Civil Rights Movement Study Guide Flashcards
Plessy v. Ferguson
(Definition and Influence)
- In 1896, The Supreme Court ruled that that racially segregated public facilities were legal, so long as the facilities for Black people and whites were equal.
Brown v. Board of Education
(Definition and Influence)
- In 1952, Brown claimed that schools for Black children were not equal to the white schools, and that segregation violated the so-called “equal protection clause” of the 14th Amendment,
the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. The states had no time frame for integrating schools so they were all on their own time.
This created resistance like the Little Rock Nine.
NAACP
(Definition and Influence)
An interracial organization- one with both African Americans and white Americans as members.
Focused on challenging the laws that prevented A.A from exercising their rights as citizens.
Worked to secure full legal equity for all Americans and to remove voting barriers.
Rosa Parks
(Definition and Influence)
Rosa Parks was a Civil Rights activist known for her role in igniting the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955, an act of defiance against segregation, became a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
(Definition and Influence)
Date: 1965
Description:
As a result from the march of Selma, president Johnson announced on national television that he was promising a law to protect voting rights.
That summer even though there was another filibuster, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Importance/Outcome:
Federal officials could register voters in places where local officials were blocking registration by African Americans. The law also eliminated literacy tests and other barriers. After this act was passed, 400,000 African Americans registered to vote in the south.
Little Rock Nine
(Definition and Influence)
- On the first day of school the Governor Orville Faubus ordered the National Guard to prevent black students from entering Central High
- A month later President Eisenhower ordered the military to escort the students to class.
- Nine students became heroes of the Civil Rights Movement and eventually graduated from Central High
Southern Christian Leadership Conference SCLC
(Definition and Influence)
southern christian leadership conference
practiced non violent protests (peaceful way of resistance)
Black Panthers
(Definition and Influence)
For self-defense made for the ineffectiveness of their protests
Founders are Bobby Seale and Huey Newton
Their goal was to police the police and to protect blacks from police brutality but eventually developed into a military organization.
24th Amendment
(Definition and Influence)
Date:1964
Description:
With the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights of 1965, it created a whole new voting population in the U.S.
The 24th amendment was passed/ratified.
This amendment outlawed the poll tax on voting.
Importance/Outcome:
This amendment removed one of the barriers that states used to withhold African Americans from voting. It was used in several southern states to keep poor African Americans from voting.
Freedom Riders
(Definition and Influence)
They were made and designed to test whether southern states would obey the supreme court ruling and allow African Americans to exercises the rights newly granted to them. (segregation in bus stations, waiting rooms, restaurants, ect, were not allowed)
Kennedy, to pressure the interstate commerce commission to issue a ruling that prohibited segregation in all interstate transportation,
Civil Right Act 1964
(Definition and Influence)
- Banned the use of different voter registration standards for blacks and whites.
- Prohibited discrimination in public accommodations, like hotels, restaurants, gas stations, theater, ect.
- Allowed the withholding of federal funds from public or private programs that practice discrimination.
- Banned discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin by employers and unions.
Martin Luther King Jr.
(Definition and Influence)
MLK’s role was essentially to be the voice of the people. His role was to also be a leader for the Montgomery bus boycott.
Discrimination: Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent American Baptist minister and activist, a key leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He championed nonviolent resistance to achieve equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged, and all victims of injustice. He organized mass protests and delivered powerful speeches, including the “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, which helped advance the cause of civil rights.
Malcolm X
(Definition and Influence)
Malcolm spoke for dignity, self respect, and self determination for blacks.
His cause was human rights and not favor civil rights
Became a spokesperson for the Black Nationalist movement (ignites a frenzy in mid 1960s)
Different from MLK
(muslim, separatist, human rights)
Sit-ins
(Definition and Influence)
The sit in movements were a series of sit ins at segregated lunch counter or a public place.
If they were refused service, they would just stay seated as a form of protest. It often worked because it forced business owners to decide between serving the protesters or risking disruption/loss of business.
Influence: Thousands of people and students were involved in the movement. This gained the support of MLK (Martin Luther King Junior) and by the end of 1960, some 70,000 students participated and 3,600 served jail time.
March on Washington
(Definition and Influence)
Date: August 1963
Description:
More than 200,000 people from all over the country came to call for “jobs and freedom” which was the slogan of the march.
Participants had included religious leaders and celebrities.
The march was peaceful and considered orderly. After songs and speeches, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the speech that would set the civil rights movement to a turn.
Importance/Outcome:
The march left an echoed message on the country, that people would not give up on protesting for what is right and what they believed in. Kennedy, who was watching the speech on TV, was impressed by MLK’s speech.
Selma March
(Definition and Influence)
In Selma, Alabama, police officers and sheriffs arrested people of color who were in line to register to vote.
Civil rights leaders like MLK, organized a protest march. As they set out for their march, armed state troopers on horseback charged into the crowd with whips, clubs, and tear gas.
Importance/Outcome:
President Johnson put the Alabama National Guard under federal control. Johnson also sent members of the National Guard, along with federal marshalls and helicopters from the army to protect the route of the march.
Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee SNCC
(Definition and Influence)
College Students from predominantly all black schools formed the Student Coordination Committee (SNCC)
Their strategy was Civil Disobedience through non-violent protests
Organizing sit-ins, they broke the law to draw attention to it.
- They knew that they would meet violent resistance, but their main principle was Non-violence.
Civil Disobedience/Nonviolence
(Definition and Influence)
Nonviolence is resistance to evil and oppression. It also does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his/her friendship and understanding. Nonviolence is the non violent method is an attack on forces of evil rather than against persons doing evil. Nonviolence seeks to defeat evil and not the person doing the evil.
Emmitt Till
(Definition and Influence)
- Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy, was reportedly flirting with a white cashier in Money, Mississippi. He went the market for refreshments after a long day picking cotton in the hot afternoon sun.
- After the accusation, relatives of the woman, tortured and murdered Till.
- His mother wanted to have an open-casket funeral with Till’s body on display for five days. She wanted the world to see what racism has done to her child.
- The killers were tried with an all-white, all-male jury. Despite the horror of their actions, they were acquitted of all their charges. This was an important catalyst for the American civil rights movement.
Influence: This would lead to African Americans to demand Civil rights as it was an unjust event. Even thought Emmett’s murderers have committed such atrocities, they were dropped with all their charges. This outraged African AMericans and sparked the civil rights movement, which aimed to have the u.s have equal rights for all, no matter what skin color.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
(Definition and Influence)
The idea of the boycott was for African Americans to boycott the buses (not get on them). This would decrease the profit of buses and force them to acknowledge their anger against discrimination.
After the boycott, bus segregation was banned. This took 388 days and it felt empowering for African Americans. This was the first step of many to freedom against discrimination against African Americans.
The problem : However, they had to come up with a system to transport people from place to place because a lot of African Americans used the bus.
Clash in Birmingham
(Definition and Influence)
Martin Luther King and Shuttlesworth planned boycotts of stores (attempts to integrate local churchs)
The campaign began nonviolently with non-violent protest. City Officials stated that the marches violated regulation prohibiting parades without a permit.
They obtained a court injunction; King decided to disobey the court orders and set an example. He and others were arrested by Police commissioner, Connor.
After he gets out of jail, he makes a hard decision to invite young people go join the campaign.
Importance/Outcome:
In the end, the protesters won and a compromise was arranged by the Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall led to desegregation of city facilities and fairer hiring practices. The success of the marches was one example that proved that nonviolent protests can be effective.
Freedom Summer
(Definition and Influence)
Leaders of the major civil rights movement organized a voter registration drive in Mississippi.
1000 African Americans and white volunteers joined what was now called the Freedom Summer. Much violence occurs as well as three young civil rights workers kidnapped and killed.
Black Power Movement
(Definition and Influence)
- This is as we get into later stages of the civil rights movement
- they began to organize stuff
- they began to police the police - wanted more rights and ‘black power’
- Led to the slogan “Black is Beautiful” and led to a split in the Civil Rights Movement. (groups like SNCC and the Black Panther Party ,moved away from NAACP, ect.)
Thurgood Marshall
(Definition and Influence)
- first supreme court justicer and he was also a lawyer during the civil rights
- advocated for a lot of rights for African american
- argued brown v board
