The Civil Rights Movement In The US Flashcards
1 December 1955
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat in Montgomery Alabama, bus boycott begins
May 1961
Freedom Rides sponsored by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Congress of Racial Equality
28 August 1963?
March on Washington with 200, 000 people protesting against racial discrimination
2 July 1964
Civil Rights Bill is signed into law by president Johnson
21 February 1965
Malcom X assassinated
4 April 1968
Martin Luther King Jr assassinated
Martin Luther King. what did he created? what did he win? when he die?
Baptist minister and civil rights activist
Pursued equality in the 50s and 60s
Created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Nobel Peace Prize in 1964
Assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968
Lyndon B Johnson
US president 1963-1969
Implemented legislation that supported civil rights
Malcom X? why did he change his name? what did he become a member of? what organisation did he make? when was he killed and by who?
Born Malcom Little but adopted X to reject the slave name
Became a member of Nation of Islam which wanted African Americans to form a seperate nation
Opposed non-violent protests
Left NOI in 1964 and made organisation of Afro-American Unity (OAAU)
Assassinated by NOI in 1965
who were the black panthers?
formed in 1966, a party that wanted to save black community from police brutality
what was the NAACP?
Nation Association for the Advancement of Coloured People formed in 1909 fought for equality
what was the great divide? when was the civil war? who won?
There was agriculture in the south
To keep cost down and profits up, African slaves were purchased
In the north (industrial) slavery was abolished early 1800s but but continued in the south
A divide between north and south
War 1861-65 between north and south (south wanted to be independent)
Abraham Lincoln made the emancipation Proclamation 1963- “all people held as slaves [shall] henceforth be free”
North was victorious, slavery ended in south
Abolished slavery, granted citizenship and gave freed slaves the right to vote.
what were the Jim Crow laws? what and when did the US Supreme Court Rule?
Enforced segregation in the south
US supreme court ruled in 1896 that so long as segregation was “seperate but equal” it was ok
A character that mocked African Americans in TV show
Education: schools had to be seperate
transportation: seperate train cars
Marriage: cannot have interracial marriages
Entertainment: must have a solid partition between white and black customers. Cannot play games (cards etc) between races
Health care: a white nurse cannot attend to a black man
who were the KKK? when was it formed? what did they do? when were they condemned and by who?
Secret, white supremacist group Formed in 1866 Peaked in 1920s with 3-4 million members Disguised in pointed hoods Rape and murder African Americans of sympathetic whites Burn crosses and commit arson beatings, bombs, abductions 1965 the president Johnson condemned them and they were imprisoned About 5000-8000 today
who was the NAACP? when was it formed? what was its goal?
Punished for breaking segregation
Formed in 1919
Concerned about amendments not being followed
In WWII conflict reminded Americans that African Americans were given no rights and yet they were expected to fight
when did Americans begin questioning the treatment of AA? how did the president get involved?
WWII and Cold War made Americans see the hypocrisy of American being the land of the free
More people began showing their views in the 60s
In 1945 Truman highlighted race issues
1946 he established the President’s Committee on Civil Rights- protected people and made recommendations about safety
Made executive orders 9980 and 9981 which outlawed segregation in the workforce
what was the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?
1954 a church minister (Brown) fought against segregation in high schools
His daughter had to travel long distances to get to an all-black school
NAACP gave financial backing and Brown won
Some southern states fought against this decision for a while
when did the murder of Emmet Till Occur? what happened? what did his mother do?
1955
14 year old was said to wolf-whistle at a white woman
Husband and brother-in-law murdered him and weighed him to the bottom of the Tallahatchie river
Gouged out his eyes before shooting him
A white jury found them not guilty
Mother had the coffin open at the funeral and gained media attention
Husband said he did it but could not be tried again
Prompted more to fight
when did Rosa Parks stand up? what happened as a result? how long was this protest? what did it lead to?
1955 she stayed in her seat while a white man stood
Charged with violating segregation
Started a boycott on buses
Churches donated shoes to walkers
Montgomery Improvement Association was formed and King was elected president
On the day of the trial, African Americans in Montgomery did not take the bus
They wanted respect on buses and whoever bought the ticket first to be able to sit
Churches bought vehicles and had their own transport
Some carpooled with whites but whites were punished
Buses faced bankruptcy with 75% of customers AA
381 days
89 arrested
King’s house was bombed
December 1956 there was a supreme court ruling and people could sit where they wanted
when was Martin Luther King alive? what was his job? whose ideas did he use? what did he do to fight? what did he win? who murdered him?
1929-68
Ordained in 1948
1953 became pastor of a church in Alabama
Used Gandhi’s ideas of non-violent protests
1957 he became leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - very important in the movement
Traveled and made speeches
Lead marches in the south
Arrested several times
By 1961his phone was wiretapped by the FBI under orders from anti-communist head J Edgar Hoover
April 1963 in Birmingham Alabama during a demonstration he was arrested.
Wrote ‘Letter from Birmingham City Jail’- very powerful and important
1964 Nobel Peace Prize
With the civil rights act in 1964 he moved to economic equality
SCLC was involved in labour issues
Concerned about Vietnam war
Divided the movement
4 April 1967 he gave the ‘A time to break silence’ speech which confronted allies in the movement about the war and his decision to have world peace and end the dying of African Americans in Asia
3 April 1968 he arrived in Tennessee to address a demonstration for garbage collectors
He gave his last speech ‘I have been to the mountain top’
He was shot a day later and killed
America mourned
James Earl Ray (white suprematist) was found guilty
what was Little Rock?
In 1957, 9 students enrolled in the desegregated Little Rock school
National guard was called
NAACP made sure they could go
They suffered abuse
what were sit ins? when?
1960
Students sat in a white area in Woolworths
55 cities followed
White and black protestors had food poured on them
what were the freedom riders?
Congress of Racial Equality founded in 1942
Tried to end discriminatory policies
May 1961 it practiced freedom rides to test laws allowing transport for all
Toured southern states
Attempted to use whites only facilities
Many were beaten but police did little
In Mississippi, they were imprisoned
Media gained support
Buses in nov 1961 had to display a certificate that showed it accepted equality
when was the freedom march on washington? how many? what did they do?
23 August 1963 250000 marched for jobs and freedom
Gathered in the Lincoln memorial
Listened to songs and speeches
Met President Kennedy to discuss his civil rights bill
