Strategies of the African American Civil Rights Movement

Though the long-standing goals of complete liberty and equality remained central for most African American civil rights activists, an emerging viewpoint proliferated in which greater African American cultural unity and stronger African American communities were stressed. Despite the similar goals of unity, community and liberty for African Americans which grew popular amongst most Africans in the 1960s, strategies for achieving these freedoms varied greatly on a spectrum from nonviolence to militant resistance. Although the achievements made both by nonviolent and violent protesters and groups greatly helped African Americans, and these changes were highly valued and appreciated by African American communities, many traditional authorities and staunch racists continued to stand in opposition to African American civil rights activists and their aims.

Almost from the initiation of slavery in the United States, African Americans have campaigned for increased rights and freedoms, but the idea of a separate and strong “black community” became a new and prominent emerging goal in 1960s America. During the 1960s, many civil rights activists continued to fervently campaign for the liberties of African Americans, but many believed that solutions outside of the realm of trying to “fix” white society could meet the equality-minded goals of African Americans at a quicker pace. As demonstrated by the flourishing of the almost-entirely-African American Harlem and its successful cultural flourishing during the Harlem Renaissance, communities composed mainly of African Americans were growing and were avidly supported by many civil rights activists. These civil rights activists saw a greater community spirit amongst African Americans as a way of achieving a greater cultural pride and unity between African Americans, and as a useful way of escaping the often-racist nature of much of the United States. One such determined activist who hoped to lead the way for a greater sense of community between African Americans was Stokely Carmichael, who in his “What We Want” wrote that “the society we [African Americans] seek to build among black people… is not a capitalist one. It is a society in which the spirit of community and humanistic love prevail.” Many civil rights activists believed that a greater interracial dependence and community would enable African Americans to escape much of the discrimination they faced in many white-dominated communities, and this additional goal helped influence the strategies which many civil rights activists chose to achieve greater equality for African Americans as well as a greater sense of community.

Given the generally similar purposes and goals of the many organisations which fervently campaigned for the rights, communities and liberties of African Americans, it is interesting that the paths chosen by these civil rights organisations greatly varied on the spectrum of the violence involved in their equality-minded aspirations. Though almost every African American involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s was fighting for essentially the same overarching goals, vast differences existed in the strategies used by different groups. One of the most famous violent groups of African American civil rights activists were the Black Panthers, who often resorted to militant measures in order to fight for African American rights. As expressed in the “Statement by the Minister of Defence of the Black Panthers” in reaction to a variety of racist measures in the state of California, the Black Panthers called on “black people to arm themselves against this terror [a variety of racist attitudes and actions against African Americans] before it is too late.” Although violence was certainly one method in which civil rights activists attempted to approach the highly controversial topic of African American equality and freedoms, another solution which was frequently utilized (including by political leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.) was nonviolence. Nonviolence involved a less militant approach towards African American equality, instead relying on peaceful protests, convincing speeches and other nonviolent measures in order to campaign for African American equality and a greater sense of community between African Americans. As the “Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Statement of Purpose” demonstrates, many activists hoped “Through nonviolence, courage displaces fear; love transforms hate. Acceptance dissipates prejudice; hope ends despair. Peace dominates war; faith reconciles doubt. Mutual regard cancel enmity.” Despite both violent and nonviolent African American civil rights activists essentially advocating for the same goals, each group criticized the other: nonviolent groups condemned violent groups for their violent and brutal methods, whilst violent groups criticized nonviolent groups for their “lack of action.” Although most African American civil rights activists similarly focused on greater equality for the African American community as well as a greater sense of connection between African Americans, religious and strategic beliefs quickly caused various organisations to form which stand on a spectrum of nonviolence to violence with regard to their advocacy strategy.

Although the laborious efforts of African American civil rights activists certainly had spectacular results for African Americans (resulting in a high level of overall support from this group), many traditional institutions and white people at the time were strongly opposed to the various changes and measures which African American civil rights activists had been successfully able to introduce and implement. The success of the African American civil rights activists in achieving a greater level of equality is likely best seen when observing African American voters in the South. Although anyone of voting age was technically allowed to vote in all of the states, Southern states had (following the Civil War) implemented a long-standing practice of creating a variety of legislation which made registration for African American voters extremely difficult. In addition, Southern states often implemented violence in order to prevent African Americans from voting. Although African Americans had already gained the right to vote, many states in the South were using discrete methods of stopping African Americans from voting despite opposition against these illegal measures both from African Americans and from many Northerners. The intensity of the advocacy for African American civil rights increased exponentially in the 1860s, which largely led to the drastic increases in the percentages of voting age African Americans registered in 1971 when compared to the percentages in 1960. According to “Estimated Percentage of Voting-Age African Americans Registered I 1960 and 1971,” Mississippi experienced a growth from having less than 5% of voting-age African Americans registered in 1960 to having approximately 60% of voting-age African Americans registered. Many states experienced a doubling of the percentage of African Americans registered as voters; Arkansas, for example, went from having less than 40% voting-age African Americans registered for voting to having over 80% of voting-age African Americans registered. This sharp growth in registration across African American communities is not only indicative of the great success of African American civil rights activists in helping spread equality and liberty, but also demonstrates the general approval of the African American community of the new freedoms and opportunities afforded to them by the endless advocacy by African American civil rights activists. Although the work of African American civil rights activists and organisations was greatly appreciated by most African Americans, it would still take time until these accomplishments were appreciated – or even respected – by many white members of the community, especially in the South. Often, formal (especially governmental) institutions took the longest time to respect the rights and freedoms of African Americans, as is demonstrated by the police violence against Walter Gadsden in Birmingham, Alabama. As is seen in the “Photo of Police Behaviour in Birmingham,” police officials regularly discriminated against African Americans and significantly changed their behaviour based on the race of the person who they were involved with. In the photo, we clearly see a young African American boy being attacked by a vicious police dog whilst a police officer seems to stand by without taking any immediate action. To add to this, according to a statement by the boy being attacked (Walter Gadsden), the officer “grabbed me [Walter Gadsden] and held me while he [the officer] turned a dog on me. I was not one of the demonstrators [at a demonstration nearby where Gadsden happened to be]. I was jailed and charged with parading without a permit.” As the case of Walter Gadsden demonstrates, the support for the African American civil rights movement amongst the white community (especially in the South) was still very low during the 1960s, and many white Americans continued to stand in opposition to African Americans throughout the century, causing a multitude of brutal incidents such as the unjust brutality towards, and jailing of, an innocent 15-year-old African American boy by a police officer in the case of Walter Gadsden. Although the African American civil rights movement and its goals were highly supported by the African American population in the 1960s, much of the white American population (especially traditional institutions and individuals in the South) continued to discriminate against African Americans and failed to respect their freedoms and rights.

In conclusion, the goals of the African American civil rights movements, the strategies used to achieve these goals and the overall support demographics from various sectors of the American population changed greatly in the 1960s. Although the goals of most African American civil rights activists were the same – aiming at greater equality for African Americans as well as a stronger and more united African American community – some individuals and organisations leaned more towards violence as a strategy for achieving these goals whereas others attempted to use nonviolent strategies. Ultimately, these civil rights activists were able to achieve much support from the African American community at the time, though it would still take years until much of the white American population (largely racist at the time) would accept and respect the rights of African Americans.