1950s Civil Rights Flashcards
What caused brown brown v Topeka
Parents wanted black daughter Linda to attend the neighbourhood white school, so that she wouldn’t have to walk all the way to the black school alone. NAACP and Thur good Marshall took the case to the Supreme Court.
Verdict of the brown v Topeka case
18 month case
17 may 1954- justice warren and court decided ‘desperate but equal has not place’
Positive results from brown v Topeka
Some schools began to desegregate and by 1957 300,000 black children were attending intergrated schools
Key features of the Little Rock incident
After the Brown decision, Little Rock high school, Arians decided to allow 9 black students to enrol there.
September 3rd 1957- when nine students led by Elizabeth Eckford tried to enter but were prevented by he governor who ordered state national Guardsmen to block their entry
Next day they were allowed In but had to leave at lunch because they were at risk
The press publicised it worldwide and it was an embarrassment to the USA
President Eisenhower used the national guard and federal troops to protect the black students for the rest of the school year
What was the significance of the Little Rock incident?
It demonstrated that civil rights could no longer be ignored, since the president got involved. Many US citizens saw, for the first time, the racial hatred that existed in the southern states. Black activists began to realise that reliance on federal courts was not enough to secure Change
Montgomery bus boycott
Black people were upset about the limited rules of segregation on buses (e.g could not sit next to whites, had to give up their seat for white ppl)
On Dec 1 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man. She was arrested.
On the day after her arrest Robison and some students printed thousands of leaflets encouraging people to boycott buses, they planned to do it for a day but on Dec 5th MLK gave a speech to 7,000 people to extend the boycott.
Came to an end on 20 Dec
It was a success- showed benefits of peaceful protest
Why was there progress in 1950’s civil rights
- changes in education
- Montgomery bus boycott
Why was there progress in 1950’s civil rights (changes in education)
One reason why there was progress on civil rights in the 1950s it’s because of the breakthrough of changes in education. This was due to the 18 month long case of ‘Brown v Topeka’ of 1954 when parents of black primary school girl Linda Brown wanted her to attend the local White school as the journey was much safer and quicker. After Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP took the case to the Supreme Court it was decided that “separate but equal has no place” This influenced 300,000 schools to desegregate by 1957, and resulted in other education triumphs such as the little rock incident of 1957 when nine students led by Elizabeth Eckford attempted to enter an all white high- school and the James Meredith case of 1962
Why was there progress in 1950’s civil rights (Montgomery)
Another reason why there was progress in civil rights in the 1950s it’s because of the Montgomery bus boycott. On 1 December 1955, when black woman Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus for a white man, it was decided by Robinson and some students to boycott the buses for the day. On 5 December Martin Luther King gave a speech to 7000 people encouraging them to continue with the boycott and thus it went on, for over a year until the supreme court agreed to accept the terms of segregation on buses. This was an extremely important event as it showed that unity could win and demonstrated the power and success of the peaceful protest. This influenced many events in the 60s such as public sit-ins and the marches on Washington and Selma.
Why was there progress in 1950’s civil rights (Link)
Combo
Influenced other events