Evaluate the reasons for the emergence and development of radical African American activism in the 1960s and 1970s.

Candidates are required to appraise the reasons why the Civil Rights Movement became radicalized in the 1960s and 1970s and to provide a balanced review of how the movement developed across the set time period.

Indicative content

• Dissatisfaction with the progress of the Civil Rights Movement and the non-violent approach of Martin Luther King Jr, the difference between laws against segregation and the reality of the situation, and de jure segregation versus de facto segregation could be considered.
• Poverty, ghettoes and unemployment were all factors that contributed to discontent.
• Reaction to treatment by police and a perceived lack of protection by federal authorities fuelled the movement, as did the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
• The philosophy of Malcolm X and the ideology of the Black Muslims, as well as the growth of the Black Power movement, may be discussed, as could the impact of the media coverage of the Black Power Salute at the 1968 Olympics.
• The Watts Riot (1965) and later riots in 1967 and 1968 exacerbated tensions.
• The appeal of the Black Panthers, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale are also valid areas for discussion.

The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.

Examiners are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.

[20 marks]