Other Protest Movements

Other Protest Movements – I

American Indian Movement, Chicanos, Gay Liberation

NOTE: these topics are listed in the OCR specification. They are NOT stated topics on the AQA specification.

THE IMPACT OF CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNS FOR NATIVE AMERICANS

How were Native Americans discriminated against?

Native Americans were not recognised as citizens until 1924; they were restricted to reservations, controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
The BIA sent Native American children to boarding schools, where they tried to destroy their native language and traditions.
After 1953, more than 100 tribes were officially ‘terminated’; their land assets went to the government, and 35,000 Native Americans were relocated to the towns.
The Coleman Report (1966) found that Native American education, created marginalised, dysfunctional people, who suffered stigma and self-hatred.
A White House Task Force on Indian Health (1966) found that Native Americans suffered from poor health and sanitation.

The Campaign for Native American Rights

1961: the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) was formed to increase cultural awareness.
1969: the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was formed to fight for equal education for Native Americans.
1969: the American Indian Movement (AIM) conducted a 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island.
1972: AIM conducted a week-long occupation of the BIA headquarters.
1973: AIM conducted a 71-day occupation of the famous Wounded Knee battle site.

What civil rights did Native Americans achieve?

In 1968, President Johnson passed the Indian Civil Rights Act, giving Native Americans legal and religious rights (although not the right to counsel or civil jury trial).
In 1972, the Indian Education Act created an Office of Indian Education and authorised bilingual and bicultural programs.
In 1973, the Menominee Restoration Act restored the tribal status of the Menominee and abolishing the 1953 Termination Program.
In 1974, the Indian Financing Act – lent money to the tribes to create businesses.
In 1975, the Self-Determination and Education Act – gave tribes self-government.
Bryan v Itasca County (1976) – the Supreme Court ruled that States do not have the right to tax or regulate Native activities on reservations; some tribes took the opportunity to set up casinos, and became very wealthy.

Going Deeper

The following links will help you widen your knowledge:

BBC Bitesize: Native American civil rights, The fight for Native American civil rights

THE IMPACT OF CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNS FOR CHICANOS

How were Mexican Americans discriminated against?

Spanish-speaking people had lived in California since before the American settlers. Their numbers increased as a result of the 1942 Bracero Program (which allowed Mexicans to get a temporary job in the USA ) and the 1965 Immigration Act (which abolished Immigration quotas).

However:

Mexican Americans farm workers were forced to accept discriminatory contracts, were paid less and worked longer hours.
Mexican Americans children attended segregated schools and received a greatly inferior education.
Many Mexican Americans lacked the vote.
Mexican Americans were frequently attacked (eg the ‘Zoot suit’ riots, named after ).
In ‘Operation Wetback’ (1953-58), the U.S. Immigration Service illegally deported 4 million Mexican Americans.

The Campaign for Chicano Rights

1960s: Mexican Americans began calling themselves ‘Chicanos’ (nowadays, the term ‘Chicano’ has died out and the term ‘Latino’ is used).
1962: Reies Tijerina started a ‘Land and Freedom’ campaign.
1962: Cesar Chávez formed the United Farm Workers; it organised an international boycott of California grapes which forced employers to improve migrant farm-worker contracts.
1963: Tijerina united different Chicano groups to form La Alianza (6,000 members in 1964); it used newspaper, radio and television to increase Mexican American awareness.
1966: Tijerina led a march of 300 people on Santa Fe.
1967: Tijerina led an armed raid on the Rio Arriba County courthouse.
1968: the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) was formed, based on the NAACP.
1968: Chicano students declared ‘Brown Pride’; calling themselves the ‘Brown Berets’, they organised ‘blowouts’ (walkouts) to draw attention to their inferior school provision.
1970: the Chicano Moratorium Committee organised demonstrations (which turned into riots) against the war in Vietnam, and the disproportionate number of Chicanos being killed there.
1970: a political party – Raza Unida – was formed to fight for political and social improvement.

What civil rights did Latino Americans achieve?

In Mendez v Westminster (1946), the Supreme Court ruled that segregating Mexican schoolchildren was unconstitutional.
In Hernandez v Texas (1954), the Supreme Court ruled that Mexican Americans have full citizenship rights; in the 1950s, the first Mexican councillors and mayors were elected.
In 1974, the Equal Educational Opportunity Act required Latino pupils to be taught in their own language.
From 1975, the Voting Rights Act required Spanish speakers in polling stations.

BBC Bitesize: Hispanic Americans, The fight for Hispanic American civil rights

THE IMPACT OF CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNS FOR GAY AND LESBIAN AMERICANS

How were Gay and Lesbian Americans discriminated against?

In the 1950s, homosexuals were regarded as “sex perverts”.
During the ‘Lavender Scare’ after WWII, homosexuals were discharged from the military, and fired from government jobs. In 1953, President Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450, banning homosexuals from working in the federal government.
The FBI and police kept lists of known homosexuals, and the Post Office kept track of addresses where homosexual materials were posted.
States and cities closed down Gay and Lesbian bars, and banned transvestism.
In 1952-74, the American Psychiatric Association labelled homosexuality a mental disorder.

BBC Bitesize: Gay Rights, the Stonewall Riots, Impact of the Stonewall Riots

The Campaign for Gay and Lesbian Rights

1950: the Mattachine Society was formed in Los Angeles to defend Gay men in legal cases, but also to campaign that Gay men were normal, responsible citizens. In 1955, a Lesbian group called Daughters of Bilitus was formed in San Francisco with similar aims.
1958: the company ONE took the US Postal Service to the Supreme Court, to establish its right to mail its homosexual magazine to subscribers.
1968: Homophile groups organized a "Gay-in" in Griffith Park in Los Angeles.
1968: Rev Troy Perry founded the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) for LGBTQ people.
1969: When Tower Records fired Frank Delano for being Gay, the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF) picketed the store until he was reinstated.
1969: When the Mafia-owned Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in New York was raided by police, there were two nights of rioting.
1969: The radical Gay Liberation Front was formed, aligning itself with the Black Panthers and the Anti-Vietnam protests. Meanwhile, the Gay Activists Alliance organised large peaceful demonstrations and ‘zapped’ politicians, forcing them to agree publicly with Gay rights.
1970: On the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, ‘Gay Pride’ marches took place in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The next year, they took place all over the US and the world.

What civil rights did Latino Americans achieve?

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses
In 1974, Kathy Kozachenko becomes the first Gay American elected to public office when she won a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council.
In 1977, Harvey Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; he introduced a City ordinance protecting Gays and Lesbians from being fired, and led a successful campaign against Proposition 6 (which banned homosexual teachers).
In 1982, Wisconsin became the first U.S. state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
However:
Only in 2003 did the Supreme Court legalize LGBT sexual activity. LBGT people were not allowed to serve in the military until 2010, and same-sex marriage was not legal until 2015.

OCR-style Questions