Modern Civil Rights

Question 1

1954 - brown v. board of education

Answer 1

• 9 year old linda brown has to walk 21 blocks to an all-black school
• an all-white school is only a few blocks from her house
• plessy vs. ferguson (separate but equal - 1896) is challenged
• supreme court decides in favor of brown
• all schools in nation are desegregated
• not all school will follow the new law

Question 2

1955 - rosa parks

Answer 2

• montgomery, alabama
• white man tells rosa parks (african american) to get out of her seat on the bus
• parks refuses and gets arrested
• the result - the montgomery bus boycott begins
• african americans refuse to ride the buses in montgomery (bus line begins to lose serious money - african americans were the majority of riders)
• boycott lasted for one year - in the end it was successful
• 1956 - supreme court desegregates buses nationwide

Question 3

sclc

Answer 3

• southern christian leadership conference
• formed by martin luther king jr.
• this group is non-violent in nature
• nationwide boycotts and protests will ensue

Question 4

sncc

Answer 4

• student nonviolent coordinating committee
• college students across the us (white and black)
• sncc held sit-ins at all white lunch counters (often ended in violence)
• freedom rides - white and black students travel on greyhound buses to challenge segregation laws (often ended in violence by white racist groups - even police)
• peaceful protesting

Question 5

1963 - march on washington

Answer 5

• washington d.c.
• national television
• martin luther king jr. - “i have a dream” speech
• no violence
• the peak of the civil rights movement and for king

Question 6

remember this…

Answer 6

just because you pass a law, does not mean everyone will follow it. however, the first step in any change is writing the actual law down. then, you can enforce it