Civil Rights Flashcards
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 1954
- NAACP sued Board of Edu. of Topeka
- Linda Brown traveled miles to school even though all-white school was a few 100 yards from home
- Test case to see if Supreme Court would continue segregation
- Schools ordered desegregated “with all deliberate speed”
Montgomery Bus Cirisis
- Boycott led by Montgomery Improvement Association (headed by MLK)
- Boycott lasted 381 days
- Ended in 1956 when the Supreme Court found Alabama’s bus segregation laws unconstitutional
“Little Rock Nine”
- Group of 9 African American students who volunteered to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School
- Gov. Orval Faubus ordered National Guard to turn them away
- Eisenhower sent paratroopers to the city and Faubus backed down
- Under the soldiers’ protection the “nine” attended class
- Civil Rights Act of 1957 gives the attorney general greater power over school desegregation
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
- Use nonviolence to end segregation
- Centered around black churches
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
- Centered around college students
- More confrontational strategy
Sit-ins
- Started in 1960
- 4 African Americans stage a sit-in at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, NC
- Was a segregated lunch counter
- Led to a mass movement for civil rights using sit-ins across the nation
- Made impact on America because of tv coverage
Freedom Rides
- CORE (Congress On Racial Equality) asks protesters to travel south to integrate bus terminals
- Teams became known as Freedom Riders
- Violence erupted in Alabama- televised violence shocked many Americans
- Kennedy compelled to control violence with Fed. Marshals
Ole Miss
- James Meredith- air force veteran, won court case to enroll at all-white U. of Mississippi
- Gov. Ross Barnet refused to let him register, called on white Mississippians to demonstrate in response to Kennedy’s federal Marshals, riots broke out (killing two)
- Fed. Marshals protected Meredith and family while he attended classes
Bull Connor
Used new tactics to control crowds
- Police use fire hoses and police dogs
- Tactics raise sympathy for protestors
Children demonstrations in Birmingham
- Marked a turning point in the protest
- Children from age 6-18
- Difficult decision for protest leaders
- Overwhelmed the jails with their numbers
Civil Rights Act of 1964
- President Kennedy agreed to it
- Ended segregation in public areas
- Prohibits discrimination base on race, religion, national origin, and gender
March on Washington
August 28, 1963- 250k people march for a civil rights bill
- King delivered “I have a dream” speech
- Inspires Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Acts of 1965
ended local attempts to restrict African-Americans from voting
Black Panthers
- Political party advocating self-sufficiency for African Americans
- often clashed with the police
- believed a revolution was needed to gain equal rights
Nation of Islam
- Want blacks to separate from white society- no assimilation
- leadership split over differenced in strategy and beliefs
Civil Rights Act of 1968
-ending discrimination in housing
Assassination of Dr. King
-late 1960s- civil rights movement fragmented into many competing organizations
-Mourning and riots in over 100 cities
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