Civil Rights movement Flashcards
What happened at the Birmingham campaign
- 1963
- Birmingham , Alabama
- k k k strong hold
- peaceful protest/ civil disobedience to protest segregation
- sclc
- many students and children
- police commissioner Bill Connor very racist
- police reacted very aggressively to march
- MLK arrested
- non violent protest successful
What is the Greensboro 4
- 1960
- 4 students in Greensboro , North Carolina
- refused to leave the find counter at woolworths without being served
- part of SNCC
- students were attacked and abused
- more and more students joined sit in put pressure on WW
- small victory
SNCC
Student non violent co ordinating comittee
- organized protests like sit ins, kneel ins , wade ins
- first sit in Greensboro 4 at woolworths
Why was MLK chosen to lead movement
- well known , popular amongst black community
- priest Christian
- very good orator
- peaceful protest
American Civil War
- 1861-1865
- northern states vs southern states
- south wanted slavery economy based on it
- abolition of slavery
What is the SCLC
Southern Christian leadership conference
Lead by MLK
Formed in 1957
Black pastors
Continue work after bus boycott
“We will meet their physical force with soul force” - explain
Said by MLK
In context of the Montgomery bus boycott
Response to aggression and fear tactics of bus company
Knew that one act of violence from a black person could be face of whole movement - peaceful protest
How is rosa parks relevant to civil rights movement
- considered the mother of the civil rights movement
-arrested for refusing to give her seat on a bus to a white man
Montgomery improvement association formed to organize 1 day bus boycott - turned into 1 year bus boycott
- sparked first mass action in CRM
How does the murder of Emmett till relate to the CRM
- 1955
- Emmett Till , 14 yr , Black
- allegedly flirted with white cashier
- 4 white men beat him to death
- men were tried before white jury
- black people couldn’t be par to jury had to be registered to vote (prevented by Jim Crow laws)
- violence against black people condoned by court , created anger and awareness in black people
Events leading up to CRM
- civil war 1861-1865
- plessy vs ferguson 1892
- NAACP- 1909
- WW2 1939-1945
- 1954 Brown vs Board of educTion
- 1955 Murder of Emmett Till
- Montgomery Bus Boycott
NAACP
National association for advancement of colored people
- 1909
- challenged discrimination and segregation
- tried to uphold constitutional rights
- limited success
How did brown vs board of education impact crm
Linda brown lived next to a white school and was forced to travel a long distance to a black school
- NAACP took it to court
- court found separate but equal unconstitutional
- segregation illegal by federal law
- ended segregation in public schools
How did WW 2 contribute to the Civil Rights Movement
- lead to appreciation of human rights
- human rights being discussed and reviewed at length after horrors of holocaust, war etc
- black soldiers returned and not appreciated in home country
- were given power in war taken away- confused
- questioned their rights
How did plessy vs Ferguson highlight Jim Crow Laws
- 1892
- Plessy bought 1st class train ticket , was arrested
- said separate car act illegal (federal law)
- judge found him wrong - separate but equal
- Jim Crow laws state laws
- sent to jail
How is the 14th amendment of USA constitution relevant to CRM
CRM trying to make the 14th amendment evident in society
Who were freedom riders
- 1961
- protestors against segregated interstate bus systems
- aimed to create media attention and force fed govt to more for civil rights
- black people sat in white waiting rooms, bus seats , bathrooms
- beaten and abused by police and k k k
- Robert Kennedy intervened said it was unconstitutional
- interstate buses desegregated
Lincoln 13 and 14 amendment
13 - no slavery
14 no discrimination , equality
What is CORE
Chicago 1942
Fight racial inequality
Congress for racial equality
Organized protests, freedom summer
What are JIm Crow laws
Laws that legalized segregation between black and white people despite that being unconstitutional according to the 14 amendment
Different to federal law, state law , applied differently in each state , mainly in the south
Prevented black people from registering to vote even though they had the right to
What is the MIA
Montgomery Improvement Association Formed after rosa parks arrested Made up of church and community members Organized peaceful protests And Montgomery bus boycott Lead by MLK
What happened at the Selma Montgomery marches
1965 - 2 marches in february
Demanding the right to register to vote
Only 2.4 % of population registered to vote
First March - met with aggression state troopers forced protesters violently back over bridge
Extensive media coverage gained huge support from black people and white people from all over America
2nd March - widely supported , MLK prayed and everyone copied him , hugely successful peaceful protest
- allowed for voting rights act to be passed
Nature and goals of CRM
Nature - non violent , peaceful
Goals stop racism
Create equality
Eliminate segregation
March on Washington
- 1963
- demanding full racial equality
- widely supported
- lead by MLK
- organized by SCLC
- media coverage
- music used to unite
- I have a dream speech
Forms of protest in CRM
Peaceful protest Marches Sit in kneel in wade In Freedom riders Freedom summer
Name 3 Marches between 1963 and 1965
Birmingham Campaign 1963
March on Washington 1963
Selma-Montgomery 2 days apart
What is freedom summer
Organized by CORE
1964
In Mississippi
Low levels of literacy in black community and state was not spending money on black education
- very low percentage of black people registered to vote
- freedom schools set up to improve levels of literacy in Mississippi and to empower black people
by people from more liberal northern states
Taught black history
- freedom summer workers beaten and arrested , murdered
- churches bombed
Important CRM legislation
- Civil Rights Act 1964
+ extension of CRA - no discrimination of any kind , did away with Jim Crow laws
No discrimination in sales of rental houses - Voting rights act 1965- no discrimination in voting procedures allowed
How was movement successful
Important legislation Sympathy from white people Desegregation Federal government support Showed what mass protest could do , inspired other movements Wide media coverage
Case studies of successes during movement
Little Rock Arkansas 1957
James Meredith University if Mississippi 1962
Kkk
Ku klux Klan
