There's only been limited
success in national politics.
Only 121 black
Americans have been
elected to Congress
since 1880.
Shirley Chisholm: First
black woman elected
to congress in 1968.
In 1972 she lost the presidential
nomination of the Democratic
Party to George McGovern.
Carol Moseley:
First black
woman elected
as US Senator in
January 1993.
Colin Powell: First black
American to become the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff in 1989 and held this
position during the Golf War of
1990-91.
He was the first black
Secretary of State from
2001-05.
Economics
By 1960, large numbers of
black Americans continued to
live under the poverty line.
Experienced greater
deprivation than white
Americans as they
generally lived in
poorer areas and went
to poorer schools.
One University study
showed that a middle
class black American
with a PhD had less
chance of living in a
white neighbourhood
than a
Spanish-American who
left school after third
grade.
Many banks still refused to
grant black Americans
mortgages even though
they could afford expensive
homes.
Education
There was still some
opposition to integration in
schools even after the Civil
Rights Bill of 1964.
However some schools tried to ensure
integration and ethnic mix by bussing
students across racial divides.
President Nixon was against
bussing and in 1973 the Supreme
Court banned it.
Still hardly any racial mix in
some cities by 1978.
From 1980-2007, the college enrolment
rates for black Americans increased from
44% - 56%.
Sport
Black athletes always excelled
in sports but in some fields
they were either excluded or
could only participate in
segregated games.
Muhammad Ali emerged as
world heavyweight champion
in 1960. He won the title three
times and dominated sport for
more than twenty years. He is
viewed as the best boxer ever
by boxing experts.
Carl Lewis won nine gold Olympic medals,
four of which were at the 1984 L.A. Olympics.
Michael Johnson holds the record for the
most medals won by any athlete.
In the 1984 Olympics, only 6% of all
American women participating were
black and they won 75% of all track
and field events.
Television
Produced many T.V. programmes
which created black American stars.
A 1999 Screen Actors
Guild study showed that
sixteen per cent of
characters on network
television were black
Americans.
This statistic is significant
when compared that only
thirteen percent of the
American population was
black at the time of the
study.
Oprah Winfrey has her own
T.V. chat show but is also an
actress, producer and
philanthropist, She is one of
the most richest people in
the country and a role model.
Despite all these successes,
black Americans have found
it difficult to break into the
world of sports
presentation. Only in the
past few years
sportscasters such as Greg
Gumbel moved into
prestigious network
positions.
Literature
Toni Morrison won the
Nobel Prize for literature
in 1973.
Writers such as Alice Walker and
Maya Angelou are internationally
renowned.
Robert Hayden became the first black
American poet laureate 1976-78.
Cinema
Produced many black stars
such as Eddie Murphy, Samuel
L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman
and Whoopi Goldberg.
Denzel Washington
became the 2nd black
American to win an
Oscar and has played
iconic roles such as
Malcolm X.
One of the most influential
directors has been Spike Lee
who has examined race
relations, the role of media in
contemporary life, urban crime
and poverty.
Music
Made enormous
contributions to the world
of popular music.
In the 1960s, the record label,
Tamla Motown, produced
starts such as Stevie Wonder,
Marvin Gaye and the Jackson
5.
From the Jackson 5 emerged
Michael Jackson who is still a
worldwide pop music
phenomenon.
His 1982 album, Thriller, topped music
charts all over the world and will go
down in history as the biggest selling
album of all time.