Civil Rights Vocab
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional Significance: Declared separate but equal was not equal. It overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 that allowed segregation. It was one of teh first steps to the integration of races (particularly in schools). However, many schools were hesitant in integrating the races, treating the people of "color" unfairly.
A. Philip Randolph
A. Philip Randolph (born April 15, 1889, Crescent City, Fla., U.S.— died May 16, 1979, New York, N.Y.) was a trade unionist and civil-rights leader who was a dedicated and persistent leader in the struggle for justice and parity for the black American community Significance: He helped African Americans gain fair wages through the establishment of the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters. He led the 1941 March on Washington DC. The March led to President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing Executive Order #8802 to desegregate war factories.
Emmett Till
Emmett Louis Till was an African-American teenager who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman Significance: It helped show people the estreme forms of racism occuring in the South. Having an open-casket funeral encouraged people to take action to stop discrimination, racism, and extreme hate crimes from occuring.
Freedom Summer 1964
Freedom Summer (also known as the Mississippi Summer Project) was a campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi, which had historically excluded most blacks from voting Significance: Comprised of black Mississspians and more than 1,000 out-of-state, predominately white volunteers, there was a constant abuse and harrassment from Mississippi's white population. Mississippi was chosen as the site of the Freedom Summer project due to its historically low levels of African-American voter registration; in 1962 less than 7 percent of the state's eligible black voters were registered to vote. It managed to register only twelve hundred Afro-Americans.
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
It is a U.S. civil rights organization that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement. Founded in 1942, CORE was one of the "Big Four" civil rights organizations, along with the SCLC, the SNCC, and the NAACP Significance: The organization cooperated with other civil rights groups, launching a series of initiatives, such as the Freedom Rides (aimed at desegregating public facilities), the Freedom Summer voter registration project, and the March on Washington in 1963
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
It was a civil-rights organization founded to protest racial violence in the United States Significance: It tried using legal action to overturn the "separate but equal" policy that the United States had. It fought on a basis of law rather than taking violent actions. It was one of the earliest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. During its early years, the NAACP focused on legal strategies designed to confront the critical civil rights issues of the day. They called for federal anti-lynching laws and coordinated a series of challenges to state-sponsored segregation in public schools, an effort that led to the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared the doctrine of "separate but equal" to be unconstitutional. Though other civil rights groups emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, the NAACP retained a prominent role within the movement, co-organizing the 1963 March on Washington, and successfully lobbying for legislation that resulted in the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Act.
March on Washington 1963
It was a political rally that was organized by a number of civil rights and religious groups, the event was designed to shed light on the political and social challenges African Americans continued to face across the country Significance: The March on Washington became a key moment in the growing struggle for civil rights in the United States, as seen in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, a spirited call for racial justice and equality. More than 200,000 black and white Americans shared a joyous day of speeches, songs, and prayers led by a celebrated array of clergymen, civil rights leaders, politicians, and entertainers
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
It was one of the most important organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's. It emerged from a student meeting organized by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in April 1960 Significance: The organization was famously known for their sit-ins at lunch counters and other public institutes that banned and/or segregated blacks from whites. Additionally, they played a significant role in marches and in the Freedom Rides, which aimed to desegregate buses. The organization was composed of a large amount of radical, young students who wanted equality
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement Significance: He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helepd found the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). He led an unsuccessful struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgy (the Albany Movement - 1962), and helped organize the 1963 nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama, attracting national attention. The headliens revealed the brutality of the police force and the result of segregation, discrimination, and racism in the government. He also helped organize the March on Washington in 1963, where he delivred his "I Have a Dream" speech. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for combatting racial inequality through nonviolence, and his legacy continues to live on today.
Selma, Alabama 1965
On 25 March 1965, Martin Luther King led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after a 5-day, 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama, where local African Americans, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Significance: It was the focus of its efforts to register black voters in the South. It helped raise awareness of the difficulty faced by black voters in the South, and the need for a Voting Rights Act, passed later on that year. The governor was pro-segragation, so he set up a resistance force that would force marchers back to Selma. However, President Johnson backed the marchers, going on national television to pledge his support and lobby for passage of new voting rights legislation he was introducing in Congress
Freedom Rides 1961
On May 4, 1961, a group of 13 African-American and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals Significance: The Freedom Riders, who were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group, departed from Washington, D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way into the Deep South. African-American Freedom Riders tried to use "whites-only" restrooms and lunch counters, and vice versa. The group encountered tremendous violence from white protestors along the route, but also drew international attention to their cause. Over the next few months, several hundred Freedom Riders engaged in similar actions. In September 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in bus and train stations nationwide
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an African-American Civil Rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement" Significance: She was the main figure that inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott (she was chosen by a group of people, it was not solely her who had decided to do so). On December 1, 1955, she refused to give up her seat for a white passenger and sit in the colored section. When she refused, the news made headlines and she became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation.The Montgomery Bus Boycott was then organized.
de facto segregation
Segregation of the races in fact rather than in law Significance: De facto segregation occurs when widespread individual preferences, sometimes backed up with private pressure, lead to separation. Segregation in the North, evidenced in schools, housing, and some public facilities, was segregation in fact rather than law. In the North, there was no law stating that segregation was legal, but it happened anyway. This is significant because it still shows the amount of discrimination, segregation, and racism faced in the North, whether the law supports it or not. In the Civil Rights Act of 1964, de facto segregation was not ended. African American unemployment was higher than whites and housing discrimination was still prevalent
Albany Movement 1961-1962
The Albany Movement was a desegregation coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, on November 17, 1961, by local activists, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Significance: The Albany Movement was the first mass movement in the modern civil rights era to have desegregation of an entire community as a goal. It resulted in the jailing of more than 1,000 African Americans in Albany and surrounding rural counties. Martin Luther King Jr. was drawn into the movement in December 1961 when hundreds of black protesters, including himself, were arrested in one week, but eight months later King left Albany admitting that he had failed to accomplish the movement's goals. Albany was important because of King's involvement and because of the lessons he learned that he would soon apply in Birmingham, Alabama. The situation also helped reveal police bruatality brought along by racism in the South.
Birmingham Protests 1963
The Birmingham campaign (1963 Birmingham movement) was a movement organized in early 1963 by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to bring attention to the integration efforts of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama Significance: In the spring of 1963, activists in Birmingham, Alabama launched one of the most influential campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement: Project C, better known as The Birmingham Campaign. It would be the beginning of a series of lunch counter sit-ins, marches on City Hall and boycotts on downtown merchants to protest segregation laws in the city. Over the next couple months, the peaceful demonstrations would be met with violent attacks using high-pressure fire hoses and police dogs on men, women and children alike -- producing some of the most iconic and troubling images of the Civil Rights Movement. President John F. Kennedy would later say, "The events in Birmingham... have so increased the cries for equality that no city or state or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them." It is considered one of the major turning points in the Civil Rights Movement and the "beginning of the end" of a centuries-long struggle for freedom.
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957, enacted on September 9, 1957, was primarily a voting rights bill Significance: It was the first civil rights legislation passed by Congress in the United States since the 1866 and 1875 Acts. It created a Civil Rights Divisino in the Justice Department and wanted to win black votes (but only 20% voted). Democrats didn't support the bill, but it was finally passed (with modifications). Political support and public confidence had been eroded when Eisenhower publicly admitted that he did not understand parts of it. It was a step towards equality.
Civil Rights Act of 1960
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 (enacted May 6, 1960) was a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote Significance: It helped further the African Americans' movement towards civil rights and equality. It was desigend to deal with discriminatory laws and practices in the segregated South, in which blacks had been effectively disfranchised since the late 19th and start of the 20th century. It was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and served to eliminate certain loopholes left by the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Many voting polls had specifically targeted African Americans, making it close to impossible for them to be able to vote. This act ensured that wouldn't be a problem.
Civil Rights Act 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the nation's premier civil rights legislation. It outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, required equal access to public places and employment, and enforced desegregation of schools and the right to vote Significance: It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public. It was a step towards racial equality and a major point in the Civil Rights Movement.
Little Rock Crisis 1957
The Little Rock Nine's enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They ended up attending after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower Significance: The students were faced by an angry mob of people that were completely against desegregation. They were faced with physical threats, yelling, and racial slurs from the crowd. Arkansas Governor Orval M. Faubus intervened, ordered the Arkansas National Guard to keep the nine African American students from entering the school. However, President Dwight Eisenhower dispatched nearly 1,000 paratroopers and federalized the 10,000 Arkansas National Guard troops, who ensured that the nine students would attend school. On September 23, 1957, the "Little Rock Nine" returned to Central High School where they were enrolled. Units of the United States Army remained at the school for the rest of the academic year to guarantee their safety. This became a widely discussed topic about civil rights, racial discrimination and States's rights within the nation. Additionally, it was extremely significant because it reveals the struggle/battle between federal and state governments.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks on 1 December 1955. It was a 13-month mass protest that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional Significance: The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the direct result of the arrest of Rosa Parks. However, the entire ordeal was planned by the NAACP, which decided to challenge the law to see change. Eventually, the United States Supreme Court decided and declared that the segregation on buses was unconstitutional. This resulted in a breakthrough for African American desegregation and a step towards equality and civil rights.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The SCLC had a large role in the American Civil Rights Movement Significance: It operated primarily in the South and some border states. It conducted leadership-training programs, citizen-education projects, and voter-registration drives. The SCLC played a significant role in the civil rights movement, specifically the March on Washington, D.C. in 1963, and in notable anti-discrimination and voter-registration efforts in Albany, Georgia, and Birmingham and Selma, Alabama, in the early 1960's.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act (signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965) aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment (1870) to the Constitution of the United States Significance: The Voting Rights Act, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment (1870) to the Constitution of the United States. The act significantly widened the franchise and is considered among the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. Although it took the Voting Rights Act to finally enforce it, African Americans were supposed to be citizens with the right to vote since the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.
de jure segregation
The legal segregation of the races set down in laws in the south until 1964 Significance: Segregation in the South was enshrined in state law rather than through attitude. This reveals that legally, people were required to segregate and discriminate against people of "color." This is significant because it helps reveal the trouble the South caused and it foreshadowed the clash between the state and federal government regarding racism. The racism was set in law, so nobody could do anything about it except fight the law.
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991. Marshall was the Court's 96th justice and its first African-American justice Significance: Marshall earned an important place in American history on the basis of two accomplishments. First, as legal counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), he guided the litigation that destroyed the legal underpinnings of Jim Crow segregation. Second, as an associate justice of the Supreme Court-the nation's first black justice - he crafted a distinctive jurisprudence marked by uncompromising liberalism, unusual attentiveness to practical considerations beyond the formalities of law, and an indefatigable willingness to dissent.