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Soc. 268: chapter 7 notes, continued African Americans: Protest and Social Change Patricia Hill Collins stated that while individual empowerment is key, only collective action can effectively generate lasting social transformation of political and economic institutions.

The Rise of Direct Action: A. In a confrontation between Blacks and Whites over segregation in Montgomery, Alabama in December 1955, Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a White person and was arrested—Mother of Civil Rights B. A massive boycott triggered by Rosa Parks’ action ended in the desegregation of buses more than a year later. The bus boycott became a symbol of nonviolent protest throughout the world.

C. To promote the philosophy and practices of nonviolent protest, Martin Luther King, jr. founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in January 1957.

Increasing Militancy: A. Members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) accepted the philosophy of nonviolence and were clearly inspired by Martin Luther King, jr., but they believed their goals could not be pursued vigorously within existing organizations. The cry became “Freedom Now!” B. A number of significant demonstrations were sponsored by the NAACP, CORE, and other Civil Rights groups pioneered a new protest tactic by conducting interracial “Freedom Rides” on segregated buses throughout the South.

C. Philip Randolph organized a massive protest March on the nation’s capital in 1963. Martin Luther King jr. famous speech “I have a Dream” was delivered at the capital encapsulated (captured) the aspirations of the Civil Rights Movement.

Civil Rights Legislation: A. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in voting, public accommodations and facilities, schools, courts and employment. B. The voting Rights Act of 1965 suspended all literacy tests for voters and permitted the federal government to station poll watchers in all Southern states. C. The legislation of 1964 and 1965 marked the end of official segregation in America—de jure segregation (legalized). Today, de facto segregation (non-intentional)—socioeconomic status, etc.

Black Power: A. Renewed Black Nationalism, i.e., Malcolm X, like his teacher Elijah Muhammad, stressed the philosophy that Black people must organize to regain their self-respect and to assert collective power. B. Malcolm X left Elijah and formed the Organization of Afro-American Unity—more violent means to fight White discrimination. Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965 while addressing an OAU rally in New York City.

C. Violent Protests, e.g., the Watts area (Los Angeles, CA.) in 1965 was the worst in America since the Detroit riots in 1943—scores of people died and many buildings were damaged. D. The slogan “Black Power” symbolized the frustration of many integrationists as well as Black Nationalists. Whites identified the slogan with Black revolutionaries and separatists. E. In 1968, Martin Luther King, jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. F. National Civil Rights Museum erected at the hotel site—where MLK was shot

Declining Momentum: A. Shift to the political right during the 1980’s administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush resulted in numerous court rulings that served to restrict the scope of effective minority action against civil rights violations. Renewed Visibility of Black-White Conflict: A. Major urban disorders erupted in many American cities, with the largest and most severe rioting of the 20th century occurring in Los Angeles—Rodney King case 1991—four White police officers were videotaped covertly as they beat and kick a Black man.

The O.J. Simpson Trial: A. The testimony and racial attitudes of a White police, Mark Fuhrman, who was a witness for the state of California and the verdict of “Not guilty” by a predominantly Black jury revealed that Blacks and Whites view the criminal justice system differently

Some Corporate Cases: A. 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in public places, e.g., Denny’s Restaurant Chain in 1994 was ordered to pay millions of dollars to Black customers who were discriminated—no service. B. “Old-fashioned racism” has been replaced by “modern racism”—more settled and subtle.

African American Assimilation A. Cultural Assimilation by addition is high today but initially resistant to it. B. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1965), former New York Senator, helped shape the federal government’s War on Poverty. The report was controversial because it was based on the assumption of “deficiencies” and deterioration in the Black family. C. Moynihan referred to a ‘tangle of pathology” in the Black family that resulted in lowered levels of education, lowered income, and high rates of delinquency and unemployment.

D. According to Moynihan, the modern social problems of Black Americans appear to result from their inability to take advantage of opportunities rather than from the majority’s failure to expand opportunities. E. Critics of Moynihan, like Hill (1971) and Jackson (1991) argued that an ethnic-resource model has protected the Black family through the devastating effects of slavery and also Black male unemployment.

Contemporary Families A. Tucker and Mitchell-Kernan (1995) found that many changes in Black families, e.g., high divorce rates, high women participation in the labor force, and women as head of households. The “Million Man March” A. Minister Louis Farrakhan organized the “Million Man March” in Washington D.C. to address the problems of Black men in America.

Secondary Assimilation A. Since emancipation Blacks have moved in many important ways toward full secondary assimilation. Occupations: A. Despite improvements in employment Blacks still lag behind Anglos. B. Increasing automation and the transfer of unskilled jobs to other countries are permanently displacing Black workers.

Incomes: A. In 1989, Black families received an average of 62 cents for each dollar White families received. B. Oliver and Shapiro (1995) argued that systemic economic barriers, i.e., low wages, institutional discrimination, limited access to capital, rise of suburbs, and growth of inner-city ghettos have impaired Blacks to accumulate wealth over generations; contributing factors to Black and White inequality. C. Despite increases in income, there are still large gaps between Blacks and Whites.

Education (social equalizer): A. In An American Dilemma, Myrdal (1964) saw education as a solution to America’s race problem, i.e., racist beliefs and improving the material conditions of Blacks. B. In 1994, the percentage of Blacks who completed high school was slightly higher than Whites.

C. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census 1995:158 more Whites obtained advanced degrees than Blacks (7.9 versus 3.4). D. In summary, Blacks still lagged behind Whites in completing college and advanced degrees.

Residential Segregation: A. Four practices have exacerbated segregation: 1. Mortgage lending policies; 2. Blacks who sought housing in White areas are greeted with hostility; 3. Suburbs developed to keep Blacks out, e.g., Zoning laws,; and 4. Federally-sponsored Public housing encouraged segregation. B. Bobo and Zibrinsky (1996) found in a survey of attitudes of Whites, Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics, that stereotypes of Blacks and Hispanics as being unintelligent, preferring welfare, and being hard to get along with were most consistently important among White respondents.

Primary Structural Assimilation: A. Black and White relations are changing, i.e., younger people are replacing the older generation who experienced legal segregation. B. Black students from desegregated urban high schools or Black schools have an easier adjustment to racially mixed social groupings.

C. Institute for Social Change (1991:30) found that many Black students were sensitive to their high visibility in mostly White classes at Berkeley (U.CA.) –felt they were subjects of subtle discrimination by professors and other students—many felt also the racial and ethnic politics on campus forced them to associate mostly with Black students.

Marital Assimilation: A. Out-marriages among Blacks have been less common as compared to other ethnic groups. B. Younger Blacks more likely to have interracial marriages than older ones. C. Jaynes and Williams (1989:130) found that better-educated Blacks with higher incomes oppose interracial marriages.

D. The declining pool of Black males who are eligible as marriage partners has resulted in more Black families headed by women. E. The rate of Black-White intermarriages is higher in the South than in the North, and highest in the West.

Other Forms of Assimilation: A. W.E. B. Dubois (1903) observed that an African American duality or “double consciousness” when he wrote that “One ever feels his twoness,--an American, A Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings….he simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon.” B. Despite all of the legislation designed to prevent discrimination, even middle-class African Americans still face discrimination in jobs, incomes, education, housing, and public places (Feagin and Sikes 1994).

African American SuccessGrowing African American Affluence: A. The Civil Rights legislation opened up opportunities in education and employment. B. Black women professionals report that they feel pressure to be less successful because their accomplishments exacerbate White society’s emasculation of Black men (Hochschild 1995:109).

The “ Culture of Poverty” Explanation: A. The “culture of poverty” thesis advanced by anthropologist Oscar Lewis (1965) stated that the poverty of one generation breeds and ensures the poverty of the next. B. Blaming the victims for their poverty—sociological imagination.

An “Underclass”? A. Hochschild (1995:250-260) observed that the “hard-core” Black poor are becoming so separated from the rest of the society that there is a danger they will become a permanent “underclass.”

A Selective Mobility Explanation: A. In 1978, Sociologist William J. Wilson wrote a controversial book, The Declining Significance of Race, and argued that as well-educated Blacks enter the labor market, racial barriers to advancement are eliminated. B. Wilson (1987) expanded his analysis of the ghetto poor in another controversial book, The TrulyDisadvantaged. He observed that welfare dependency, violent crime, and increased joblessness among Blacks had reached “catastrophic proportions.” No simple explanations of these social problems; and in addition to culture and discrimination factors, are the societal, demographic and neighborhood variables. Black female-headed families is directly related to Black male joblessness.

C. In his third book, When Work Disappears, Wilson (1996) argued that cultural factors play a role but the loss of blue-collar jobs is due to the relocation of jobs to suburbs, lack of training programs, and the dissolution of government and private organizations that employed Blacks. D. In summary, many questions concerning the “success” of African Americans are still unanswered.

The Entrepreneurial Option: Butler (1991, 1996) argued that Blacks became entrepreneurs and professionals within the Black community because they were cut off, or truncated middleman minority, from the main business districts of America due to segregation—dominant group hostility.

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