Civil Rights Movement

Question 1

Who was Earl Warren?

Answer 1

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1954

Question 2

Why was Earl Warren significant?

Answer 2

He was crucial in the unanimous Brown V Board ruling

Question 3

When was Brown V Board?

Answer 3

1954

Question 4

What did Brown V Board rule?

Answer 4

Separate but equal school facilities were unconstituional

Question 5

When and what was Brown II?

Answer 5

In 1955 the Supreme Court issued Brown II, which demanded speedy integration of all public schools

Question 6

Why was school integration slow despite the Brown rulings?

Answer 6

No official date by which schools had be integrated was set, and Southern powers were not in any hurry to integrate schools

Question 7

Little Rock, Arkansas

Answer 7

In Little Rock, Arkansas, a white mob attempted to exclude 9 black pupils going to school; in response Eisenhower deployed federal troops to ensure their safety and study

Question 8

Browder V Gayle ruling

Answer 8

1956- upheld the decision that segregated seating on public transport was unconstitutional

Question 9

Backlash to Montgomery Bus Boycott/Browder V Gayle

Answer 9

In 1957, four black churches were bombed by the KKK in Montgomery

Question 10

Albany, Georgia

Answer 10

1961-62- SCLC protest was effectively handled without violence; resulted in little media attention or change

Question 11

Birmingham, Alabama

Answer 11

1963- SCLC protest that was handled violently and gained national media attention

Question 12

Who was Bull Conner?

Answer 12

Birmingham chief of police, who used police dogs and water cannons in response to the SCLC protest in Birmingham

Question 13

When was the march on Washington?

Answer 13

1963

Question 14

How many people were at the march on Washington?

Answer 14

250,000 people gathered on the step of Lincoln Memorial to see MLK deliver his ‘I have a dream’ speech

Question 15

Sit in participation

Answer 15

In 1960, 70,000 students participated in sit ins across the South, where they refused to leave their seats at segregated lunch counters

Question 16

Impact of sit ins

Answer 16

Woolworth’s desegregated their lunch counters in 1961

Question 17

Mississippi Freedom Summer

Answer 17

A campaign (that SNCC was highly involved in) to help boost black votings numbers in Mississippi

Question 18

When did CORE rise to prominence and why?

Answer 18

In 1961 due to the Freedom Rides

Question 19

Purpose of Freedom Rides

Answer 19

Hoped to bring federal enforcement to the 1960 declaration that segregated public transport was unconstitutional

Question 20

Were the Freedom Rides successful?

Answer 20

Yes; Freedom Riders were attacked by white mobs in Birmingham and the federal interstate commerce commission issued orders to enforce racial integration

Question 21

When was the first Civil Rights bill of the 1960s?

Answer 21

1964 Civil Rights Act

Question 22

When was the second Civil Rights bill of the 1960s?

Answer 22

1965 Voting Rights Act

Question 23

When was the final Civil Rights bill of the 1960s?

Answer 23

1968 Fair Housing Act

Question 24

Why was the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed?

Answer 24

• White opinion was changing
• Tribute to Kennedy
• Black activism had exposed white racism

Question 25

What percentage of white people favoured the 1964 Civil Rights Act?

Answer 25

68%

Question 26

Impact of 1964 Civil Rights Act?

Answer 26

• Outlawed racial segregation for all public facilities
• First major Civil Rights bill since Reconstruction
• Age of Jim Crow was over

Question 27

What helped the 1965 Voting Rights Act to be passed?

Answer 27

The murder of civil rights marchers during Selma to Montgomery March provided sufficient pressure on Congress for the bill to pass

Question 28

Impact of 1965 Voting Rights Act on voting numbers

Answer 28

By the end of 1965, there were 250,000 new black voters

Question 29

Malcolm X (positives)

Answer 29

• Inspired black Americans to demand more
• Gave rise to ideas of Black Power and separatism
• Inspired a new generation of black activists (e.g. Stokely Carmichael)

Question 30

Malcolm X (negatives)

Answer 30

• Alienated whites with ideas of black separatism
• Divided the civil rights movement
• Many whites believed he incited violence

Question 31

Leadership change SNCC

Answer 31

Stokely Carmichael, a strong believer in black power, took over as leader of SNCC in 1966

Question 32

Leadership change CORE

Answer 32

Floyd McKissick, also a strong believer in black power, took over from James Farmer in 1966

Question 33

Impact of leadership change in SNCC and CORE

Answer 33

• Radicalisation of the groups led to the expulsion of whites
• Expulsion of whites = organisations support and annual income dropped sharply

Question 34

Reasons for the rise of black power

Answer 34

• Not seeing change
• Poor quality of life
• Continued to face regular violence; sought to fight back

Question 35

Example of lack of change from the movement

Answer 35

10 years after the Brown V Board ruling, the US commissioner of education reported the majority of US children still attended segregated schools

Question 36

Example of poor quality of life

Answer 36

In 1966, 40% of black families were living in poverty, and black unemployment was double white unemployment

Question 37

Impact of King’s stance of Vietnam

Answer 37

• Alienated those who believed he should only focus on civil rights
• Important black civil rights leaders condemned his position
• Alienated Johnson and his administration; MLK lost influence with them

Question 38

When was MLK assassinated?

Answer 38

April 1968 in Memphis