American Civil Rights Movement

Question 1

What were the Jim Crow Laws and when were they present?

Answer 1

1880s - 1960s
- State/local laws introduced in South to enforce and legalise racial segregation of African Americans
- Institutionalised under guise of ‘seperate but equal’ (lied)

Question 2

Example of Jim Crow LAws

Answer 2

• Mandated different train carriages for different races (often no car available)
• Legal penalties for disobeying law or speaking out
• Expected to remain subservient even under threat of violence

Question 3

When and how was Emmett Till lynched?

Answer 3

August 28th 1955
- 14 year old boy visiting relatives in Mississippi
- Accused of flirting with white woman in local store, Carol Bryant
- Her husband and his half-brother kidnapped him from uncle’s home.
- Beat, shot him and tied fan to his neck with barbed wire before dumping body in Tallahatchie River.
- Body found 3 days later.

Question 4

Impact of Emmett Till’s lynching

Answer 4

• Open-casket funeral in Chicago showed world brutality her son endured.
• Images of his mutilated body were published in national magazines
• Shocked nation and highlighted American racism.
• Despite evidence, abusers were acquitted –> enraged Black community and civil rights activists.

Question 5

Who was Martin Luther King?

Answer 5

• Pivotal leader in American Civil Rights Movement.
• Born Atlanta, Georgia and became Baptist minister.
• President of Montgomery Improvement association (MIA)

Question 6

What did Martin Luther King fight for and how?

Answer 6

• Committed to nonviolent resistance against racial injustice and segregation.
• Rose to national prominence during Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955.
• Leadership inspired millions

Question 7

What and when was King’s famous speech?

Answer 7

August 28, 1963, “I Have a Dream” speech at March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
- Spoke to crowd of around 250 000 people.
- emblematic of movement’s goals

Question 8

Result of Martin Luther King’s work?

Answer 8

• Significant legal and social changes
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
• Assassinated in 1968 but legacy continues to inspire and guide peaceful social movements for civil rights globally.

Question 9

Montgomery Bus Boycott details and when?

Answer 9

1st December 1955: Rosa Parks sat at back of bus after work
- White seats full
- White man asked her to give up her seat, she said no and was arrested
- Women’s Political Council of Montgomery organised 1-day boycott on 5th December
- Successful so boycott extended until buses were desegregated

Question 10

Result of Montgomery Bus boycotts?

Answer 10

• Ended segregation on buses on 20th December after being ruled unconstitutional by Supreme Court.