| Date | May 2021 | Marks available | 2 | Reference code | 21M.1.BP.TZ0.13 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | What | Question number | 13 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Source N Herbert Block, a cartoonist, depicts an Alabama State Trooper in the cartoon “I got one of ‘em [them] just as she almost made it back to the church” in the US newspaper, The Washington Post (9 March 1965). The badge on the officer’s arm reads “Selma Alabama Special Storm Trooper”.
[Source: A 1961 Herblock Cartoon, © The Herb Block Foundation]
Source P Steve Estes, an historian writing in the academic book I Am a Man! Race, Manhood, and the Civil Rights Movement (2005).
Nation of Islam members and ministers called civil rights leaders unmanly cowards, in large part because of their allegiance to the philosophy of nonviolence. Discussing the student sit-ins that swept across the South in 1960 and inspired the formation of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Malcolm X told reporters, “Anybody can sit. An old woman can sit. A coward can sit … It takes a man to stand.” Likewise, when Martin Luther King led a nonviolent civil rights campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, Malcolm questioned his recruitment of women and children for marches. “Real men don’t put their children on the firing line.” …
More to Malcolm’s liking were southern rebels who recommended armed self-defence. Like these men, Malcolm and other ministers in the Nation articulated [voiced] their support for self-defence in terms of protecting womanhood. “You’ve got Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members knocking Black women down in front of a camera and that poor Black man standing on the sidelines because he’s nonviolent,” Malcolm said, scolding those who responded peacefully …
Malcolm and King were both “God’s angry men,” but the two charismatic ministers were far apart philosophically. King’s faith in Christian love and nonviolent protest seemed unstoppable. This contrasted dramatically with Malcolm’s equally passionate faith in complete racial separation and the Nation of Islam.
[Source: From I AM A MAN!: RACE, MANHOOD, AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT by Steve Estes. Copyright © 2005 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. www.uncpress.org.]
What, according to Source P, were the criticisms of civil rights leaders made by Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam (NOI)?
What does Source N reveal about the struggle for civil rights?
Markscheme
- They viewed civil rights leaders as cowards.
- They questioned the recruitment of women and children for marches.
- They opposed non-violence as a tactic.
- Unlike the civil rights leaders, the NOI believed in complete racial separation.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. Award [1] for each relevant point up to a maximum of [3].
- The struggle faced violence.
- Law enforcement took part in brutal attacks.
- Alabama State Troopers participated in violence without remorse.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. Award [1] for each relevant point up to a maximum of [2].
Examiners report
Most candidates were able to identify three distinct points for the given source in each of the prescribed topics, and there were a number of valid points that could be drawn. Nevertheless, some candidates offered only two points and there were again a few that made only one limited point. In a small minority of responses there was a lack of focus on the question and extensive background or contextual material was given.
As with the first part of this question, many candidates were awarded full marks as they offered two valid points in response to what the visual source revealed. For example, for 9b) that the foreign policies of Italy and Germany were similar and that these were aggressive. In 13b) many candidates suggested that the cartoon revealed that the struggle for civil rights faced violence and that law enforcement took part in brutal attacks. However, some candidates offered just one overall point.
