The civil rights reforms of 1964-65, directed at destroying the Southern system of racial segregation was successful. It brought Jim Crow down and opened new opportunities for Black in the south. The riots of 1965-68 occurred almost entirely outside the South. Instead, these were solidarity demonstrations staged in Black communities in the northern and western parts of the country. The cities of Watts, Chicago, Detroit, Newark, Tampa, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Washington D.C., Baltimore and Louisville are some that were in protest. Outside the south, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act had produced few benefits for inner city Blacks, whose unemployment doubled that of whites and housing was racially isolated and located in deteriorating …show more content…
The exclusion of “human rights” has occupied and oppressed urban neighborhoods, as survival is the first order of business. Rioting is the result of the public officials not recognizing the real problem. Rioting was the voice of the problem. The Silent Protest - Summer Olympic 1968 Two black American athletes made history at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico by staging a silent protest against racial discrimination. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medalists in the 200 meters, stood with their heads bowed and a black-gloved hand raised as the American National Anthem played during the victory ceremony. The pair both wore black socks and no shoes and Smith wore a black scarf around his neck. They were demonstrating against continuing racial discrimination of black people in the United States. As they left the podium at the end of the ceremony they were booed by many in the crowd. At a press conference after the event Tommie Smith, who holds seven world records, said: "If I win I am an American, not a black American. But if I did something bad then they would say 'a Negro'. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did …show more content…
At least 95 percent of African-American voters voted for Obama. He also received overwhelming support from young and educated whites, a majority of Asians, Hispanics, and Native American picking up a number of new states in the Democratic electoral column, Obama lost the overall white vote, although he won a larger proportion of white votes than any previous non incumbent Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter. Four years later, Obama was re-elected president by a similar margin on November 6,