civil rights Flashcards
How did the emergence of the Black middle class contribute to the civil rights movement?
Post-war economic opportunities increased Black middle-class membership, with high college enrollment producing an educated class for white-collar work.
How did media impact the civil rights movement?
TV news reporting brought national attention to the civil rights struggle, increasing tensions between Northern liberals and Southern segregationists
What role did unions play in the civil rights movement?
Unions were generally more racially open-minded at the management level, providing some support for civil rights
How did the Cold War impact racial tensions in America?
The Soviet Union used American racial tensions to criticize U.S. democracy
What action did President Truman take regarding civil rights?
He desegregated the U.S. military
How did Cold War fears affect civil rights organizing?
Some equated civil rights activism with communism, leading the FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, to investigate the movement as a communist front
Why did civil rights take a back seat during the Cold War?
The U.S. prioritized the fight against communism over addressing civil rights issues
How did the African American civil rights movement inspire other social movements?
It served as a catalyst for movements advocating for Japanese American and Mexican American rights
How did Japanese Americans challenge WWII internment?
Through legal cases like Hirabayashi (1943) and Korematsu (1944) and lawsuits filed by the Japanese American Citizens League to regain lost property
How did Mexican Americans contribute to the civil rights movement?
Many served in WWII, were active in labor unions, and began organizing for civil rights in cities
What was the American GI Forum?
A civil rights group advocating for Mexican American veterans.
What was Mendez v. Westminster School District?
A court case challenging Mexican American segregation in “Mexican Schools
How did the NAACP challenge segregation?
By taking legal action against segregation, with Thurgood Marshall as a lead lawyer.
What was the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
- NCAAP challenges public school segregation
- The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that “separate but equal” has no place in public education.
What did Brown v. Board of Education II (1955) mandate?
It ordered public school desegregation “with all deliberate speed.”
What was the Southern Manifesto?
A declaration signed by 90 Southern congressmen to obstruct desegregation laws
What role did Martin Luther King Jr. play in the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
He led the Montgomery Improvement Association to boycott segregated buses.
Why was Rosa Parks’ arrest significant?
As an NAACP secretary, her refusal to give up her bus seat in 1955 set the stage for the Montgomery Bus Boycott
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
A 381-day protest by African Americans against segregated buses
What was the outcome of the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
The U.S. Supreme Court declared segregated busing unconstitutional, leading Montgomery to end bus segregation
