America is not like a blanket -- one piece of unbroken cloth. America is more like a quilt -- many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven together by a common thread...
Black Power was more appealing to the working-class people living in the ghettos, than MLK who appealed to middle-class wealthy blacks. Groups such as the SNCC and the Black Panthers tried to address the economic problems ghettos, therefore trying to improve the situation of many blacks stuck in poverty. Both of these parties were able to address these issues by organising high-profile campaigns which attracted many poor blacks. |
The ghettos were a very horrible place to live in. This is due to the fact that the houses in the ghetto were very dirty and cheaply built. Also, many people lived in each house as some families could not afford a house of their own. In addition, the conditions were unsanitary which caused the residents to contract diseases. Not all the residents were black as some were other ethnic minorities like Native Americans, Asians and Hispanics. |
how organisations helped...
- Black Power helped black people to control their communities, and ultimately improve economic and social problems in areas like ghettoes. SNCC Free D.C. Movement, headed by Marion Barry, was a successful example. It aimed to help black people control their community in Washington; this project started in 1966, with demonstration over various things like the way schools were administered. SNCC’s work raised $3 million of government funding to improve community policing, and therefore the problems faced by blacks in the ghettos.
- The SNCC helped black people all over America e.g. the “Freedom City” in Mississippi raised $1.5 million from churches.
- Although the group was opposed by a radicals like Barnett and Stennis, the project improved the lives of thousands of black people in Mississippi emotionally and economically.
healthcare
The
Black Panther Party (BBP), followers of Black Power, created educational and
health schemes which helped thousands of people during the late 1960s. One of
their best-known campaigns involved sickle cell anaemia, a medical condition
which affected many black People.
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By
the end of the 1960’s there were 49 Black Panther clinics across America. The
BBP were so successful that in 1972 the government passed the National Sickle
Cell Anaemia Control Act, which funded the research and treatment of the
disease via government funding.
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This
helped improve the health of residents in the ghettos as many people living in
them could not afford healthcare, let alone specialist doctors to help with
sickle cell. With the BBP setting up clinics for these black people it meant
that their health improved without them losing any money.
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Overall,
Black Power did improve life in the ghetto for blacks’ quite a lot. Groups like
SNCC and BBP improved the health and economic issues of people in the ghetto,
so children could educate, and for people will diseases such as sickle cell to
be treated. Although many blacks’ still lived in ghettos, Black Power helped
create the stepping stones for improvements of blacks’ living in ghettos...