How Did Sncc Affect The Civil Rights Movement

Since it’s very beginning the United States has been a nation founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, a system of segregation existed in the states that denied these basic principles to the African American population. So organizations such as Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) were created in order to combat this inequality. Yet, as the civil rights movement changed so too did SNCC; transforming itself from a local grass-roots project to an organized nation-wide project. Thus the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee changed profoundly throughout its existence from its advent in 1960 till to the summer of 1966. The federal government’s lack of policies to protect black citizens radicalized

This negative opinion in turn hurt SNCC more than was anticipated as “Observers failed to recognize that SNCC’s success in the early 1960s was aided by the threat of federal intervention against a vulnerable southern political system” (178). By deterring whites from involvement SNCC also denied moderate liberals, as “Identification with SNCC’s radicalism was effective only to the extent that SNCC was allied with moderate civil rights forces, since it had not developed an independent base of support” (179). By losing all support from moderates, SNCC instead prided itself on militancy, this encouraged “many young radicals who did not wish to conform with prevailing American values, SNCC appeared to offer an outlet for discontent without the compromise of individual ideals.” (178). Acting as a further disconnect between traditional liberals and the New Left, which in itself created a vicious cycle of SNCC seeking more radical allies, while losing more moderate ones. Promptly after this SNCC’s access to political and financial capital was devastated, which made the organization more vulnerable to the FBI’s counter-intelligence program (COINTELPRO), negative media coverage, and congressional harassment seen by “Eastland’s attempt to undermine SNCC through innuendo and guilt by association would have been ineffective were it not for a weakening of SNCC’s liberal congressional support by a growing northern

Yet, as SNCC grew, a bureaucracy grew with it, leading to the creation of a hierarchy. Thus SNCC was left with a contradictory notion of a grassroots approach, while at the same time advocating continual integration into the political atmosphere. SNCC was created on the idea that they should work within in the area, and empower people to become local leaders. With the measure of success being the amount of voters registered in the area or the ability to spur federal intervention. Yet later SNCC decided to put more “emphasis on militant rhetoric rather than on the development of workable programs to consolidate southern rights gain” (229). This change in dogma occurred because a hierarchy was created. This bottom-top organization changed into a top-bottom organization that began promptly before Stokely Carmichael was elected chairman. SNCC had grown increasingly since its creation in 1960 and various hardliners had grown frustrated with “floaters” who were not committed to a single project. Thus in response SNCC agreed “to exercise greater control over staff activities” (158). Purging or “firing” certain members from SNCC heavily contributed to the bureaucratization of the organization as each individual was held accountable for their