Unit 1.2 - The Quest for Civil Rights (COMPLETE) Flashcards
1
Q
What was the 1954 Brown V Board of Education of Topeka case?
A
- Desegregates schools.
First use of evidence that, as well as unequal provision, segregation is psychologically harmful to Black schoolchildren.
2
Q
Why did the NAACP and other organisations step up direct actions in the 1940s and 1950s?
A
- Saw their membership grow.
- Saw that legal rulings alone were not enough.
- Influenced by Mahatma Ghandi’s peaceful protest methods.
3
Q
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
A
- December 1st 1955, NAACP Member, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested.
- Boycott began on December 5th and lasted for 380 days.
- Black people made up over 75% of bus users.
- 90% of black people avoided all busses.
- Gained mass publicity and the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional on 13th November 1956.
4
Q
What was Little Rock, Arkansas?
A
- In 1957, 9 children were selected to attend the previously all-white Central High School.
- On the 4th of December Faubus sent in the National Guard to prevent the children attending school for their ‘safety’.
- MLK met with Eisenhower and urged federal intervention which Eisenhower reluctantly agreed to.
- Federal troops were sent in to guard the children.
- Central High School became integrated.
5
Q
What were the Greensboro Sit-ins?
A
- February 1st 1960.
- 4 Black college students went to Woolworth’s and waited until closing to be served at the lunch counter.
- The movement spread across America and the first national sit-in was on February 13th.
- By March the sit-ins had spread to 55 cities in 13 different states.
- Lunch counters were eventually desegregated
6
Q
What was the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)
A
- Set up on 15th April 1960.
- Racially integrated organisation of young people.
- Believe in non-violent direct action.
- Trained in how to deal with violent reactions.
- Sent field secretaries in to dangerous areas in the south.
- Looking to see an increase in voter registration in the south.
7
Q
What were the Freedom Rides?
A
- Organised by CORE and James Farmer.
- Wanted to test the weight of the legislation regarding the desegregation of transport on busses.
- Experienced no trouble in the North but as they moved deeper south they were met with violence.
- Incident involving the KKK: set a bus alight and barricaded the doors shut in an attempt to kill the riders inside.
8
Q
What happened in Birmingham?
A
- Most segregated city in America.
- MLK and the SCLC planned to desegregate the whole town.
- Plan was to get arrested and fill up all the jails.
- Children trained in protest tactics.
- Police used severe violence against peaceful protestors. Chief ‘Bull’ Connor used high pressure fire hoses and dogs against the protestors.
- Shocked global media and JFK was ashamed.
- Federal troops were sent in and Birmingham was successfully desegregated.
9
Q
What was the Freedom Summer?
A
- SNCC pushed for voter registration. Sent 45 white and black volunteers to the South.
- 6 volunteers found dead 39 shooting incidents and countless beatings.
- 17,000 Black people tried to register to vote. Only 1600 accepted.
10
Q
What was Black Power?
A
- A mixed movement set up in 1965.
- Worked in black communities keeping order and organising community projects.
- BP 10 point programme included decent housing and black history being taught at university.
- BP uniform and carrying guns attracted government attention not the work they did for the community.
- Most Black Power groups worked and received better results on a local level.
- Black Power Students pressed for more black staff and black history courses.
- Black Power Workers set up radical trade unions to push for black jobs, equal pay and equal job opportunities.
- Black Power radicalised many well established organisations (NAACP) in the long term.
- If these groups didn’t radicalise then they became more pragmatic instead. Atlantic Leader of NAACP accepted slowing of segregation in 1973 for more control over black schooling.
11
Q
What happened to interstate busses on the 25th November 1955?
A
- Segregation on interstate busses banned all over USA.
12
Q
What did the Southern Congressmen sign on the 12th of March 1956?
A
- 102 Southern congressmen sign the Southern Manifesto condemning Brown v Board.
13
Q
What did James Meredith do on the 30th September 1962?
A
- James Meredith integrated the University of Mississippi.
- Only with the help of 3000 federal troops.
14
Q
What happened on the 28th August 1963?
A
- March on Washington.
- Biggest civil rights protest to date.
- Numbers involved range from 200,000-500,000.
15
Q
When was MLK awarded a Nobel Peace Prize?
A
- 10th of December 1964.
16
Q
What was the Northern Crusade?
A
- In the summer there were 20 major riots nationally.
- King announced a ‘Northern Crusade’ to improve slums.
- Set up tenant unions, improving working conditions and teaching young people about non-violent protest.
- Campaign mainly focussed on Chicago.
- Crusade petered out. King claimed success but many disagreed.
- Brought no permanent change and it became clear it was harder to get political support for social issues than segregation.
- King’s relationship with the media began turning sour.
