The Civil Rights Movement In The US

Question 1

1 December 1955

Answer 1

Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat in Montgomery Alabama, bus boycott begins

Question 2

May 1961

Answer 2

Freedom Rides sponsored by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Congress of Racial Equality

Question 3

28 August 1963?

Answer 3

March on Washington with 200, 000 people protesting against racial discrimination

Question 4

2 July 1964

Answer 4

Civil Rights Bill is signed into law by president Johnson

Question 5

21 February 1965

Answer 5

Malcom X assassinated

Question 6

4 April 1968

Answer 6

Martin Luther King Jr assassinated

Question 7

Martin Luther King. what did he created? what did he win? when he die?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Lyndon B Johnson

Answer 8

US president 1963-1969

Implemented legislation that supported civil rights

Question 9

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?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

who were the black panthers?

Answer 10

formed in 1966, a party that wanted to save black community from police brutality

Question 11

what was the NAACP?

Answer 11

Nation Association for the Advancement of Coloured People formed in 1909 fought for equality

Question 12

what was the great divide? when was the civil war? who won?

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

what were the Jim Crow laws? what and when did the US Supreme Court Rule?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

who were the KKK? when was it formed? what did they do? when were they condemned and by who?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

who was the NAACP? when was it formed? what was its goal?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

when did Americans begin questioning the treatment of AA? how did the president get involved?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

what was the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

when did the murder of Emmet Till Occur? what happened? what did his mother do?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

when did Rosa Parks stand up? what happened as a result? how long was this protest? what did it lead to?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

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?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

what was Little Rock?

Answer 21

In 1957, 9 students enrolled in the desegregated Little Rock school
National guard was called
NAACP made sure they could go
They suffered abuse

Question 22

what were sit ins? when?

Answer 22

1960
Students sat in a white area in Woolworths
55 cities followed
White and black protestors had food poured on them

Question 23

what were the freedom riders?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

when was the freedom march on washington? how many? what did they do?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

what happened at Selma? when? what did it lead to?

Answer 25

1965 protested about lack of registered AA voters
Three marches in Selma
A racist place and stirred up racism
7 March state troopers attacked them with clubs and tear gas- on TV
9 March Martin Luther King led 3000 but were turned back
President Johnson made state law enforcement to fall under the control of federal agencies
21 March 25000 watched with King and guarded by the new federal troops
Violence made congress realise change was needed
1965 Voting Rights Act

Question 26

what 5 things did Malcom X want?

Answer 26

Restoration
To be free of oppression they must restore communications to Africa

Reorientation
Learn about Africa through books and travel

Education
New education system developed to keep children away from the lies that mentally enslave them

Economic security
Afro-Americans make up the largest ethnic group in America and if they were given economic and political freedom, they would soon own the country.

Self defence
Many African-Americans have been killed and the murderers unpunished.
Justice will be done to these murderers whatever the cost.

Question 27

what did Malcom X help with? what did he say about what he did?

Answer 27

Helped improve community standards.
Attempts to have principles brought in where stopped when he was assassinated 21 Feb 1965 by NOI
Claimed they would kill him
“I want Dr King to know that I didn’t come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realise what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr King.”

Question 28

what was said in Malcom X’s obituary?

Answer 28

“had the ingredients for leadership, but his ruthless and fanatical belief in violence not only set him apart from the responsible leaders of the civil rights movement and the overwhelming majority of Negroes, it also marked him for notoriety, and for a violent end.”

Question 29

when was there struggle for change?

Answer 29

1960s

Question 30

what happened in Birmingham? what was the truce? when? how did the government respond?

Answer 30

Demonstrations lead to a true in 1963
Truce: desegregation in lunch rooms, changing areas, removal of whites only and blacks only signs
11 May 1963: King’s brother’s house was bombed
Riots against suspected police
2500 involved, 50 injured by tear gas and troops
Gained support as many felt non-violent protests got nowhere
President Kennedy’s operation Oak Tree: troops sent in. Did not come when African Americans needed help but when they played up- discrimination

Question 31

what happened in Harlem? when?

Answer 31

1964
15 year old James Powell shot
4000 rioters for 6 days
Destroyed cars, looted businesses, Molotov cocktails
118 injured
465 arrested
Officer who murdered was not found guilty

Question 32

what happened in philedephia? when?

Answer 32

1964
Rioted for 3 days against police brutality
Odessa Bradford stopped car on the road and was forcibly removed from her vehicle when she could not move on
Believed police killed a pregnant woman- false
Many injured and arrested

Question 33

who were the nation of islam? what did they believe? what tactics did they take? what did they think of King?

Answer 33

Should return to Africa and form an empire
Formed in Detroit in 1930
Stated they followed islam but at times did their own thing
Allah created all black people
Evil Yakub created all other races and whites
Believed in segregation if it strengthened the black community
Violent
Believed King was hindering progress by not acting forcefully
Raised spirits of black communities

Question 34

who were the black panthers? when did the start and end? what did they encourage? what ended it?

Answer 34

Lack of change lead to this violent party.
Formed in 1966, ended 1969.
Short lived as its violence stopped people taking it seriously
Encouraged killing of police where necessary
FBI, police, arrests and censorship ended it.

Question 35

what were the ten points of the Black Panthers?

Answer 35

1. We want freedom and power to determine the destiny of the black community.
2. Full employment.
3. End capitalism stealing from the black community.
4. Decent housing.
5. Education that teaches the true role of black people and the truth of American society.
6. Black men except from military service.
7. End police brutality and murder of black people.
8. Freedom for all black men in jails.
9. All black people brought to court to be trialed by a black court.
10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.

Question 36

what was the civil rights act in 1964?

Answer 36

Discrimination based on race illegal in public places.
Equal employment opportunities commission: job discrimination is illegal.
Funds kept from states that did not follow.
Attorney General punished states that broke the law.

Question 37

what was the voting rights act in 1865?

Answer 37

Abolished literacy test for voting.

Question 38

what was the civil rights act in 1968?

Answer 38

Equal housing opportunities
Landlords could no longer refuse based on race
Hate crimes ended people in jail for 1 year.

Question 39

what marked change?

Answer 39

2009 appointment of Obama showed change.

Question 40

has police brutality ended?

Answer 40

Police brutality in recent decades show that some things have not changed.

Question 41

what did Hurricane Katrina show?

Answer 41

Hurricane Katrina that hit Louisiana in 2005, showed divide between living standards

Question 42

how has black family income changed?

Answer 42

Black family income: $22 000 in 1963 to $40 000 today.

Question 43

compare unemployment?

Answer 43

Black unemployment is two times white unemployment similar to 1972.

Question 44

compare poverty in time

Answer 44

Poverty has dropped 40% to 27% since 1972.

Child poverty has dropped 67% to 40%.

Question 45

what is the gap in wealth?

Answer 45

Gap in wealth is 5:1

Question 46

what was graduation like in 1964 compared to now?

Answer 46

1964: one in 4 black people graduated from school, now 85%

Question 47

compare numbers in college?

Answer 47

21% of black people in college (was 4%)

34% of white people in college