With Reference To The Period 1945 To The Present Day, Explain Why Blacks Have Failed To Gain Complete Equality In The U.S.A

Since 1945, blacks have gained much equality politically, economically and socially, however, they have not gained complete equality in any of those areas. The reason for this could be attributed to the lack of white support, the change in the black's methods, and their change in aims.

One of the main hindrances to blacks gaining complete equality is the lack of white support. Before 1965, many whites supported the Civil Rights Movement to a certain degree. For example, during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a great deal of whites, including Glenn Smiley sent money and aid to the protesters. Also, the fact that a bill was passed by the Supreme Court to end bus segregation, shows how many whites supported it, as it is very difficult to pass a bill in the federal government without a great deal of white support. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson introduced bills to help Civil Rights. Johnson called for a Civil Rights bill in 1964, which was passed and allowed southern blacks to vote, and ended segregation. Since 1965, various Presidents have slowed and in some cases stopped the civil rights movement. For example, President Nixon tried to block the Voting Rights Act and delayed the forceful ending of segregation in Mississippi schools. This shows that Nixon was blatantly trying to stop the civil rights movement from progressing, thus causing the slowing of equality for blacks. Furthermore, President Gerald Ford did nothing to slow down the civil rights movement; however, his lack of action to support it shows why, in that time blacks had less than complete equality. Reagan was against affirmative action, or forcing universities and companies to appoint blacks. This hindered blacks economically and socially, as it meant there were less chances of education and jobs under Reagan's regime. Also, in Reagan's government, only 8% were black, compared to 12% under Carter. This shows he was less supportive of blacks in politics, preventing blacks from gaining total equality in that area. These facts show that under a Democrat government, blacks had more equality than under a Republican government. This is because the Democrat party is fairly liberal in its ideology, whereas the Republicans are more right wing. Most Democrat presidents came from the north, and most Republican presidents from the south. Before 1945, the north supported black rights, and the south was against it. Also, the assassination of Martin Luther King shows that many whites didn't agree with his beliefs, which represented the beliefs of many blacks, thus proving diminished white support for black equality. This shows that white support before 1965 was greater than after that year. However, the lack of white support both before and after 1965 shows why blacks have failed to gain complete equality because of the changes in government, and ultimately white support.

The first reason blacks lost white support, and therefore the reason why blacks have failed to gain total equality was the change in black actions in the sixties. Before 1965, black actions towards gaining equality were peaceful. They staged sit ins and boycotts, rarely resorting to violence. For example, in 1960, more than 20 black students sat in a cafй in North Carolina for several hours because they were refused service. Also, the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, was peaceful, and succeeded. Blacks also used speech making to rally support for their cause, for example, Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963 stirred up support from many white people. These show that through the use of peaceful actions the blacks gained the sympathetic support of many whites, both socially and politically, as they were mature and civilised, showing the whites that they weren't different. However, around 1965, black attitudes began to change and they started using more violent and extreme methods to gain equality. The violent Civil Rights group, the Black Panther Party urged people to take up arms and fight for civil rights. For example, the infamous words spoken by H. Rap Brown, the leader of the black panthers at the time, "Kill some honkies" show how violent their actions had become. Various armed shootouts with police and threats to blow up buildings made them an enemy of the state, and very unlikely to gain any of their demands. The Watts riots in Los Angeles also