Forum Discussion: Black Activism

What were the main tactics of Black Activism in the 1950s and early 1960s? How did Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Huey Newton, and H. Rap Brown challenge those tactics and the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Here are some other points to consider.

1. What role did religion play in the civil rights struggle? What role do religious leaders play in American life today?

2. What happened to the personalities mentioned in the essay? What happened to their historical reputation over time? Did it change?

3. How do we remember the civil rights movement today? Memorials, stamps, history conferences, holidays, etc. Does this make a difference?

4. Is there a civil rights movement today? Is it for blacks or other groups as well?

5. Henry Louis Gates of Harvard and others have premised that there are now 2 nations in black America. The growing middle class that benefited from the civil rights movement and those left behind who lack the skills and education need to advance in society. Does this mean that social and economic class is more important than race today?

6.How has Ferguson influenced this issue?? How has Black Lives Matter influenced the discussion?

7. How have the issues of race and diversity influenced life in the suburbs?