both organizations consulted each other when planning protests and sit-ins.
Tactics
The tactics of both SCLC and SNCC fell into same category that is the defiance and civil disobedience to the prevalent discriminatory laws against African-Americans. However, SCLC staged bigger demonstrations such as March on Washington whereas SNCC carried out defiance programs such as violating eating counters segregation (Fairclough, 2001).
2. Assess the effectiveness of the federal government during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations in enforcing desegregation laws throughout the South. Discuss one event during each of the administrations.
President Eisenhower: The U.S. federal government's efforts in the administration of Eisenhower were very limited in the initial years. The Eisenhower administration's record in upholding the civil rights of African-Americans' were not adequate (Sundquist, 1968). One particular example is when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the segregation in school enrollment against African-American. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial segregation should be eliminated from public schools of the Southern States. Eisenhower, due to his dislike for the SC decision did not endorse it and opened the way for resistance to desegregation. In fact whenever during his administration there arose public unrest due to integration efforts, Eisenhower chose to side with Whites.
President John F. Kennedy and his administration's efforts to desegregate the Southern States and specifically the education system are worth mentioning. As the President of the U.S. And head of the state, Kennedy significantly pressurized the state governors to implement the SC orders regarding desegregation of public schools. Kennedy's worth praising efforts are evident from the fact that in September, 1963 11 U.S. states from South desegregated around 140 schools for the first time in the U.S. history and that too in an orderly manner. In one such instance, President Kennedy told Alabama's governor called George Wallace to implement SC's decision in letter and spirit.
Lyndon Johnson was the 36th president of the United States of America and his efforts in desegregating were most prominent amongst all the U.S. presidents. In fact he carried forward the legacy of Kennedy. Johnson was most worthwhile as he approved the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Sundquist, 1968).
3. Describe the strategies and outcomes of the protest demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. Discuss Martin Luther King Jr.'s rationale for conducting the demonstrations as expressed in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Do you think the demonstrations were a success?
The Birmingham campaign and other protests such as that in Alabama were basically part of the 'direct action' protests organized by the SCLC to motivate the African-Americans to participate in the protests. However, on finding low number of adult volunteers, SCLC motivated African-American school going children and youth to protest and thus mass protests ensued resulting in heightened tension with the White administration (University of Pennsylvania, n.d.). The Birmingham campaign occurred after successful 'Montgomery Bus Boycott and encouraged the SCLC leaders to plan a series of direct action protests to catalyze the process of civil rights reforms. The 'Letter from a Birmingham' was a lengthy and touching letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. And was addressed to the clergymen...
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