US History Chapter 20
May 14, 1961
"Freedom Riders" bus used by black civil rights protesters burned in Alabama. followed by a riot in Montgomery ALabama
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
Q - what impact did malcolm x have on the civil rights movement
- got the black people to be less violent -shed light on many deplorable conditions faced by people of African descent. - he impacted the Civil Rights movement by helping to expose discriminatory practices which ultimately led to significant changes in what the legal system declared unlawful. = from 1959-1965, sixteen states passed fair housing laws that prohibited racial, religious, and national origin discrimination in various sectors of the private housing market. In 1954 the US Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional, nullifying the earlier judicial doctrine of "separate but equal." In 1965, President Johnson signed the US Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act prohibited literacy tests and poll taxes which had been used to prevent blacks from voting.
Burmingham Alabama
- largest segregated city - where MLK focused his efforts - spring 1963 peaceful protest attacked by police w/ tear gas, sticks, dogs, & powerful fire hoses - King was arrested - while locked up King wrote "Letter from Bourmingham City Jail" which promoted nonviolence to instigate change
black power
..., A slogan used to reflect solidarity and racial consciousness, used by Malcolm X. It meant that equality could not be given, but had to be seized by a powerful, organized Black community.
Montgomery bus boycott
1955-1956 protest by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama against racial segregation in the bus system
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
Voting Rights Act
1965; invalidated the use of any test or device to deny the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks; as more blacks became politically active and elected black representatives, it rboguth jobs, contracts, and facilities and services for the black community, encouraging greater social equality and decreasing the wealth and education gap
Black Panthers
A black political organization that was against peaceful protest and for violence if needed. The organization marked a shift in policy of the black movement, favoring militant ideals rather than peaceful protest.
Nation of Islam
A group of militant Black Americans who profess Islamic religious beliefs and advocate independence for Black Americans
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
In response to riots over desegregation the University of Mississippi, President Kennedy declared that
Americans were free to disagree with the law but not to disobey it.
Why did Martin Luther King target Birmingham, Alabama for a civil rights campaign?
Because it was considered the most segregated city in the South
The first of the confrontations on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the march on Selma became known as
Bloody Sunday.
The conflict at Little Rock's Central high School was a reaction to
Brown v. Board of Education.
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.
Twenty-fouth Amendment
Consitutional amendment that banned the poll tax as a voting requrirement
How did T. Eugene Connor react to civil rights marchers in Birmingham, Alabama?
He ordered the use of police dogs and fire hoses against the marchers
Why were many Americans surprised when President Johnson supported civil rights?
He was a Southerner with an undistinguished record on racial matters
Q -Why did violence erupt in many American cities in the 1960s?
In the 60s, there was the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968), refering to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights in Southern states
Q - What gains did the civil rights movement make by the early 1970?
Integration in public schools and the ability to vote for African Americans. passage of federal laws to protect civil rights created affirmative action programs
What was the significance of Hernandez v. Texas?
It extended Fourteenth Amendment protections to Mexican Americans
In what way did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 affect employment in the United States?
It outlawed job discrimination and created the EEOC to investigate charges of job
Nov 22 1963
JFK assassinated in Dallas TX before his proposed civil rights bill was made law
1960
JFK elected pres, pro civil rights
Which of these African Americans is famous for breaking into major league baseball?
Jackie Robinson
How did Malcolm X's views differ from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s views?
Malcolm X believed in a violent approach while MLK believed in a peaceful protest
Q - how did Malcolm x's views differ from martin Luther king's
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"
Q - 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.
Q - 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.
To which city did President Eisenhower send federal troops to protect African American students?
Montgomery, Alabama
How long did the Montgomery bus boycott last?
More than a year
Which civil rights organization won a number of important court cases against segregation in the 1950s?
NAACP
Who signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
President Johnson
What happened in hundreds of cities immediately after the assassination of Martin Luther King?
Riots broke out
Aug 28 1963 March on Washington
The 1963 March on Washington attracted approx. 250,000 people for a peaceful demonstration to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans. Participants walked down Constitution and Independence avenues, then gathered at the Lincoln Monument for speeches, songs, and prayer. Most memorable speech of the day was the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
How did the Black Panthers exemplify the idea of "black power"?
The Black Panthers developed programs for African Americans to help themselves and their communities
What civil rights measure was passed by Congress shortly after King's assassination?
The Fair Housing Act
Kemer Commission
The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission after its chair, Governor Otto Kerner, Jr. of Illinois, was 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 for the future.
Which of the following events in the Civil Rights movement preceded the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
The Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Alabama. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at The March on Washington.
At what school was there major rioting over James Meredith's enrollment?
The University of Mississippi
Q - Explain the significance of the march in Selma
The goal of the march was to draw national attention to the struggle for black voting rights in the state.
What were Jim Crow laws?
They were laws that enforced the strict separation of the races
Robert Kennedy, 1962 Oct
US Attorney General & brother of pres, ordered fed marshalls to University of Mississippi to enforce a court order to allow a black student to enroll - white mob rioted - fed troops had to be sent in response - 2 people killed before troops got control
What two specific activities are protected from discrimination?
Voting and employment
Q - 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
At what point did the Black Panthers believe that African Americans would become "free"?
When they gained full control of their community institutions
Martin Luther King, Jr.
a baptist minister, addressed the MIA, declared that there was no alternative but to protest non-violently and urged people to follow Christian Doctrine
2 weeks after march, 1963
a bomb killed 4 young black girls in the Burmingham Alabama church
Selma March "Bloody Sunday"
a major campaign in Selma, Alabama to pressure the federal government to enact voting rights in legislation, climaxed in a series of confrontations on the Edmund Pettus Bridge; March 7, 1965, heavily armed State Troopers and other authorities attacked the marchers
"affirmative action"
a means of closing the economic gap between blacks and whites
Nation of Islam
a religious sect headed by Elijah Muhammad, prescribed strict rules of behavior including no drugs or alcohol and separation of the races
Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP
african american lawyer from baltimore who headed the legal team for NAACP team of attorneys
Rosa Parks
an African American seamstress, on December 1, 1955 she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, she was arrested
James Meredith
an air force veteran who sought to enroll at all-white University of Mississippi, known as "Ole Miss," won a federal court case that ordered the university to segregate
Following the issuance of the Kerner Commission's findings, a number of conservative commentators
argued against expanding federal spending for minorities.
Not long after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African Americans in several cities
assumed public office.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
banned segregation in public accommodations and gave the federal government the ability to compel state and local school boards to desegregate their schools
How are the NAACP and the National Urban League similar?
both became proactive to help African Americans gain Civil Rights
Medgar Evers
civil rights activist, instrumental in James Meredith's effort, was killed for his efforts
M.L. King's "I Have A Dream" speech
described his dream of a colorblind society when "all God's children would be free and equal," millions watched on television
Civil Rights Act of 1957
established the United States Civil Rights Commission, which had the power to investigate violations of civil rights
SCLC--Southern Christian Leadership Conference
established to continue the struggle for civil rights, advocated nonviolent resistance to fight injustices, organized a series of protests which helped convince congress to pass civil rights legislation
Urban League (National Urban League
focused on poorer workers, helped families buy clothes and books and send children to school, helped factory workers and maids find jobs
Why did Justice Thurgood Marshall support affirmative action?
he thought it would give african americans equal treatment, believed that the economic gap had to be closed
Brown v. Board of Education
issue about segregated public education, the NAACP challenged the "separate but equal" principle itself, court declared that "in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place"
Q - What impact did the protests in Selma, Alabama have on the nation?
it marked the political and emotional peak of the civil rights movement
Why is the Montgomery bus boycott considered a turning point in the civil rights movement?
it revealed the power African Americans could have if they joined together and used nonviolence
How did the Selma march help lead to the passage of civil rights legislation?
it was live on television which gained notice from around the country
Jackie Robinson and Major League Baseball
joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, became the first African American to play major league baseball, braved death threats and rough treatment, won the hearts of millions
How did the Brown decision lead to conflict between federal and state governments?
local and state governments had control over education
What did the Kerner Commission determine to be the cause of the urban riots of the late 1960s?
long term racial discrimination, economic equalities
What events led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
march on Washington, freedom rides, sit and wade in, Birmingham protest
When three civil rights workers disappeared during Freedom Summer, the SNCC claimed that they had been
murdered.
Q - Why was the Kerner Commission formed?
n 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
SNCC--Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
new civil rights organization, its goal was to create a grass-roots movement that involved all classes of African Americans in the struggle to defeat white racism and obtain equality
Earl Warren
newly appointed Chief Justice, wrote the Brown decision
"Little Rock Nine"
nine young African children who volunteered to enroll at Central High School, the beginning of a plan to gradually desegregate Little Rock schools, soldiers blocked their way into school, none gained entrance the first day
In a ruling known as Brown II, the Supreme Court
ordered the immediate implementation of Brown v. Board of Education.
RFK
ordered wire taps on MLK, did not fully trust him
How did the local police react to the Birmingham, Alabama protests, and how did President Kennedy respond?
police agreed to protect the riders, used dogs and hoses, President Kennedy's administration worked out a deal with Mississippi's leaders, Kennedy tried to get civil rights act passed
freedom ride
protest by activists who rode buses through southern states to test their compliance with the ban on segregation on interstate buses
What happened in Detroit in 1967?
riots due to racial tension
de facto segregation
segregation by unwritten custom or tradition
de jure segregation
segregation that is imposed by law
Q - What successes and challenges faced the civil rights movement after 1964?
success/challenges ibclude voting rights act of 1965, fair housing act of 1968(banned discrimination in housing), anger/frustration led to many race riots from 1965-68, and that number increased with the assasination of MLJ. Also thurgood marshall became chief court justice in 1967 and aa poverty rates fell as well as the # of AA graduating high school increased
Voter Education Project
supported by both Kennedys - purpose was to educate & encourage southern blacks to vote
The members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) believed
that direct, nonviolent methods could gain civil rights for African Americans.
In return for the desegregation of interstate transportation,
the Kennedy administration agreed not to stop the arrest of Mississippi activists.
While in prison, Malcolm X became a convert to
the Nation of Islam.
Why did the freedom rides lead to violence?
the bus was bombed, provoked angry white people
What is "miscegenation," and what was the Supreme Court ruling in the Loving v. Virginia case? (not in textbook-look online)
the interbreeding of people considered to be of different pigmentation
Malcolm X
the most well known African American radical, adopted the "X" to represent his lost African American name, most prominent minister, preached equality by "any means necessary." made his own organization, shot and killed
How did the civil rights movement gain ground in the 1960s?
the success of the protests in the 60s and all of the Americans saw it broadcasted on tv
What successes and challenges faced the civil rights movement after 1964?
the voting rights act in 1965, MLK was assassinated, riots due to racial tensions, long term racial discrimination and economic inequalities
Why were sit-ins often a successful tactic?
they didn't move until they got what they wanted, nonviolent and drew attention to the cause
Why did African Americans seek redress (help) in the courts to change long-standing discrimination?
they felt that racial equality was long overdue and continued to face discrimination
What happened to both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy (brother of the slain president) in 1968?
they were both assassinated
What gains have been made by African Americans since the 1950s?
voting rights, segregation is illegal, desegregation in school, political participation