Page 1 of 32 Alaine Huntington November 27, 2012 African American History Independent Study Fall 2012 Cold War Civil Rights: A Historical Timeline “A peaceful world…will be accomplished through ideal rather than armaments; through a sense of justice and mutual friendships rather than with guns and bombs and guided missiles.” This quote by US Supreme Court Justice Warren in the 1950’s showcased the awareness of the American political system, to racial issues. During the Cold War from 1945- 1991 the United States was under abundant scrutiny both at home and internationally for cultural practices of racism. Civil rights and treatment of African- Americans became a central issue dictating global diplomatic relations and foreign policy during the Cold War Era. The Soviet Union used American racial conflicts as a source for anti- American propaganda and sentiments. We will go on a journey using Cold War Civil Rights by Mary Dudziak as our guide. We will begin from
Transcript
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Alaine Huntington
November 27, 2012
African American History
Independent Study Fall 2012
Cold War Civil Rights: A Historical Timeline
“A peaceful world…will be accomplished through ideal rather than armaments; through a
sense of justice and mutual friendships rather than with guns and bombs and guided missiles.”
This quote by US Supreme Court Justice Warren in the 1950’s showcased the awareness of the
American political system, to racial issues. During the Cold War from 1945- 1991 the United
States was under abundant scrutiny both at home and internationally for cultural practices of
racism. Civil rights and treatment of African-Americans became a central issue dictating global
diplomatic relations and foreign policy during the Cold War Era. The Soviet Union used
American racial conflicts as a source for anti- American propaganda and sentiments. We will go
on a journey using Cold War Civil Rights by Mary Dudziak as our guide. We will begin from the
start of the Cold war in the 1940’s to the start of the Vietnam War in the 1970’s exploring racial
tensions and the Civil Rights Movement, Anti-American propaganda, the American response,
international pressures, and subsequent changes in United States legislation.
Beginning in 1945, the “Cold War” was a designation given to the relationship between
the United States and the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR/ Soviet Union) from the end
of World War II until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. The term “cold war” denotes that
neither side engaged in actual combat, however, their client states fought heavily against one
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another. Although the United States and the USSR were members of the Allied Forces against
Nazi, Germany, their alliance was formed only to defeat a mutual adversary. Tensions developed
further, after the United States developed an atomic weapon and bombed Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in August of 1945.
Communist expansion spread further into China as well as gained influence in other
European countries. Stalin offered weapons aid to Spain’s General Franco who overthrew
democratically elected officials in the 1936 Spanish Civil War. Franco also received aid from
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, which created an unfavorable picture of the Soviets to any allied
force. In addition, the United States saw Soviet expansion as a threat to the American way of life.
Stalin’s expansive Red Army was also a cause for concern as well as the “Great Purge” which
resulted in the murders of anti-communists, government officials, military leaders, and anyone
who was perceived to be against Stalin. Distrust from both countries existed before the war and
continued long afterwards.
During the years of 1945- 1970 tensions between white Americans and African
Americans were at their most visible, with violence now being thrust onto the global stage.
Murders of African Americans were often excused, such as the 1946 lynching of Army war
veteran, George Dorsey, and three companions. Dorsey’s body was shot 60 times by Georgia
racists and was seen as an “organized conspiracy to put Negro vets in their place.”(19) In
response, the National Association of Colored Women marched to the White House in protest to
the lynching. As an additional act of solidarity the NAACP drafted a petition, “An Appeal to the
World,” and intended to showcase the African American situation at the United Nations
Commission for Human Rights in 1946. The delegate from the Soviet Union requested the
petition be presented, whereas American delegate Eleanor Roosevelt threatened to leave the UN
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meeting. A Dutch official, in support of Roosevelt, suggested American’s counteract Soviet
propaganda adding “racial attitudes were the best ally of opponents to U.S. policy.” (46)
The Soviet Union proposed the NAACP charges be investigated, which was turned down.
In response, the Soviet Union made use of racist American tendencies to fuel propaganda. Racial
segregation in the United States inspired poor treatment of delegates from foreign countries
visiting America. Such treatment included anyone who was perceived to be African American,
with those who disclosed otherwise receiving a status of “honorary white.” President Truman
responded to racial issues by saying he “didn’t know how bad it was.” (24)
President Truman used racist language in private, but his letters offered support to the
Civil Rights Movement, as well as a disliking to the poor treatment of black veterans upon
returning home. In addition to the election, Soviet propaganda forced Truman to appeal to
supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. The president also recognized the importance of the
black vote in the 1948 election, fearing that African-Americans would vote Republican. Truman
addressed the issues and challenges of civil rights, becoming the first president to speak in
Harlem. Losing his southern supporters, the black vote was absolutely crucial, thus, Truman
vowed to address racial issues and create civil rights reform.
Truman, keeping true to his word, desegregated the military (except for the National
Guard) as well as creating legislation to ban segregation in civil service. Truman also established
the Committee on Government Contract Compliance which attempted to monitor the hiring of
minorities by companies requesting governmental defense contracts. The committee had no
enforcement practices, which further exacerbated issues of African-American desegregation and
exclusionary practices.
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Despite President Truman’s alleged sympathies to the Civil Rights Movement, Truman
allowed the spread of “McCarthyism” to pervade the government in the 1940’s and spanned until
the mid-1950. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy gained notoriety in 1950 after accusing
members of the State Department of being Communist. McCarthy also accused many writers and
entertainers of sympathizing with Communists or being Communist themselves. None of his
accusations were ever justified.
Labeled as “Communist” by McCarthy supporters were W.E.B. Dubois, and Josephine
Baker, among other African Americans who spoke of racial injustices and societal oppression in
America. Dubois was the first African American to receive his doctoral degree and often spoke
out against American policy. In 1951, Dubois was jailed for advocating the ban of nuclear
weapons. He was charged with “failure to register as an agent of foreign principal,” and his
passport was taken for eight years. Once his passport was renewed he travelled to Ghana in
1961. Two years later, in failing health Dubois wanted to return to the United States. The
government denied his request for a passport renewal. Dubois became a citizen of Ghana and a
member of the Communist party in 1963. Dubois died that same year, at the age of 93
Ella Baker, a Vaudeville performer and singer, spoke widely about discrimination of
African Americans. Moving to France in the 1920’s Baker did not expect to encounter racism
upon her return to her home country. In 1952 Baker travelled to Uruguay and Argentina
criticizing racial and religious segregation. United States embassies became interested in
following her travels, labeling her as a Communist. Embassy officials instructed journalists not
to publish her quotes and appearances. Baker was also prevented from entering Cuba, Peru,
Columbia, and the United States.
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Such negative publicity about America from Soviets and African Americans alike
required a counter attack from the United States government. The best course of action to
improve international perception was to send African Americans of their choosing abroad. In
1952, the US state Department sponsored speakers to Lagos, Nigeria, who testified to the
improvements in American civil rights policies and democracy which “was the best
opportunity… to achieve equality.” (57) In 1953, under the direction of President Eisenhower,
the United States Information Agency (USIA) was established. In order to improve international
perceptions of America, the USIA created short films, radio ads, and advertisements to
disseminate “truth” as they dictated. These propaganda techniques created an untrue picture for
African Americans in regards to educational segregation, racial equality, and housing. The USIA
also argued that democracy, and not totalitarianism, are the road to redemption.
Countries in South and Southeast Asia, American propaganda efforts were unsuccessful.
Lacking sympathy for whites “anti-colonialism and racial resentments have been far more
important… than anti-Communism.” (56) Citizens in India also were not affected by American
propaganda, thinking the United States as imperialistic, and actively sought to oppress the
peoples of the world. Efforts against Communist propaganda and outreach were increasingly
unsuccessful.
In 1954, the United States government got the international acclaim it had sought for.
Brown vs. Board of Education case was heard by the Supreme Court which unanimously voted
to reject public school segregation. The segregationist ideals of “separate but equal” are
overruled. The Supreme Court decision is internationally praised and is seen as the greatest
legislation since the Emancipation Proclamation. “Criticism of the United States because of color
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discrimination practices has markedly declined in recent years, partly as a result of the Supreme
Court decisions in the school segregation cases.”(109)
Contrasting positive legislature was the murder of 14 year old Emmitt Till in Mississippi.
On August 28, 1955, Till was kidnapped, beaten mercilessly, and pistol whipped for flirting with
a white woman. He was found three days after his murder floating in the Tallahatchie River.
Further negative publicity was promoted in 1955 after Autherine Lucy’s rejection of admittance
to the University of Alabama. The African American college-graduate was denied admittance to
the university based on her race. Her short stay resulted in demonstrations and protests against
African-American student enrollment. She was later expelled for speaking unfavorably against
the university.
Also occurring in 1955 was the publicity surrounding Rosa Parks. On December 1, 1955,
Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. She was arrested and
fined fourteen dollars for violating a city ordinance. Parks led African American bus riders and
to boycott Montgomery city buses. She was also instrumental in the establishment of the
Montgomery Improvement Association which was led by (then unknown) Martin Luther King
Jr.
Another instance of racist and segregationist tradition was the 1957 admittance of the
“Little Rock Nine,” to Central High School. Two hundred gathered in protest to desegregation.
Fearing widespread violence, Governor Orval Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to
surround the school and prevent the students from entering. The Soviet Union used unedited
news footage and reports for its anti-American propaganda “often simply republishing facts
disseminating from U.S. news sources.” (121) Faubus’ disregard for the Supreme Court ruling
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for desegregation caused him to labeled a Communist and was ordered to meet with President
Eisenhower. He further defied Eisenhower’s order to desegregate Central High. After
presidential threats of contempt charges, Faubus withdrew the National Guard and left town. On
September 23, 1957, known as “Black Monday,” eight African American students entered
Central High, with a police escort.
It wasn’t until the launch of Sputnik in October of 1957, that the Soviet propaganda
machine and global media attention of the Little Rock Nine died down. The first leg of race to
space between the two nations was won. Eisenhower’s savior came in the form of another piece
of legislation Cooper v. Aaron. The February 1958 Supreme Court legislation mapped out a plan
to desegregate all schools. The ruling was vehemently despised by Faubus and other
segregationists who argued that the federal law should be nullified as it interfered with states’
rights.
With the independence of seventeen African nations in 1960, increased international
attention and criticism was applied to the issues surrounding African Americans. During the
Truman and Eisenhower administrations foreign diplomatic relations were highly affected by
racial pressures. Heightened racial tensions during the Kennedy administration would prove
challenging to organizers and activists in the Civil Rights Movement as well as legislators.
The Civil Rights Movement entered a new period, engaging tactics of non-violent direct
action. This non-confrontational form of civil disobedience ensured worldwide attention on the
movement. On February 1, 1960 four college students sat at a segregated lunch counter in a
Woolworth’s department store in Monroe, North Carolina. This action ignited a spark of youth
led resistance to segregation.
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Labeling of the movement as Communist was still prevalent, but often behind the scenes.
During Kennedy’s first year in office Soviets shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane.
“Eisenhower had given his word that the United States was not sending reconnaissance flights
over the Soviet Union and he was caught in a lie.” (154) Kennedy and Eisenhower were also
involved in a failed attempt to overthrow Cuba’s Fidel Castro at the Bay of Pigs, when news of
CIA involvement leaked to the press in 1961. As Kennedy began his presidency, Civil rights
were not a primary concern, but wanting to focus on peace and the relationship with the Soviet
Union. Civil rights leaders argued that reform was instrumental to economic growth and
international relations.
By 1961, more than seventy-thousand people participated in sit-ins resulting in 3,000
arrests. Student organizations also grew in numbers which included the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In
May of 1961 the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) planned to use direct action to challenge
the 1960 Supreme Court ruling legislating desegregation in the interstate bus system. The
Freedom Riders departed from Washington D.C. on a journey through the southern states headed
to New Orleans. While traveling through Alabama the riders were attacked by racist crowds. In
Anniston, Alabama one bus was set aflame by a firebomb.
On May 20, more riders came to participate in a ride from Birmingham to Montgomery
challenging segregation. A thousand pro-segregationists beat the riders, despite promises safety
by Governor John Patterson. In response, Martin Luther King Jr. came to Montgomery, which
incited further acts of violence. Kennedy was frustrated by the Freedom Riders’ persistence but
sent six hundred federal marshals to assist in establishing order. Kennedy urged the riders to stop
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and felt the riders were “embarrassing him and the county.” (159) Organizers timed their actions
with the meeting between President Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
The USIA reported that the actions in Alabama were “highly detrimental.” As the riders
continued to Jackson, Mississippi on May 24 they were victims of further attacks. They were
arrested for disturbing the peace, and sentenced to sixty seven days in jail. The government did
not interfere and the police did not protect the Freedom Riders from racist mobs. “Because
federal rights were at stake, because law and order demanded it, because it had an impact on his
image as a national leader…harmed U.S. prestige abroad Kennedy would find himself
increasingly involved in civil rights.”(163)
Actions at the University of Mississippi at Oxford would create a greater impact abroad
than the Freedom Riders’ struggle. Student James Meredith was denied admittance into the
university on the basis of race. In June of 1962 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New
Orleans affirmed Meredith’s rejection was unconstitutional. Pro segregationists opposed the
ruling and protesters gathered at the university. Federal marshals were sent in to ensure peace
and on September 30, a melee between protesters and marshals ensued. Hundreds were wounded
and two were killed, including a French reporter. The following morning Meredith registered for
classes. Kennedy’s willingness to send in the federal marshals was seen abroad as proof of the
governments’ commitment to civil rights enforcement. “Although federal action at the University
of Mississippi was widely praised, the overall impact of the crisis remained troubling.”(165)
The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 added pressure to relations between the United States
and the Soviet Union. The thirteen day standoff between the two countries was a result of Soviet
missiles based in Cuba. Adding to tensions was American Civil Rights activist Robert F.
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Williams, exiled in Cuba. Williams received national attention using his radio program Radio
Free Dixie. With the possibility of American invasion of Cuba, Williams called for an African-
American call to arms against the United States. Both Kennedy and Khrushchev feared mutually
assured destruction and negotiations followed. Khrushchev arranged to remove Soviet missiles
from Cuba and Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba as well as remove American missiles from
Turkey.
At home in the United States, another issue for Kennedy presented itself. The continued
discrimination against foreign diplomats continued to plague the nation. With United Nations
headquarters residing within international territory in New York City, segregated hairstylists,
diners, and hotels did not help in creating positive views of American civil rights progression.
Racial tensions were especially prominent on Maryland’s Highway 40 which was the principle
roadway from Washington D.C. to New York. In order to combat racism the “Maryland public
accommodations bill was passed…on January 1963.” (169)
Further blows came to the American image in May 1963 in Birmingham Alabama. The
“Birmingham Campaign” was a strategic series of direct actions organized by the SCLC. On
May 3 more than a thousand children and teens marched for their civil rights. Police Chief
Eugene “Bull” Connor ordered the use of fire hoses and police dogs to deter protesters. The
water pressure from the fire hoses tore clothing off of activists and was said to “remove tree bark
from a tree.” In retaliation, some protesters threw rocks and bricks at police. With jails
overflowing and cameras rolling, the Birmingham Campaign got center stage in the international
news media.
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President Kennedy began to push for increased civil rights legislation calling civil rights
“a moral issue…the heart of the question [was] whether we are going to treat our fellow
Americans as we want to be treated… this nation will not fully be free until all its citizens are
free.”(179) Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1963 which allowed the Department of
Justice to file school segregation lawsuits, the establishment of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, voting protection, and prohibition of discrimination in public
accommodations. The constant struggle to combat racism with legislation provided an
opportunity for the United States to prove its commitment to freedom and democracy.
On August 28, 1963 SNCC, SCLC, NAACP and CORE among other organizations, led a
march of over 250,000 people on Washington, the largest rally in United States history. The
march was formed to address issues of jobs and freedom withheld from the African American
community. Speakers included Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. King spoke his famous “I
Have a Dream” speech as well as conveying to the world “the negro is still languished in the
corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.” (192)
The March on Washington stirred solidarity actions in Kingston Jamaica, Burundi,
Ghana, Tel Aviv, Munich, Berlin, Cairo, Amsterdam, Paris, and other cities worldwide. Many
African countries reported that the march was the greatest of its kind in history. Europe,
according to the USIA declared the march to be “an affirmation of the democratic process” (197)
The USIA prepared videos of the march to present to audiences worldwide in order to establish
the progress of American policies.
International audiences were stunned at racial violence yet again after the bombing of the
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963. Four African American girls were killed
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in the blast, shattering positive viewpoints of race relations. As conflict spread into the
Birmingham streets, the moral aspect of the Civil Rights Movement was even more apparent.
Following the bombing, Kennedy viewed civil rights reform as central to change.
President Kennedy did not live to see the change he inspired with his civil rights
legislative proposal. On November 22, in Dallas Texas, Kennedy was shot and killed. The
assassination of Kennedy as well as other racial based killings showcased the cultural prevalence
of racism, not a testament to Unites States legislation. Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon Johnson put
Kennedy’s vision into action. Johnson was motivated to enact a harsher civil rights bill than
Kennedy. On June 19, 1964 the Civil Rights Bill was passed into law.
In order to further civil rights organizers with the Council of Federated Organizations
(COFO) which included CORE, SCLC, and the NAACP organized “Freedom Summer,” in 1964.
Freedom Summer included Freedom Schools to educate the populace, and a Freedom Ballot, to
encourage local political campaigns. Volunteers from all over the country participated, as well as
many white college students. The campaign focused primarily on voter suppression and
intimidation in Mississippi. Voting drives and outreach increased the registration of thousands of
African American voters.
Following voting drives and campaigns, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
(MFDP) was founded and gained an audience at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.
MFDP delegate Fannie Lou Hamer spoke to fellow delegates about her abuses on a
sharecropping plantation, as well as violence against her by police while in a Ruleville jail.
Johnson, fearing a loss of support from fifteen Southern states, offered two delegation seats.
MFDP delegates did not accept Johnson’s proposal.
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Freedom Summer had no shortage of violence, with severe white opposition and
resistance. There were also nearly a thousand arrests, and most horrifyingly, the murders of
Civil Rights activists, James Cheney, Andrew Goodman, and Matthew Schwerner. On the
evening of June 21, the three men set off to investigate a church bombing in Philadelphia
Mississippi. Police arrested them, and their bodies surfaced near a dam three days later. Ten men
were charged with their murder, including the deputy sheriff.
In July of 1964 a white police officer in Harlem, New York shot an unarmed 15 year old
African American. The rally and march quickly turned violent and escalated into a full scale riot.
Rioters battled police officers for five days. A Cairo newspaper reported “America is threatened
with Civil War.” (215)
War efforts were also escalating in Vietnam after the August 1964, with the bombing of
the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. The ship was fired upon by machine guns by North
Vietnamese troops and supposedly attacked a second time. The second, more severe attack was
used by the United States government in order to justify invading South Vietnam. Declassified
National Security Administration documents later proved this second attack never took place.
The United States used the alleged attack to create anti- Communist South Vietnam propaganda.
In response, Soviet propaganda suggested that the greatest threat to American’s involvement in
Vietnam, would be from the within the United States.
By 1964, civil rights organizers utilized international solidarity campaigns in an attempt
to create a global unified Civil Rights Movement. American activists sought to create alliances
with people in other countries who shared anti-colonialist views. Appeals were made by
Malcolm X to diplomats throughout Africa, meeting with the Organization for African Unity
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(OAU) as well as Egypt, and Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Muslim Ministers’ aim was to bring the
African American racial dilemma to the floor of the United Nations. Malcolm X was a vocal
opponent against white America, and called the Civil Rights Act an American propaganda stunt.
Members of the OAU were not receptive to his pleas and he developed the belief “as long as you
take money from America, you’ll only have the external appearance of sovereignty.”(222)
The USIA felt threatened by Malcolm X speaking engagements and quickly pursued a
speaker to repair the damage caused by his visits to the Organization for African Unity. The
United States government sponsored CORE founder, James Farmer, who would tell a story more
palatable to American interests. Farmer often disagreed with Malcolm X, and it was assumed
that Farmer would try to discredit him; however American officials were disappointed when
Farmer’s aim was not to harm the reputation of Malcolm X.
Throughout his activist career Malcolm X promoted violent tactics and opposed Martin
Luther King’s non-violent approaches. Malcolm X said they had “differences in method, not
goals,” However, after his trip to Mecca he became more hopeful about whites and their attitudes
to civil rights. Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, by members of the Nation of
Islam, who opposed his separation from their leader, Elijah Mohammed.
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were not close, but Malcolm X spoke to King’s wife
Coretta while her husband was imprisoned on February 2, 1965 for voters’ rights in Selma
Alabama. On February 5, Malcolm X expressed that he had “an interest in working more closely
with the nonviolent movement, but he was not yet able to renounce violence and overcome the
bitterness which life invested in him.” (Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. Ch. 25)
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The campaigns in Selma focused on discriminatory voting practices in the region, which
inspired state mandates on procedures the voting board would be required to follow. Following
legislation changes in Selma, rallies followed in Marion, which turned bloody. Police shot
demonstrator Jimmy Lee Jackson in the stomach, who died seven days later. In response to
Jackson’s death, members of the SCLC and SNCC organized a march from Selma, to the
Alabama capitol, Montgomery.
The second march on March 7 from Selma to Montgomery was termed “Bloody
Sunday.” Alabama state toppers prevented the activists from leaving the city limits. Police used
horses, tear gas, and clubs to turn the campaigners around. The evening of the march, three
members of the group were attacked by white supremacists, with one person dying from his
injuries. The murderer was later acquitted by an all-white jury. Following the acquittal King led
an 8,000 person march from Selma to Montgomery. As they approached Montgomery, the crowd
grew to 25,000.
Although the Selma campaigns did not receive international attention, the successful
completion of the march brought to the political forefront issues regarding voters’ rights.
According to the USIA, the campaign was overshadowed by “more immediate concerns, such as
Vietnam.” (235) The Soviet Union seemed to be far less critical of the racial issues within the
United States, focusing on American military actions against the Communists in South Vietnam.
China was much more critical than the Soviets, proclaiming that the Civil Rights Act was a
method paralyzing the Civil Rights Movement.
Nine days after the march to Montgomery President Johnson sent the Voting Rights Act
to congress. The act was signed into law on August 8, 1965 which included legislation opposing
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discriminatory practices including literacy tests and allowed the right to vote to non- English
speakers. In addition, the federal government would be able to monitor voting registration in
locations that required evaluations for voting suitability. Two hundred thousand African
Americans registered to vote in the first year.
Within five days of passing the Voting Rights Act, riots in Los Angeles occurred after the
arrest of an African American motorist by a white police officer. Thousands fought with police
during the seven day riot, which included looting and burning of property. The National Guard
was called in to quell the uprising, with a death toll of thirty four and 40 million dollars in
property damage.
Activists for social change and reform began to focus on anti-poverty and Vietnam War
opposition as well as civil rights. In 1966, the USIA reported that the international viewpoints
towards American race relations were shifting “it seems probable that we have crossed some sort
of watershed in foreign judgments and perspectives on the racial issues in the U.S.”(239)
By 1967, all domestic support for the conflict in Vietnam dissipated. Officials in Vietnam
welcomed the Detroit riots in July of 1967 claiming “the African American struggle is a second
front…to weaken U.S. imperialism.”(243) The riots were a response to a police raid on a party
for two Vietnam veterans returning home. Police arrested all 82 attendees and a crowd gathered
around the venue in support of the partygoers. Two homeless residents, who were required to
leave the bar, went across the street and broke local shop windows. The anger and violence
spread and escalated quickly. The riots resulted in forty three deaths and the destruction of 1300
buildings.
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On April 3, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr gave his final speech while in Memphis,
Tennessee, supporting a sanitation workers’ strike. "We've got some difficult days ahead. But it
really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop...And He's allowed me
to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get
there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised
Land.” The next morning, King was assassinated while on the balcony of his hotel room.
African Americans took to the streets in numerous cities, with National Guard troops deployed in
Memphis and Washington D.C. Following Kings’ assassination European propaganda
questioned United States democracy as a form of government. Soviet propaganda alluded that
America is “dominated by fear.”
As a result of such troubling challenges of civil rights reform and the Vietnam conflict
Johnson declined another presidential term. During President Nixon’s campaign in 1968 he
developed a platform of “law and order.” The perception of law and order seemed to attract
American voters in a time of assassinations and war. This rhetoric applied to policies both
domestically and internationally, and became the accepted response to racial issues. During the
Nixon administration the Civil Rights Movement was no longer a key factor in American
international relations, focusing heavily on American influence in Vietnam.
On July 20, 1969 American’s won the race with the Soviet Union to land a man on the
moon. Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the surface of Moon, landing the
Apollo 11 space shuttle six hours prior. Unbeknownst to Americans, the Soviet space program
was underfunded and undermanned. Under such circumstances, Soviets were unable to launch
their N-1 rocket, abandoning the project completely in 1975.
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After the end of World War II, the Soviet Union developed anti- American propaganda in
order to gain international supporters. Advertisements focused primarily on the abuses of African
Americans, appealing to anti-imperialist sentiment. Many U.S. images, videos, and interviews
were reprinted and used by the Soviet government to discredit the ideals of American democracy
and equality. Lynchings, bombings, assassinations, and racially inspired riots assisted the Soviet
propagandists, thus creating an unfavorable image of the United States. In contrast, the Soviet
government was the focus of many American propaganda campaigns both domestically and
abroad. The Communist governmental model was a threat to American “freedom and liberty,”
and extensive campaigns were launched to promote and protect Americas image internationally.
Following African American international solidarity campaigns and consequent foreign relations
pressures, changes in civil rights legislation occurred in the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s,
drastically changing segregation and discrimination for all Americans.
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Sources in addition to Cold War Civil Rights
Space Race Information –
www.und.nodak. edu /instruct/jfkconference/JFKChapter141.doc
