1950's Civil Rights Flashcards
What Laws from the 1870’s introduced segregation
Jim Crow Laws
What was the name for the splitting up of public facilities between white and black people
segregation
What are some of the examples of public facilities that were segregated
restaurants, hospitals, schools, parks, buses, drinking fountains, waiting rooms, cinemas, shops, hotels, etc.
What was the name of the supreme court case that said school segregation was legal as long as education was “Separate but Equal” (it wasn’t)
1896 - Plessey vs Fergusson
What Amendment allowed all US citizens the right to vote regardless of their race or skin colour
15th Amendment
What did Southern states use to stop black people from registering to vote
Literacy tests - with impossible questions such as “how many bubbles in a bar of soap?”
what was CORE
-Congress of Racial Equality
-Non-violent protest group who organised sit-ins in segregated facilities like cinemas and restaurants, which led to the end of segregation in some Northern cities
-Primarily based in the North
what was NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
When was the NAACP formed
1909
By 1946, how many members did NAACP have
600,000
What supreme court case ruled that segregation on schools was illegal
Brown Vs. Board Of Education
How many of the 9 supreme court judges ruled that segregation in schools was illegal
All of them - a unanimous decision
How many black students were attending schools in 1957 that had previously been segregated
300,000
What did some white people do to oppose desegregation in schools
They set up the White Citizen’s Council. 100 politicians signed the Southern Manifesto
What school did 9 black students try to join in 1957 despite the opposition they faced
Little Rock, Arkansas
What was the name of the Arkansas Governor who sent the Arkansas National Guard to block the entrance to the school; the students still tried to enter the school even though more than 1000 people blocked the path
Orval Faubus
How did the 9 students successfully take their place in the high school
President Eisenhower intervened by sending Federal Soldiers to protect the students for the rest of the year - despite this Orval Faubus closed all schools in Arkansas for the rest of year meaning black and white students had no education. But in 1959, a supreme court case forced the schools to reopen, desegregated.
What did Rosa Parks do in December 1955 that made her famous
She refused to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated bus
what was the WPC
Women’s Political Coucil
who was the leader of the WPC
Jo Ann Robinson
On the 5th December, how many black people were involved in a bus boycott set up by the WPC
20,000
What was the name of the organisation that set up the Montgomery Bus Boycott
MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association)
How long did the Montgomery Bus Boycott last
381 days (5th December 1955—- 20th December 1956)
What did the MIA set up to help black people cope with buses in montgomery
car pooling
When was MLK’s home bombed with his wife and baby inside, in white backlash from the Montgomery Bus Boycott
JAN 1956
How many MIA members were arrested in Feb 1956, including MLK, in response to the Montgomery Bus Boycott
89
What was the name of the supreme court case that ruled, in June 1956, that buses should be desegregated
Browder vs. Gayle
Why was the murder of Emmett Till in 1955 so important
His mother had an open coffin funeral so the public could see how badly he was attacked and the physical abuse that black people had to deal with
what did the KKK do to oppose rights for black people
-Lynching
-Beatings
-feather and tar
What was the name of southern politicians in the democratic party who opposed civil rights
dixiecrats
How did Senator Thurmond try to stop the 1957 civil rights act from passing
Filibuster - He spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes non stop to try and stop the vote from passing
