Depth Study - Rights and Freedoms
1. In a scene, young African Americans are shown staging a sit-in at a lunch counter to protest
against segregation. What role did students from Fisk University, Nashville have in such
protests? Were their actions successful? (100 words)
Students from Fisk University were the first ones to organise and executed the
sit-ins in Nashville, Tennessee. The campaign, coordinated by the Nashville
Student Movement and Nashville Christian Leadership Council, was notable for its
early success and emphasis on disciplined nonviolence. It was part of a broader
sit-in movement that spread across the Southern United States in the wake of the
Greensboro sit-ins in North Carolina.
It is widely accepted that the sit-ins were very successful, mainly due to the
non-violent approach of the protesters. They were also extremely effective in
drawing public attention to the racial problems in America and in the creation
of many other movements.
2. Who was Emmet Till and what were the circumstances of his death? Were there any consequences for
those involved in this? (100 words)
Emmett Louis Till was a 14 year old African-American. In August 1955, he was
visiting relatives near Money, Mississippi where he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn
Bryant, a white woman. Although exactly what happened is a matter of dispute,
Till was accused of flirting with or whistling at Bryant.
Following this, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J.W. Milam went armed
to Till's great-uncle's house and abducted him. They took him away and beat,
tortured and mutilated him before shooting him in the head and sinking his body
in the Tallahatchie River.
In September 1955, Bryant and Milam were acquitted by an all-white jury of
Till's kidnapping and murder.
3. Cecil’s eldest son, Louis, believed in more radical actions to achieve civil rights.
• Who were the Black Panthers? When and where were they formed and who were their leaders?
• What was their Ten Point Plan? Find a copy of this online from a reliable site, download it and
reference it. Then choose two points that you believe were the most important and explain why
you. think this. (150 words)
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally called the Black Panther Party for
Self-Defence, was a political organisation founded by Bobby Seale and Huey
Newton in October 1966 Oakland, California.
I would argue that points 1 And 7 Were the most important in the Black Panthers
10 point plan as they touch an primordial human rights mentioned in both the
American Constitution and the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
Point number One is all about Freedom, a basic human right that is guaranteed
under the constitution and the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Yet many African
Americans had very little power to change their destiny and were trapped in a
racist society that offers very little freedom in employment, speech and many
other areas.
Point number seven is all about life, the right to live free from police
brutality and...
