Civil Rights Flashcards
What is segregation?
Segregation is when they split the white people and coloured people away from each other, for example it shows both have a restroom, one for the white and one for the coloured. White is clean whilst coloured is not in the best of state.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination is treating people unfairly based on their race and religion. For example white people would get clean toilets and sinks whilst the coloured would get dirty sinks and toilets.
Voting rights
In the 1950s in the north, many black Americans were registering to vote. This meant that politicians needed some policies that appealed to black people to win votes in order to be elected.
In the south, there was also some progress by 1954 there were 143 southern towns with black policemen and about 20% of black Americans had registered to vote.
How did white people in the south stop black people from voting?
White employers threatened to sack black employees if they registered to vote or voted.
On voting days white gangs would gather outside the voting places and would physically beat them up.
Black people who went to court to defend their right to vote faced beating or even murder.
States set their own rules for state elections. Some passed laws making it harder for black people to vote.
Who is the NAACP?
The NAACP focused on fighting for civil rights in the courts
They set up the Legal Defence Fund in 1940 to help wrongly-convicted blacks people appeal against their convictions.
The legal fight against segregation faced the problem of Plessy v Ferguson - ‘separate but equal’ - decision of the Supreme Court in 1896.
They prosecuted white people who murdered black people.
Who is CORE?
CORE had a smaller membership than the NAACP and worked mainly in the north.
CORE campaigns targeted segregation, but not in the courts. Core used non violent direct action protests, such as boycotts, pickets and sit ins of segregated places like lunch counters.
Set up in 1942
They are middle class, white, northerners not black southerners.
They used non-violent action.
Who is SCLC?
Black American churches were the end centre of most black southern communities.
All segregation to be rejected and protested against
It was set up in January 1957
It’s first big campaign was centre around voter registration as it wanted enough black voters in the south to have an impact on elections.
The key features of the Brown vs board of education case (1954)
1951: The parents of Linda Brown and 12 other black students lost a state court case trying to get their children to be accepted at a local white school that was closer than the black school.
1952: The NAACP bundled all five schools desegregation cases together and took them to the Supreme Court as Brown vs Board of education
17th May 1954: The Supreme Court ruled that life had changed since Plessy ruling. A good education was vital to progress. Segregated education made black children feel inferior, so was unconstitutional. ‘Separate but equal’ had no place in education so schools had to desegregate.
What were the positive and negative impacts on the brown case?
Positive:
Brown reversed Plessy
By the end of the 1957 school year, 723 school districts had desegregated
Greater awareness of civil fronts issues and encouragement for further campaigns.
Negative consequences:
An extreme white backlash began, Black children who had previously integrated in white schools were target of threats and violence especially their families.
Many school boards said they were making plans to integrate schools but did nothing.
Ku Klux Klan grew and its attacks focused on supporters of civil rights.
What were the immediate and long term significance of the Brown v Board of education case
The immediate significance of the case was that it declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. This landmark Supreme Court ruling overturned the “ seperate but equal” doctrine established in the plessy v Ferguson case. It was a major victory for civil rights movement.
In the long term, the Brown v board of education case had a profound impact on the fight for civil rights. It paved the way for desegregation efforts in schools and other public institutions. It challenged the legal basis of segregation and helped dismantle discriminatory practices.
The significance of the Little Rock nine
The events at Little Rock were very important in the civil rights campaign of 1950s. It was a big deal because it was the first time that African American students were allowed to attend an all-white school. It sparked a lot of discussion and brought attention to the issue of segregation. This was very significant as it highlighted the resistance to desegregation and the challenges faced by African American students seeking equal education. It brought attention to the issue of segregation and sparked a national conversation about civil rights. President Eisenhower shower federal government’s commitment to enforcing desegregation orders and protecting all citizens rights.
Causes and events of the Montgomery bus boycott. The significance of Rosa Parks
On 1st December 1955 in Montgomery (Alabama) Rosa Parks got on a segregated bus. A white main told Rosa to move so he could seat but Rosa refused whilst she got arrested.
This event caused a boycott of the buses by nearly all of the black people in Montgomery.
Rosa Parks was an incredible advocate for civil rights and played a significant role in the American civil rights movement.
What were the reasons of success and the importance of the boycott?
This was because they set up the MIA which is the Montgomery Improvement Association it was set up on 5th December and this aimed to improve the rights of the black people of Montgomery. This was really significant because they had Martin Luther king who was brought in as the head of the MIA, he was chosen because he was new to Montgomery so he had no friends or enemies among the white officials. He played a really big part to the boycott.
Who were Dixiecrats?
Dixiecrats were the democrats who opposed to any bill supporting the civil rights.
Who is the Ku Klux Klan?
Ku Klux Klan is a white supremacist organization that aimed to ensure white people continued to have more rights and power over other races.
