Civil Rights Flashcards
When was CORE set up? What does it stand for?
1942
Congress of racial equality
What did the Jim Crow Laws state?
Separate but equal
When was the brown vs Topeka law passed?
1954
When was the NAACP set up and what does it stand for?
- 1909
- national association for the advancement of coloured people
When and what the Plessy Ferguson ruling?
- 1896
- majority of American states enforced segregation as long as the facilities were of an equal standard ‘separate equal’
What was the KKK?
Racist group which carried out lynching.
Why did nobody stop the KKK?
- had friends in high places e.g. police and judges
- they were intimidating and no one tried to stop them
- politicians were scared of losing white votes if they supported equal rights
Why were postwar African-Americans more determined to fight poverty, discrimination, segregation and violence?
During the war, black soldiers had seen other parts of the world where they could mix any race of people and we’re treated equally
What was lobbying?
Petitioning politicians, including the president
What are protests?
Marches and boycotts were organised to highlight the plight of black Americans
What is litigation?
Involved taking state governments and businesses to court outturn, Jim Crow laws
What is publicity?
Spread the message of Jim Crow, and damage of segregation
When was the NAACP formed?
February 12, 1909
What did the NAACP use to change the law?
- Speeches
Legal advocacy
Legal system
What did the NAACP do?
- fought Jim Crow laws
- 1920 - 1938, they hung a flag outside the NYC offices saying a man was lynched yesterday
- 1954 Thurgood Marshall, successfully argued Brown versus Topeka, ending segregation in schools
- 1963, the co-organise March on Washington, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. I have a dream speech
- 1965 voting rights act made it illegal to deny people the right to vote base off race
What did Congress do?
Parcel laws must be passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives
What did the Supreme Court do?
It could overall state laws, if unconstitutional
What could the president do?
- Controls federal troops
- can issue executive orders
How much did Carolina spend per year educating black children?
$43
How much did Carolina spend each year educating white children?
$179
Where was Little Rock high?
Arkansas
Schools needed to be integrated by…
September 1956

Why weren’t most schools integrated by September 1956?
Authorities rigged it, so that it was almost impossible for students of colour to get in
- African-American student applied to Little Rock, how many got in?
25
Why did only nine of the 2025 excepted to Little Rock go?
They threatened families threatening to take their jobs away
When did Oval Forbus call in the National Guard to prevent students entry?
September 2, 1957
What was the excuse Orval Forbus used to stop black kids going to Little Rock?
He said that violence would break out if the students tried to enter, so the National Guard was for the students protection
Who was the black girl who got separated trying to? Enter Little Rock?
Elizabeth Eckford
Why did Forbus stop the little rock nine from entering?
Faubus did it because politicians went with popular vote Faubus racist, but his action also reflected opinions at the time
On the 4th of September, students round the gauntlet of vicious white crowd of how many people?
1000
Tell the story of Emmit Till?
The 14-year-old black boy from Chicago, went to Mississippi in 1955 to visit family. Carol Bryant a White woman said that Emmett Till made sexual advances at her. Emmett cousin said that he only wolf whistled at her the next night, Brian‘s husband, and his half brother, abducted Emmett and threw him in a river till his body was found three days later Till mother had an open viewing. Body encouraging media coverage. The murder try was reported nationwide. The defendants were acquitted, they sold their story to a newspaper, admitting they were guilty.
Did Emmit Till find justice?
Emmett tills family did not get justice for his murder. After the trial black people continued to be murdered in Mississippi and the killers rarely convicted.
Consequences of the Emmit Till case?
- brought nationwide attention to the racial violence and injustice prevalent in Mississippi
- spurred on the civil rights movement
- because it was so violent it encouraged other non civil right supporters to change their views
What were the black panthers?
Was a political group that represented militant black power views members were known for wearing all black clothing, including a beret and leather jacket
Who started the Black Panthers?
Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Searle
When were the Black Panthers founded?
October 1966
What were the three main beliefs of the black panthers?
- white police and officials would not support or work for the interests of black people
- black communities should have black officials
- they could work with white people who supported their aims
What did the black panthers want to achieve?
- full employment for African Americans
- better housing
- better education
- an end to police brutality
Were the black panthers violent?
Yes, members carried guns and there were frequent ghetto shootouts
Who was Malcolm X?
A civil rights activist who believed in black nationalism and separatism. Born Malcolm Little in 1925, he was a member of the Nation of Islam
When did Rosa parks refuse to give up her seat?
1st December 1955
Who set up the bus boycott?
MIA (Montgomery improvement association)
When did the first car pools begin?
12th December
What was the significance of Rosa Parks?
- parks was a married middle-aged woman. It was difficult to criticise her for bad behaviour or not being respectful.
- She understood the principles of nonviolent direct action
- She had already been involved in campaigns for black voters
- She was secretary of the NAACP
Reasons for the boycott success
- Well organised - the MIA coordinated the campaign coordinately
- committed to success
- well publicised
- the bus company was hurt financially - 80% of bus users were black
Results of the Montgomery bus boycott success
- brought Martin Luther King to the forefront of the civil rights movement
- Prove that nonviolent direct action could work
- Pave the way for future campaigns against segregation
Significance of Martin Luther King’s leadership
- King was a pastor he emphasised Christian values of love and humility
- Always advocated and nonviolent approach
- Made many powerful speeches that had a huge impact on his audiences
- Attempted to appeal to all Americans regardless of race
- The Montgomery bus boycott helping to raise funds
What did the 1957 civil rights act state?
- it was illegal to abstract voter registration and allow federal courts to prosecute states that did not guarantee citizens voting rights
What was the SCLC and when was it set up?
Who was it let by?
- Southern Christian leadership conference
- Set up in January 1957
- lead by Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy
Who are the Dixiecrats?
A splinter group from the Democratic party made up of southern politicians
They had strong views about keeping segregation
How did state officials resist to desegregation?
- shutting down all state school so they could not be integrated
- Some school admission test were deliberately biased against black students to prevent them from joining white schools
What was the WCC?
White citizens council
- set up from 1954 to stop desegregation they had around 60,000 members in the mid 1950s
- They protested and used violence and economic means to stop desegregation
What was the event at Greensboro 1960?
- February 1, 1964 black students in North Carolina waited to be served at segregated lunch counter
- the students knew they would be asked to leave but they refused to go
- Stayed in the store until closing time that aim was a generate publicity that would end segregation in department stores
- The following day 25 more students arrived to join
- Thought the February there was more than 300 students both black and white working in to continue the protest
- after a week spread to other towns in North Carolina
- Due to loss of earnings and they continue disruption to the business in July the Greensboro Woolworths store de-segregated
What was the significance of the Greensboro sit ins?
- Media coverage, lead to demonstrations across the USA to challenge to segregation in public spaces
- Some white southerners joined and by the end of 1960 campaigners one more mixed racially
- Visible to the public
When did the Supreme Court order desegregation of bus station facilities?
December 1960
When did the Supreme Court rule that state transport must be segregate however bus station toilets and waiting rooms remain segregated?
1956
When and where did the freedom riders start out?
Fourth of May 1961 in Washington DC
What was the freedom riders aim?
Aimless to show that desegregation of bus station facilities was not happening
What happened on the 15th of May 1961? - freedom bus riders
The first bus reached Alabama and was attacked by over 100 KKK members. Someone threw a fire bomb into the bus, but the passengers managed to escape before the bus exploded.
By summer, how many freedom rides were there and how many riders were jailed?
- 60 freedom rides and over 300 riders were jailed many were assaulted by police while in custody
What was the story of James Meredith 1962?
Meredith applied to the university of Mississippi and was rejected. The NAACP brought a successful court case and the Supreme Court ordered the university to admit him on 30th September federal officials escorted Meredith on campus where some 3000 segregation attack them. President Kennedy cord for peace writing broke out and many people injured someone killed, married registered on first of October. He continues on guards while he completed his university studies however he managed to graduate.
When was the March on Washington?
August 1963
How many people took part in the March on Washington?
250,000, 40,000 white Americans
What was the freedom summer and when was it?
1964 in Mississippi
1000 volunteers went to Mississippi to help boost voter registration
How many black Americans tried to register and how many were successful?
- 17,000 black Americans tried to register
- Only 1600 were successful
When was the Mississippi murders?
21st of June 1964
What was the Mississippi murders?
What did they show?
Three activist two white and one black were killed by a clan Lynch Mob in Mississippi
- The Mississippi murders showed the levels of hatred and violence clan members used to stop several rights
What was Kennedy’s contribution to the civil rights movement?
- selected black people for high-level jobs, including Thurgood Marshall
- He backed introduction of new laws
- Sent federal troops to university of Mississippi to protect James Meredith
- And sent US marshals to escort the freedom riders and prevent them being attacked
What did the 1964 civil rights act state?
- New powers for school segregation
- Government could start federal funding of state projects that promoted inequality
- banned discrimination in public places
- Band employment discrimination in larger businesses
- Discrimination and voter registration tests
What did the 1965 voting rights act state?
- He introduced a standard voting registration process across the USA controlled by the federal government
- ## states could introduce new voting rules only if the federal government agreed
What was the Selma to Montgomery marches 1965?
7th of March 600 people set out to March 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery to publicise the right of black Americans to vote
Why did the first two attempts fail?
- State troop stop the protesters outside seller using tear gas clubs and cattle prods
- Second attempt a local white group murdered a white civil rights activist causing public outrage
When was the third and final attempt of the Selma to Montgomery March?
21st to 24th of March with 25,000 protesters concluding the March on the 25th
What was Malcolm X main belief?
Black power
Why did black power emerge?
- Rejected nonviolence results were too slow and did not have enough impact
What changes did Nixon’s Presidency lead to?
- increase training for black people
- Favourable tax terms to white owned businesses that expanded into black areas
- More black officials working in the White House
- Nixon wanted black voters to vote him but balances against those white voters they knew we were still supposed to write he therefore betrayed improved civil rights to white voters as it means to control the black writers rather than arguing that it was their entitlement
What progress did the Civil Rights movement achieve by 1975?
- Desegregation was achieved in schools transport and restaurants
- The campaign to achieve economic equality such as poor peoples campaign and the campaign of the black Panthers did not see a reduction in economic quality
