Civil Rights Marches (4) Flashcards
Why did civil rights campaigners hold protests?
Civil rights campaigners held protest marches to get support and publicity for their cause.
Those who participated in the marches often had to face police ____ and _____ as well as possible arrest.
aggression
violence
What was an important step in the civil rights campaign?
An important step in the civil rights campaign was a massive demonstration in the capital, Washington DC in 1963. All the main civil rights groups worked together to organize this demonstration.
What was the significance of what happened at the Lincoln memorial?
At the Lincoln Memorial, (exactly a hundred years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery), 250,000 people, from all religious and ethnic backgrounds, joined together to demand full racial equality. Although many critics had predicted violence, the huge crowd remained peaceful, listening to protest songs and speakers. The most memorable was Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream ‘, promoting racial harmony. The peaceful march and King’s speech made a big impact on public opinion across the US and increased support and sympathy for the Civil Rights Movement.
What was Birmingham the centre of?
Birmingham in Alabama was a center of opposition to change.
The police, under police chief ____ ____, were known to be exceptionally racist and had links to the Ku Klux Klan.
Bull Connor
What march did MLK organise in April 1963?
In April 1963, King organized a march in Birmingham to draw attention to the on-going segregation in the town and the actions of the police. As expected, the police reacted violently by using electric cattle prods, dogs and turning fire hoses on the peaceful protesters. Over 1 000 protesters were arrested, including Martin Luther King Jr. [This was when he wrote his famous letter from Birmingham jail]
News ____ and ____ of brutal police actions were shown all over the USA.
reports
photographs
How did President Kennedy intervene?
President Kennedy intervened and ordered the governor of Alabama to release the protestors and end segregation in the state.
Did tensions decrease after President Kennedy intervened?
However, tensions and bitterness remained, and in September 1963 four black children were killed in a Birmingham church by a Ku Klux Klan bomb.
What civil rights march was organised in March 1965?
In March 1965, Civil Rights protesters organized a march in Selma, Alabama, which was notorious for the attitude of its racist and brutal sheriff, Jim Clark.
Only ___% of African Americans in ____ had registered to vote because of the obstacles and intimidation by the white authorities.
2.4%
obstacles
Did the authorities ban the marches?
Although the authorities banned the planned march from Selma to Montgomery, it went ahead. Six hundred marchers were jeered and threatened by hostile crowds, and viciously attacked by the police using batons and tear gas.
What gained widespread publicity of violence?
The widespread publicity of the violence gained support for the Civil Rights Movement.
Why did supporters from all over the country go to Selma?
Supporters from all over the country went to Selma, and a week later a much larger march took place, this time without incident. After this, African Americans in Selma began to register as voters, and in the next election Jim Clark was voted out of office.
