Chapter 17 "Or Does It Explode?"

• Zinn theorizes that the black revolt, which happened in the 50's and 60's, should not have come as such a surprise as it did.
  





• Clues showed up in black writing, music, and performances of just how discontent the blacks were with how they were being treated.






• Many blacks joined the Communist party; a party who payed specific attention to racial equality issues.






• Black Communist party member Angelo Herndon, along with fellow Communists, formed block committees of Unemployment Councils, which gained rent relief for the needy.






• Herndon was then arrested for breaking a Georgia law against insurrection; he spent five years in prison. In 1937 he was released when the Supreme Court declared the Georgia law unconstitutional.






• During World War II, the nation was publicly against racism, while still having segregated armed forces, and placing blacks in the lower-paying jobs.






• When the Cold War began, the question of a black revolt became a huge problem, not just at home, but in former colonies as well.





• A quote from W.E.B. DuBois rang true in 1945, "The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line."





• President Truman created a Committee on Civil Rights. This committee advised that Congress pass laws against lynching, voting discrimination, and the ending of racial discrimination in jobs.





• There were three objects in creating this committee; first, a moral reason, "a matter of conscience," second, an economic reason, discriminating was costly to the country. and third, an international reason, our "civil rights record" was a problem in international politics.





• While Congress did not put into action the laws that the Committee advised, Truman put forth an order that all the armed forces integrate "as rapidly as possible." He may have said this due to an upcoming election, but also, as the possibility of war grew, Truman wanted the black soldiers morale to stay positive.




• While the 14th and 15th Amendments, and a set of laws passed in the 1860s and 70s, the President had enough power to rid the nation of racial discrimination. None of the Presidents used this power.




• The Supreme Court was the authoritative body taking measures to institute racial equality. They declared the "white primary" used to keep the blacks from voting in Democratic primaries, was unconstitutional.




• In 1954, the "separate but equal" doctrine that had been in place since the 1890's, was questioned by the Court and the NAACP. After the case Brown vs. Board of Education, the Court stated the the "separate but equal" clause had no place in education, as it "may affect their [being the children involved] hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone."




• While many may have thought this quick progress, it wasn't quick enough for the blacks. In the 60s rebellion broke out in the South. Blacks had the memory of the hate and pain they suffered, shown by their music and writings. For the blacks, with these memories, revolt was just one step away; and could be set off by any "unpredictable set of events."



• The arrest of Rosa Parks was the event that set of the start of a revolution. She was arrested for sitting in the "white" section of the bus.



• Blacks in Montgomery, Alabama, where this took place, called for a mass meeting. At the meeting, the decision was made to boycott city buses; carpools were organized, while most walked. Many leaders of the boycott were arrested.



• White segregationists became violent; bombing black churches and homes.



• Robert Williams, president of the NAACP in Monroe, North Carolina, believed that blacks should defend themselves however they could, even if it involved violence and guns.



• February 1, 1960 was the first sit-in. Four black college freshmen sat at a lunch counter designated for whites only. No one would serve them, and when they didn't leave, the counter shut down. The freshmen came back day after day, bringing other blacks with them each time. The idea of the sit-in spread quickly all over the South.



• About a year after that incident, a group was formed called CORE, or Congress of Racial Equality, which organized "Freedom Rides" where groups of both black and white traveled together trying to end segregation in interstate travel.


• Blacks traveled to Washington to testify about the struggles they face. They argued that the national government could give protection from violence, but they were completely ignored by the President.
• The Voting Rights Law allowed for blacks to vote under federal protection.
• The Civil Rights Law passed in 1968 supposedly made stronger laws prohibiting violence against blacks, and increased penalites against those taking black rights away from them.
• When Martin Luther King Jr. was killed there were outbreaks everywhere.
• By 1977, blacks were going to college, universities, and law and medical schools. There had been created a middle class of blacks.