Chapter 29
Who was James Meredith and what did he do?
Air Force Veteran James Meredith, who won a federal court case that allowed him to enroll in an all-white university nicknamed Ole Miss
What effect do you think television coverage of the Little Rock incident had on the nation? (Making inferences)
Allowed the public to see the cruel treatment of African American students.
Why did young people in SNCC and the MFDP (Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party) feel betrayed by some civil rights leaders?
Because their leaders had agreed to a compromise with the Johnson administration that kept most of the delegates from the Democratic Convention. Johnson thought he might lose the southern white vote so he cut a deal that would give the MFDP 2 of the 68 seats at the convention and he promised to ban discrimination at the 1968 convention.
How were civil rights problems in Northern cities similar to those in the South?
Both Northern and Southern Blacks experienced poverty and inferior schools, and their civil rights demands were met with white anger and violence and police brutality.
How did civil rights workers try to achieve the Voting Rights Act?
By having voter rights campaigns in the south that registered voters. After Jimmy Lee Jackson was shot and killed King organizes a 50 mile march from Selma to Montgomery the state capital. They were met with violence from police using tear gas, clubs, and whips all of which was put on the news and in papers.
How did Freedom Riders expose Southern resistance to desegregation rulings?
By testing the Supreme Court decisions that banned segregation on interstate bus routes activist planned a bus trip across the south that they thought would provoke a violent reaction that would force President Kennedy to enforce the laws.
What events led to desegregation in Birmingham? (Chronological order)
Days of demonstrations, the arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others , MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail", police violence and boycotts.
What were some of the causes of urban rioting in the 1960s?
De facto segregation, police brutality, high unemployment, run down schools and communities
How did Malcolm X alienate Black Muslims?
His views soften his opinions when he studied Orthodox Islam which preached racial equality. He later urged followers to use ballots instead of bullets.
Why was Rosa Parks's action on December 1, 1955, significant? (Synthesizing information)
It led to a city wide boycott of the buses and it also brought Martin Luther King Jr. to prominence.
How did television coverage of the Birmingham marchers affect legislation?
It offended the conscience of the nation when they saw police dogs and fire hoses used to keep down the protestors. Some also were upset that King used children and teenagers in their demonstrations.
What were the effects of the Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson? (Analyzing Effects)
Jim Crows Laws -Blacks had inferior facilities.
How did events during World War II lay the groundwork for African Americans to fight for civil rights in the 1950s?( Developing Historical Perspective Main Ideas)
Labor shortages during the war provided job opportunities for African Americans, Latinos, and white women. African Americans served in armed forces to resist the racist Germany. Some success at protests.
Trace Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s civrights activities beginning with the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Organized the boycott, he had hoped to get 60% to boycott but 90% boycotted. This had a negative impact on the businesses. King then joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to carry on "non-violent crusade". Sit-ins were also organized at segregated lunch counters Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committees were organized at colleges.
Explain how legalized segregation deprived African Americans of their rights as citizens.
Plessy V. Ferguson case of 1896 made segregation legal ruling that "separate but equal" law did not violate the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equal treatment under the law. Many southern states develops Jim Crow Laws that aimed at separating the races.
What prevented millions of African Americans from voting in the South?
Poll taxes, literacy tests.
How did the violence against the Freedom Riders affect President Kennedy?
President Kennedy pledged to give them direct support sending in 400 Marshalls to protect the riders on the last leg of journey. Riots broke out when Governor Ross Barnett used a radio address to "call on every Mississippian to keep his faith and courage" and never surrender to the civil rights activists.
What were the central points of Dr. King's philosophy? (Summarizing information)
Soul Force" or nonviolent resistance, demonstrations, and civil disobedience. He learned to love one's enemy from Jesus, Civil disobedience (the refusal to obey an unjust law) from Thoreau, and Philip Randolph he learned how to organize, and from Gandhi he learned to resist oppression without violence.
How successful was the civil rights movement in getting rid of de facto segregation?
Still work to be done
How did the Brown decision affect schools outside of Topeka? (Making inferences)
The Brown decision stated that segregation had no place in public education so all schools must desegregate.
Summarize civil rights legal activity and the response to the
The NAACP fought to end legal segregation since 1909 after the Plessey ruling legalized the separation of races. In 1938 they began to focus on the inequalities in the separate schools which states provided. At that time the nation spent 10 times more on educating whites compared to African Americans. Thurgood Marshall began to argue and win many civil rights cases. The Brown case, his most famous case the Supreme Court struck down the Plessey case as a violation of the 14th Amendment. Justice Warren wrote "In the field of public education the doctrine of separate but equal has no place." This ruling was relevant for over 12 million schoolchildren in 21 states.
What was the Kerner Commission?
A study that blamed white racism as the cause of urban violence.
How successful was the civil rights movement in getting rid of de jure segregation?
Effective
What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 guaranteed?
Eliminated literacy tests and allowed federal examiners to register voters.
What were some of the accomplishments of the civil rights movement?
End of legal segregation, constitutional and legal protection for civil and voting rights, black pride increased, more African American voters and public officials, an increase in high school and college graduation rates to name some...
How did civil rights organizers integrate Southern campuses and towns?
Federal court cases Air Force Veteran James Meredith, who won a federal court case that allowed him to enroll in an all-white university nicknamed Ole Miss
Why did some Americans find Malcolm X's views alarming?
He blamed racial inequalities and black poverty on whites and advocated for armed resistance to white oppression.
What was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s response to the rhetoric of Black Power?
He objected to the preaching of violence
What was Malcolm X's appeal as a leader to African Americans?
He preached racial pride and self-protection
Why was King visiting Memphis when he was assassinated?
He was there supporting the cities striking garbage workers.
What famous speech was given at the march?
I Had a Dream Speech for peace and racial harmony.
In what ways were the civil rights campaign in Selma similar to the one in Birmingham?
In both cases civil rights activists encountered violence that was captured by the press which helped force the federal government to intervene.
What was the role of the SCLC? (Evaluating information)
It organized protests and demonstrations to promote civil rights.
Why did civil rights organizers ask their supporters to march on Washington?
To spur passage of the civil rights bill.
What happened to cities across America after King's assassination?
Urban rioting in over 100 cities, Robert Kennedy pleads for calm
Did the march achieve its goals?
Yes, after more violence the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Johnson after JFK was assassinated.
Why was public reaction to the Black Panthers mixed?
Seemed radical, people were scared it would advocate violence.
Why did some leaders of SCLC disagree with SNCC tactics?
Some SCLC leaders believed the call for Black Power would provoke black violence and alienate whites.
Why weren't schools in all regions desegregated immediately after the Brown II decision? (Analyzing causes)
Some southern whites and state officials resisted segregation and either the President or Congress forced them to act quickly.
What did the freedom riders hope to achieve? (Analyzing Issues)
They had hoped to call attention to the South's refusal to abandon segregation so as to pressure the federal government to enforce the Supreme Court's desegregation rulings.
How did the Black Panthers reflect a growing radicalism in segments of the movement?
They organized to fight police brutality, dressed in black, thought A.A. males should be exempt from military service because so many had been drafted, and sold copies of Mao Zedong's writings.
Why did civil rights groups organize Freedom Summer? (Analyzing motives)
They wanted to call attention to the lack of voting rights and promote a passage of the federal voting rights.
Describe the expansion of the civil rights movement.
This movement spread to women, Latinos, Native Americans and across the globe.
