Civil Rights Flashcards
SCLC
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
- founded in 1957
NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
- founded in 1909
- Goal: to secure the rights that were guaranteed by the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment
SNCC
Student non-violent coordinating committee
- founded in 1960
WPC
Women’s Political Council led by Jo Ann Robinson
Brown V. Board of Education
Supreme court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional
- Ruling of the case: separate but equal doctrine was unconstitutional; segregation of white and black children in public schools had a detrimental effect on black children
Brown II
1955: all schools must be desegregated “with deliberate speed”
- not specific at all, many southern states dragged their feet and waited as long as they could to desegregate schools
- Brown II was met with massive resistance from southern states
Southern Manifesto
100 congressmen signed a document stating that they would resist Brown II
- followed by intimidation to deter black students from attending white schools
Montgomery bus boycotts
December 5th, 1955
- dealt with only local bus companies in Montgomery Alabama
- began when rosa parks refused to give up her seat
- WPC called for a one day boycott of city busses -> successful
- larger boycott was organized, causing Montromery bus system to be desegregated on December 21st, 1956
Little Rock 9 Overview
1957 - school board in Arkansas wanted to gradually integrate black students into their high schools
- Governor ordered National Guard to block black students from going into the school
September 23rd, 1957
Little rock 9 had to use a side door to enter the school, met by an angry mob of white students and had to be escorted out of the school
What was President Eisenhower’s response to the little rock 9 being pushed out of school
sent 1,200 troops to little rock
September 25th: federal troops escorted the nine into central high school, and the troops remained there for the rest of the year
outcome of the little rock nine
- all public schools in little rock were closed from 1958-59 school year, but forced to reopen and integrate the year after
- showed severity of southern resistance
Greensboro Sit-In
February (1960)
- 4 NCA&T students sat in at a segregated lunch counter in North Carolina
- one of the most influential sit ins in the civil rights movement; ultimately lead to the desegregation of lunch counters and other public facilities across the US
Freedom Rides Overview
1961
- Supreme court ruled that segregation of interstate travel was illegal, busses in the south were still segregated
- CORE sent 13 volunteers from DC to New Orleans, where they would refuse to abide by segregation laws
CORE
Congress of Racial Equality founded in 1942
Outcome of Freedom Rides
Volunteers experienced a lot of violence as they traveled south
- no one died, however some busses were bombed and many were attacked
- new regulations banned segregation in interstate busses in September of 1961
Birmingham Campaign
Spring 1963
- Shuttelworth asked MLK to come to Birmingham Alabama to campaign after the NAACP was banned
- goal was to desegregate businesses and schools
- protesters were met with violence from police
- outcome: businesses, schools, and other places became desegregated
March on Washington
August 28th, 1963
- more than 200,000 people to march in DC against discrimination and racism
led by MLK
Civil Rights Act
1964
- JFK embraced the civil rights movement, after his assassination, Johnson passed the civil rights act in his honor
- banned discrimination in places of public accommodations based on race, gender, religion, and national origin
- ended jim crow laws
Freedom summer
Summer of 1964
- Civil Rights act did little to address voting rights
- 1000 people (mostly students) went to Mississippi to encourage black people to vote
- opened schools to teach black people how to read for them to pass literacy tests that were still imposed
Voting Rights Act
1956
- freedom summer highlighted the need for federal legislation to address voting rights
- outlawed literacy tests and poll taxes
- federal government oversight in places where less than half of the residents were registered to vote
Selma Campaign
January 1965 - MLK and other members of the SCLC went Alabama to start a voter registration drive with SNCC
Bloody Sunday
March 7th, 1965
- leaders planned a march from selma to Montgomery
- only got to the Edmund Pettus bridge
- protesters were beaten, tear gassed, and some were killed
- led Johnson to the need to pass the voting rights laws because of the gruesome beatings that occurred
