The civil rights movement 1955-1963 Flashcards
What aspects were AAs inferior
Social inequality
Political inequality
Economic inequality
Legal inequality
How were AAs inferior in terms of Social inequality
Segregation of public facilities
How were AAs inferior in terms of Political inequality
80% AAs unable to vote
WA used a variety of methods to deter voting
How did WA deter AAs from voting
Intimidation tactics
Impossible literacy tests
Poll tax
How did MLK describe segregation
Living under a system ‘determined to hate every white person’
How were AAs inferior in terms of Economic inequality
Slower growing AA MC
Poor education gave most AAs inferior economic status
How were AAs inferior in terms of Legal inequality
WA used violence and intimidation to maintain supremacy
No AA protection in court
Who was Emitt Till
1955 14 years old
Whistled at a white woman
Dragged his mutilated body out of the river
Murderers boasted about it and went unpunished
When was the NAACP established
1909
What did the NAACP aim for
Aimed to make 11 million AA citizens politically, economically, socially and legally free
What does NAACP stand for
National association for the advancement of coloured people
What tactics did the NAACP use
Punished black grievances
Initiated protests against segregated public places
NAACP lawyers fought education inequalities
What was the Plessy vs Ferguson ruling 1896
Jim crow laws declared constitutional so long as facilities
What supreme court ruling did NAACP win
SC rulings against segregated unis
What did the SC brown ruling rule
separate schools in the south were not equal
What was seen as the start of the CR movement
Montgomery bus boycott
What were issues with the buses 1955
segregation of buses
white driver behaviors
What happened to an AA mother 1955 on the bus
She put two kids on the white seats so she could pay
Driver yelled ‘get those dirty black babies off the seats’ then hit the acceleration causing the babies to fall into the aisle
What initiated the boycott
Rosa Parks
How many AAs participated in the boycott
50,000
What was the significance of the Montgomery bus boycott
Nov 1956 Montgomery buses were desegregated
It demonstrated a new mode of activism - ‘mass direct action’
When was the KKK established
1866 after the South’s loss in the civil war
When was the KKK revived
1915
How many members did the KKK have across US 1955
millions and millions
What activities did the KKK persist in
Cross burnings
Church burnings
Beatings
Shootings
Murders
Who did the KKK attack in Birmingham
Bombed a church
Birmingham freedom riders
When and how did the KKK try to assasinate MLK
Bombed his house in 1956
Bombed his motel room in 1963
What inspired the White Citzens council
The SC brown ruling
How many members did the White Citizens council have at its peak
250,000 in 1956
What did the White Citizens council consist of
Doctors
Lawyers
Buisnessmen
What actions did the White Citizens council take
Made defence of segregation main part of Southern politics
Issued large amounts of racist propoganda
Sponsered schools for WA
Subjected CR activists to threats and economic pressure
Why did little rocks 1957 occur
A result of school desegregation
What was the first integrated school called
Central high school in Arkansas
How did Arkansas prevent the AA students entering
Ordered national guard to keep them out
Who reluctantly supported little rocks
Eisenhower sent troops in
What did MLK seek in the 1963 Birmingham campaign
Desegregation of public facilities and equal employment opportunities
Why did MLK pick Birmingham
Epitomised the horrors of Southern Segregation
Bull Connors would mistreat protestants
Who was Bull connors
Public safety commissioner of Birmingham
Describe events in Birmingham
Initially MLK struggled to organise demonstrations
Many felt connors imminent retirement made protests unneeded
However Connors’ police attacked the few protesters and MLK was jailed
MLK faced troublemaker accusations
‘Letter from Birmingham letter led to his release were he still struggled to start protests
‘You know we’ve got to get something going the press is leaving’
Controversial he encouraged young AA children to demonstrate and hundreds did
When Connor’s high pressure water hoses tire the clothes off them Birmingham was in the head light again
What were some positive results of MLK’s Birmingham campaign
Exposed southern Bigotry at its worse
Convinced JFK to promote what became the 1954 Civil Rights bill
Showed the power of mass demonstrations
What were some negatives results of Birmingham
Did little to actually improve the situation in Birmingham
Race relations deteriorated
MLK was asked to stay away as they wanted no more outside help
What was the 1963 March on Washington
A mass demonstration masterminded by TV leader Philip Randolph
What was the biggest impact of the Washington march
emotional impact across the country
How many marchers were at the Washington march
250,000
What famous speech occurred at the Washington March
‘I have a dream speech’
Why was the Washington march symbolic
At Lincoln’s memorial
What did the Washington March show about the civil rights movement
impeccable behaviour of the march showed a strong and united march
