Reverend James Bevel of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) drafted the Chicago Plan which explains how too many blacks with hopes of new opportunities and freedoms went to Chicago. This migration caused Chicago to become segregated. This finally led to Chicago pushing blacks into ghettoes and the slums. Chicago became less of a "promised land" and the South became filled with more opportunities.
2. How did the SCLC distinguish the problems of black residents of a Norhtern city like Chicago from those in a Southern city like Birmingham?
The difference between the situation in Birmingham and the situation in Chicago was that in Birmingham, the only problem that was in effect was segregation. So the SCLC was able to put forth action in order to desegregate the city. But in Chicago, the problems were more complex. By having all of these black people coming to the north, they are putting Chicago in a state of economic exploitation. Bevel said, "Every condition exists simply because someone profits by its existence. This economic exploitation is crystallized in the SLUM," (6). Bevel realized that the problem with Chicago was too difficult to fix with what strategies they had. Chicago was not as badly segregated as Birmingham, but their problem was not an easy fix - they were not able to use desegregation - they were going to have Chicago staff "come to see this as a system of internal colonialism," in order to integrate and fix Chicago.
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