Chapter 14 - The Civil Rights Movement

Fannie Lou Hamer

(1917-1977) bacame a SNCC field worker in 1963; helped found the MFDP; left SNCC in 1966 when the organization embraced Black Power but remained active in the civil right movement in 1971; helped found the National Women's Political Caucus

Earl Warren

Chief Justice during the 1950's and 1960's who used a loose interpretation to expand rights for both African-Americans and those accused of crimes.

Medgar Evers

Director of the NAACP in Mississippi and a lawyer who defended accused Blacks, he was murdered in his driveway by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Black Panthers

Organization of militant African Americans founded in 1966

Civil Rights Act of 1957

law that established a federal Civil Rights Commission

black power

movement in the 1960s that urged African Americans to use their collective political and economic power to gain equality

fillbuster

tactic by which senators give long speeches to hold up legislative business

What role did Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., play in the Montgomery bus boycott?

-Rosa Parks: She protested and refused to give up her seat to a white man who got on the bus. -Martin Luther King, Jr.: He gave a speech as the protests started at the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) where he inspired the audience into action and practice non-violent protests. As a result, he became the leader of the boycott.

Why was the Brown V. Board of Education decision important?

-Sweatt v. Painter: Texas cannot have an all-black law school -McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents: Oklahoma cannot bar minorities from access to "the library, dining hall, and classrooms" -Hernandez v. Texas: Mexican Americans cannot be excluded from serving on juries -Answer: Brown v. Board of Education was an important decision because it ended the idea of racial segregation and the phrase: "separate but equal".

Malcolm X

1952; renamed himself X to signify the loss of his African heritage; converted to Nation of Islam in jail in the 50s, became Black Muslims' most dynamic street orator and recruiter; his beliefs were the basis of a lot of the Black Power movement built on seperationist and nationalist impulsesto achieve true independence and equality

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 case that overturned Separate but Equal standard of discrimination in education.

Montgomery bus boycott

1955-1956 protest by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, against racial segregation in the bus system

freedom ride

1961 protest by activists who rode buses through southern states to test their compliance with the ban on segregation on interstate buses

March on Washington

1963 demonstration in which more than 200,000 people rallied for economic equality and civil rights

Freedom Summer

1964 effort to register African American voters in Mississippi

Nation of Islam

African American religious organization founded in 1930 that advocated separation of the races

Why were sit-ins often a successful tactic?

African Americans didn't move until they were served which often caught attention of people

Why did the struggle for equal rights intensify after World War II?

African Americans had just risked their lives in the war and now demanded to not be treated like 2nd class citizens, Roosevelt banned discrimination through defense industries during the 1940s

Thurgood Marshall

American civil rights lawyer, first black justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall was a tireless advocate for the rights of minorities and the poor.

Why was the Kerner Commission formed/

An 11-member commission established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in the United States and to provide recommendations

What did the freedom ride accomplish?

Confirmed that once laws were passed Congress would support the laws

Section 1 - Early Demand for Equality How did African Americans challenge segregation after World War II?

During WWII African Americans challenged segregation by various protests. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man. ... Civil Rights were faced with "massive resistance" in the South by proponents of racial segregation and voter suppression.

James Meredith

He was a civil rights advocate who spurred a riot at the University of Mississippi. The riot was caused by angry whites who did not want Meredith to register at the university. The result was forced government action, showing that segregation was no longer government policy.

Section 3 - New Successes and Challenges What successes and challenges faced the civil rights movement after 1964?

In 1964, many African Americans were still denied the right to vote. Southern states used literacy tests, poll taxes, and intimidation to prevent African Americans from voting.

What gains did the civil rights movement make by the early 1970s?

Integration in public schools and the ability to vote for African Americans. passage of federal laws to protect civil rights created affirmative action programs

Why is the Montgomery bus boycott considered a turning point in the civil rights movement?

It showed that African Americans had the power to fight injustice and demonstrated the effectiveness of nonviolent protest.

How did James Meredith and Martin Luther King, Jr., prompt President Kennedy to promote civil rights?

James Meredith and Martin Luther King, Jr. , prompted President Kennedy to promote civil rights because when Meredith was stopped from attending the desegregated Univ of Mississippi, a riot occurred and two men were killed. President Kennedy had to assign federal marshals to protect Meredith and publicly stated that "Americans are free to disagree with the law but not to disobey it."

How did Malcolm X's views differ from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s views?

Malcolm believed that equality can be achieve by any means necessary. Google "ballots or bullets" Including violence. MLK believed in non violent protest. He said "We will meet physical force with soul force"

What events led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

March on Washington, freedom rides, sit and wade in, Birmingham protest

Why did Justice Thurgood Marshall support affirmative action?

Marshall was the first African American justice and spent his life fighting for equality. As a young man he had experienced discrimination first hand. He was the lawyer for Brown v Topeka and argued that separate but equal was not equal at all. He was a great man and powerful ally for equality and civil rights for all.

Why did King go to Memphis in 1968?

Martin Luther King Jr. or MLK, went to Memphis, Tennessee in April 1968. He went there to support a strike of sanitation workers. But, that was the last of him. Some days later he was shot dead on the balcony of his hotel room.

Why did President Eisenhower send federal troops to Little Rock?

President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas because the black students were not being allowed to enter and blocked by the governor and the National Guard. Additionally, the situation was so explosive, that the troops were need to keep the peace. Finally, troops were used because a state governor was not following federal law and the ruling of the supreme court.

How did segregation affect the lives of African Americans?

Segregation affected the lives of African Americans due to where they could live and what laws they had to follow. Although African Americans in the north could vote, many could not in the south. They, along with other minorities, "occupied the bottom rungs of the economic ladder". After WW II veterans returned unwilling to accept the status quo.

How did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 try to end discrimination?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 tried to end discrimination by: - Banning segregation in public accommodations - Giving government the power to desegregate schools - Outlawing discrimination in employment - Establishing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

What is considered the highlight of the March on Washington?

The highlight of the March on Washington is considered to be the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King.

Why did the freedom rides lead to violence?

They publicly announced what they intended to do, they were bombed and mobs swarmed them; drove the bus right into cities of angry whites

Section 2 - The Movement Gains Ground How did the civil rights movement gain ground in the 1960s?

Through victories in the courts and the success of sit-ins and other nonviolent protests, African Americans slowly began to win their battle for civil rights - the civil rights act of 64 that signaled a dramatic change in race relations by outlawing discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin

Martin Luther King, Jr.

U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nobel Peace Prize (1964)

Rosa Parks

United States civil rights leader who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery (Alabama) and so triggered the national civil rights movement (born in 1913)

How did the Brown decision lead to conflict between federal and state governments?

When Arkansas refused to desegregate its schools, the federal government sent the National Guard to oversee the transportation of African American students to Central High School.

How did the Selma march help lead to the passage of civil rights legislation?

When state troopers met the demonstrators at the edge of the city and beat them, it triggered a wave across the nation that led to civil rights movement evolving and the passages of legislation

How did young people energize the civil rights movement in the 1960s?

Young people energize the civil rights movement in the 1960's by forming the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, The group promoted and used non-violent means to protest racial discrimination; responsible for creating the sit-in movement.

Twenty-fourth Amendment

constitutional amendment that banned the poll tax as a voting requirement

sit-in

form of protest where participants sit and refuse to move

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

grass-roots movement founded in 1960 by young civil rights activists

Kerner Commission

group set up to investigate the causes of race riots in American cities in the 1960s

What impact did the protests in Selma, Alabama, have on the nation?

it marked the political and emotional peak of the civil rights movement

Voting Rights Act

law that banned literacy tests and empowered the federal government to oversee voter registration

Civil Rights Act of 1964

outlawed discrimination in public places and employment based on race, religion, or national origin

de facto segregation

segregation by unwritten custom or tradition

de jure segregation

segregation imposed by law