SECTION 3: New Successes and Challenges
▲ Button honoring Malcolm X
WITNESS HISTORY 
AUDIO
Entering a New Era
Although the Civil Rights movement was making headway, many black activists were impatient with King’s nonviolent methods and his emphasis on integration. Some believed that integration was not the solution. Others felt that more needed to be done to remove what they saw as oppression by white society.
Malcolm X (also known by his religious name, elHajj Malik el-Shabazz) became one of the most prominent voices for this faction. As a minister of the Nation of Islam, he preached a message of self-reliance and self-protection. He called for black pride and spread the idea of black nationalism, a belief in the separate identity and racial unity of the African American community. Malcolm was a “charismatic speaker who could play an audience as great musicians play instruments.” His dynamic speeches won many adherents to his cause. The Civil Rights Movement had entered a new era.
Objectives
- Explain the significance of Freedom Summer, the march on Selma, and why violence erupted in some American cities in the 1960s.
- Compare the goals and methods of African American leaders.
- Describe the social and economic situation of African Americans by 1975.
Terms and People
- Freedom Summer
- Fannie Lou Hamer
- Voting Rights Act
- Twenty-fourth Amendment
- Kerner Commission
- Malcolm X
- Nation of Islam
- black power
- Black Panthers
NoteTaking
Reading Skill: Summarize Complete an outline to summarize the contents of this section.
- Push for Voting Rights
- Freedom Summer
Why It Matters During the 1950s and 1960s, the civil rights movement made great strides forward. Yet racial injustice was not fully eradicated. Frustration with this situation led some African Americans to turn to more radical and sometimes violent methods. African Americans achieved further successes, but for some the radicalism of the times left a bitter legacy. Section Focus Question: What successes and challenges faced the civil rights movement after 1964?
The Push for Voting Rights
None of the federal court decisions or civil rights measures passed through 1964 fundamentally affected the right to vote. The problem was a southern political system that used literacy tests, poll taxes, and intimidation to keep blacks from voting. In Mississippi, in 1964, for instance, not a single African American person was registered to vote in five counties that had African American majorities. All of the major civil rights organizations sought to overcome these political injustices.
SNCC Stages Freedom Summer
SNCC had spent several years organizing voter education projects in Mississippi. It met with little success and a great deal of violent opposition. But in 1964, it called for a major campaign, known as Freedom Summer. About 1,000 volunteers, mostly black and white students, were to flood Mississippi. They would focus on registering African Americans to
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