Short essay questions:   Please be specific and give examples and dates (in decades)

1. Why was mainstream America afraid of the Black Power movement? How did the movement threaten the status quo of the United States? Or did it? How did the images of the Black Power movement differ from that of the Civil Rights movement? What was most threatening about Black Power? And for African Americans, what was most attractive about the movement?
2. Compare the 1941 March on Washington Movement to the 1963 March on Washington. What were the objectives of each march? What did the marches accomplish? In what areas did these marches fail to achieve their goals?
3. Discuss the differences between John F. Kennedy’s civil rights strategy and Lyndon Johnson’s civil rights programs. Who was more ambitious in the area of civil rights? Who was more successful and why? Was it a matter of timing, strategy, or external forces that influenced the decisions of each president in this area?
4. Discuss the similarities and differences between CORE, SNCC and SCLC. Which group was most successful in executing its program in the struggle for civil rights?
5. Discuss how the Voting Rights Act of 1965 reshaped the American political landscape. What were the three most significant changes brought about by this legislation?
6. Why did Martin Luther King Jr. criticize the war in Vietnam? What did this war mean to average African Americans? How did concerns about race and class impact support for the war?
7. How have African American churches and religious leaders influenced American society in the last five decades?