A comparative study of the NAACP in Birmingham, Alabama, and Detroit, Michigan 1940-1965
This dissertation is a historical investigation into the relationship between the North and South during the civil rights movement and into the struggle for racial equality and justice between 1940 and 1965. It challenges the notion that the civil rights movement was a southern phenomenon that moved North during the 1960s. Too often, civil rights literature has considered the southern movement, while excluding northern struggles. The dominance of the southern narrative is reinforced by a frequently articulated assertion that African-Americans in the urban North found non-violent direction irrelevant. The latterâs turn to the North results in analysis that posit a passive, disorganised inarticulate northern African-American population that became impulsive when the southern civil rights movement failed to change black lives. What my study hopes to do is quite simply to place the southern movement in a comparative context by examining the civil rights movement outside the South. Unlike much of the historiography of the civil rights movement, the experiences of northern activists, in addition to activists in the South, are of importance in my narrative. Employing organisational documents, letters, newspapers,
Kaur Mann, Parminder
Civil rights movement; USA
A comparative study of the NAACP in Birmingham, Alabama, and Detroit, Michigan 1940-1965. This dissertation is a historical investigation into the relationship between the North and South during the civil rights movement and into the struggle for racial equality and justice between 1940 and 1965. It challenges the notion that the civil rights movement was a southern phenomenon that moved North during the 1960s. Too often, civil rights literature has considered the southern movement, while excluding northern struggles. The dominance of the southern narrative is reinforced by a frequently articulated assertion that African-Americans in the urban North found non-violent direction irrelevant. The latterâs turn to the North results in analysis that posit a passive, disorganised inarticulate northern African-American population that became impulsive when the southern civil rights movement failed to change black lives. What my study hopes to do is quite simply to place the southern movement in a comparative context by examining the civil rights movement outside the South. Unlike much of the historiography of the civil rights movement, the experiences of northern activists, in addition to activists in the South, are of importance in my narrative. Employing organisational documents, letters, newspapers,
comparative_study birmingham historical investigation relationship north_south civil_right movement struggle racial equality justice challenge_notion civil_right movement southern phenomenon move north often civil_right literature consider southern movement exclude northern struggle dominance southern narrative reinforce frequently articulate assertion african_americans urban north find non violent direction irrelevant latter turn north analysis posit passive northern african_american population become southern civil_right movement fail change black life study hop quite simply place southern movement comparative context examine civil_right movement outside south unlike much historiography civil_right movement experience northern activist addition activist south importance narrative employing organisational document letter newspaper