Within a few months, Congress approved the Voting Rights Act of 1965. By 1965, King had come to believe that civil rights leaders should pay more attention to the economic problems of blacks. In 1966, he helped begin a major civil rights capaign in Chicago, which was his first big effort outside the South. Leaders of the campaign tried to organize black residents who suffered from unemployment, bad housing, and poor schools. The leaders also protested against real estate practices that kept blacks from living in neighborhoods and suburbs.
King believe such practices played a big role in trapping poor blacks in urban areas.
King and the leaders also organized marches through white neighborhoods. But angry white people in these communities threw bottles and rocks at the demonstrators. Soon, Chicago officials promised to encourage fair housing practices in the city if King would stop the protests. King agreed to the offer, and the campaign ended. In 1966, SNCC leaders encouraged a more aggressive response to the violence and began to use the slogan Black Power.