Civil Rights Campaigns of 1950s and 1960s

Question 1

who were NAACP?

Answer 1

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Question 2

what did the NAACP do in 1954?

Answer 2

brought a court case against the board of education in Topeka Kansas

Question 3

who was linda brown ?

Answer 3

A girl called Linda Brown who wasn’t allowed to attend her white only school which was nearby

Question 4

why did the NAACP bring a court case against the Board of Education?

Answer 4

because of Linda Brown they wanted to see if the Supreme Court would rule against segregation, it was a test case

Question 5

what happened in May 1954?

Answer 5

Chief Justice Earl Warren ruled that segregated education was not equal and he ordered all southern states to open integrated schools “with all deliberate speed”

Question 6

what law did Montgomery have?

Answer 6

Montgomery had a law that black people were only allowed in the middle and back of the bus and they had to give them up for white people

Question 7

Who was Rosa Parks?

Answer 7

was a black campaigner and decided to take a stand against segregated buses
she was arrested and convicted

Question 8

what was the MIA?

Answer 8

where black people in Montgomery formed the “Montgomery improvement Association” and decided to boycott buses

Question 9

what happened on the first day of the Montgomery bus boycott 1955-56?

Answer 9

buses were empty

15,000 turned out to listen to the newly elected president of the MIA Martin Luther King

Question 10

what happened to the bus companies as a result of the Montgomery bus boycott?

Answer 10

The bus company lost 65% of its income as black people car pooled or walked
(non violent direct action)

Question 11

what happened when Rosa Parks went to court?

Answer 11

decided that all segregation on public transport was illegal

Question 12

what happened to Martin Luther King during the Montgomery bus boycott?

Answer 12

arrested twice, churches and homes set on fire and snipers show at integrated buses

Question 13

why was there a need for Little Rock, Arkansas 1957?

Answer 13

Arkansas was slow to integrate schools

Question 14

what did the Supreme Court do in 1957?

Answer 14

ordered the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus to let nine black children go to a white high school

Question 15

why did Faubus use state troopers? (little rock)

Answer 15

to stop the black children as he can guarantee the safety

Question 16

why did Faubus cancel the state troopers?

Answer 16

only backed down when President Eisenhower sent troops to protect the children, troops stayed for 6 weeks

Question 17

what was the SNCC?

Answer 17

The Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee

Question 18

what were the SNCC set out to do?

Answer 18

started a campaign to end segregation in restaurants in the towns as Woolworths had seats for whites but made blacks stand

Question 19

how did the SNCC protest?

Answer 19

4 black students refused to leave the whites only seats (many white students were also members)

Question 20

how many students were organising sit-ins at lunchtime? (SNCC)

Answer 20

400

Question 21

Who was responsible for the Greensboro sit-ins (1960)?

Answer 21

SNCC

Question 22

what was the impact of the Greensboro sit ins (1960)?

lunch counters example

Answer 22

by the end of 1960 lunch counters had become integrated (desegregation) in 126 cities

Question 23

what was the impact of Greensboro Sitins 1960?

students example

Answer 23

in February 1960 in Nashville,Tennessee
500 students organised sit ins
they were expelled to be reinstated one 400 teachers threatened to resign
(students attacked,eventually mayor Ben West desegregated the town)

Question 24

what date was the freedom rides?

Answer 24

1961

Question 25

what was CORE?

Answer 25

Congress of racial equality

Question 26

what did the members of CORE do?

Answer 26

decided to ride on buses in the city of Birmingham Alabama because the city was ignoring the integration on buses law, they faced violence

Question 27

why did the SNCC join the freedom rides?

Answer 27

joined CORE for support and in total 200 protesters were arrested and spent 40 days in jail

Question 28

how did the governor of Alabama react to the freedom rides?

Answer 28

did nothing until put under pressure by President JFK

Question 29

why was there need for Martin Luther King and march on Washington?

Answer 29

The right for blacks to vote fairly became a priority and campaigners fought for a civil rights bill

Question 30

what did MLK do in August 1963?

Answer 30

organised 200,000 black people and 50,000 whites to march on Washington to pressure JFK to pass a civil rights bill

Question 31

what was the reaction of the march on Washington?

Answer 31

there was no trouble at the march and MLK gave his “I have a dream”speech
it had a tremendous impact on American public opinion

Question 32

why was there a need for the Selma March?

Answer 32

Martin Luther King wanted to target areas of the country where discrimination was worst and try to encourage more black Americans to register the vote

Question 33

what did MLK do in early 1965?

Answer 33

organised waiting March in Selma, Alabama where the population was just 29,000
15,000 of whom were black Americans (only 335 black Americans were registered to vote

Question 34

Who was Jim Clark?

Answer 34

brutal racist sheriff of the town Selma Alabama and banned the march

Question 35

what happened after the march was banned?

Answer 35

600 people marched anyway (without King) and we attacked

Question 36

what was the reaction to the Selma march?

Answer 36

The media dubbed it ‘Bloody Sunday’ and the violence shocked Americans

Question 37

what did MLK do after the march was banned?

Answer 37

rearranged the March for 11th March but they only travelled a short distance and then turned back