Civil Rights Flashcards
(24 cards)
Describe a timeline of events for Brown vs Topeka
- 1952-The NAACP brings multiple school segregation cases to supreme court, claiming that the segregation of schools broke the 14th amendment as it made black students feel inferior
- December 1952-The judges ask to hear more legal advice on the case and a new chief justice , Earl warren, replaces the old pro segregation chief justice
- May 1954 - the court rules that school segregation is unconstitutional but sets no time limit for schools to be desegregated by
- June 1954-In the deep south,White citizens councils are set up in order to oppose school desegregation . They were prepared to use extreme violence . Many schools in the deep south deliberatley resisted desegregation
- May 1955- A second court ruling said that desegregation in schools should be done with all deliberate speed
- 1957- 723 school districts had desegregated education
What was the short term significance of the brown vs topeka case
- The brown vs topeka ruling overturned the Plessey vs ferguson case ruling of 1896 which allowed public facilities , including schools, to be segregated
- There was white backlash following the brown vs topeka ruling and KKK membership increased
- Black students and teachers who went to desegregated schools faced hostility and threats
- Some good schools for black americans were foced to shut down
- Many southern states found ways to avoid desegregation of schools
What was the long term significance if the brown vs topeka case
- The brown vs Topeka case ruiling inspired other desegregation campaigns
- The Brown ruiling could now be used in cases to desegregate public facilities
- In the long term after the Brown ruiling , white americans moved out of areas where black americans were in order to avoid forced desegregation
- The brown ruling raised awarness of civil rights issues in southern states
How did school desegregation come about at little rock high school , Arkansas
- Following the brown vs Topeka ruiling, a decision was made for the desegregation of schools in little rock
- About 75 black students applied for a place at little rovk high school for the school year of 1957 . The school board accepted 25 of these students . However, these 25 students and their families faced intimidation and threats warning them not to take their place at little rock. This intimidation meant that by the start of the 1957 school year only 9 students still planned on registering for Little rock high school
Who was Orval Faubus ? What viewpoints did he hold ?
- Orval Faubus was the state governer of Arkansas at the time of teh events at little rock high school
- After the Brown decision of 1954 he became a fierce opponent to school intergration
What were the events at little rock 1957
- Following the brown ruiling, the little rock school board agreed that little rock high school would be desegregated on 3rd of September 1957 . In time for the start of the new school term
- The NAACP arranged for the 9 new black students that would be attending the school following its desegregation to arrive there together on the 4th September 1957
- On the 3rd of septmeber Orval Faubus , state governer of Arkansas, sent 250 state troopers to go and surround little rock high school on the day the nine black students were supposed to start.He said this was to “keep the peace” however blocked black students from gaining entry to the school. The school board told the black students to skip school that day
- The NAACP arranged for the 9 new black students that would be attending the school following its desegregation to arrive there together on the 4th September 1957 in order to seek protection in numbers from the angry mob of racists outside
- One of the nine students, elizabeth eckford, did not get the message to arrive with the rest of the group and arrived by herself. She was targetted by the racist crowd that was outside the little rock high school and subject to racist abuse
- District judges and lawyers for the NAACP used the courts to cahllenge faubus and force him to withdraw the state troops
- Once state troops had been removed there was no protection from the mob for the little rock nine and rioting began
- On the 24th september Eisenhower sent in federal troops to ensure that the 9 black students could get into little rock high school safely without being attacked . The students were finally able to enter the school
Why did Eisenhower send in Federal troops
- Eisenhower sent in 1000 federal troops firstly in order to protect the little rock nine . After state troops had left , there had been rioting outside little rock high school and the little rock nine and been attacked
- Eisenhower also sent in federal troops also as there was worldwide media coverage of the events at little rock high school and the US image was being damaged abroad
How did Eisenhower send these 1000 troops into little rock high school
Eisenhower used a presidential order in order to send the federal troops into little rock as he knew congress would never approve of the decision to interfere in state affairs
- Eisenhower himself was reluctant to use federal troops but was very concerned about the white opposition to intergration
- Eisenhower wantedbto improve black civil rights without causing violent unrest about intergration in the deep south , where opposition was strongest
What was the significance of the events at little rock
- Hundereds of reporters from local and international stations covered the events at little rock. The coverage shocked people because of how children were being racially abused . It tarnsished the US image abroad
- There was continued resistance to school intergration after the events. In the south many schools chose to shut down rather than face desegragtuon
- The first black student graduated from little rock high school in 1958. This was a big achievement in the civil rights movement
- It forced Eisenhower , who would have preffered to have done nothing, to take action and it led to him introducing the first civil rights act since 1875 in 1957 . This civil rights act set up a commision to prosecute anybody who denied american citizens their rights
- Even 10 years after the events, black students who attended newly intergrated southern schools were subject to violence, intimidation ahd exclusion by teachers and peers
Why were effectuve civil rights laws not put in place
-effective civil rights laws were often blocked by white southern members of congress
Who were the dixiecrats ? What views did they hold?
- The dixiecrats were a splinter group from the demrocratic party . The dixiecrats were made up of southern white politicians
- The dixiecrats held strong views about keeping segregation in place. They also wanted to protect states rights to retain laws that garunteed white supremacy
- In 1954 , the dixiecrats rejoined the main demrocratic party , after orginally leaving over disputes over civil rights, as they felt they could have more influence from inside the demrocratic party
Why did the dixiecrats hinder civil rights laws being passed
-The dixiecrats hindered civil rights laws being passed as presidents needed the dixiecrats support in congress , so they had to take their veiws on board. This stopped civil rights laws being passed as this directly opposed their views on keeping segregation
How did state officials resist desegregation
- Some state officials resisted desegregation in very open ways e.g some southern state officials would shut down all state schools so they could not be intergrated
- State officials also resisted desegregation by makimg school admissions tests deliberatley biased against black students so they could not join “white” schools
- State officials also refused to end literacy tests and continued to disrupt opportunites for black voters to case their vote and elections
What were white citizens councils
- White citizens councils were groups set up from 1954 in order to stop desegregation.They began as groups to stop school desegregation in their local area after the brown ruiling but grew into wider groups to stop all desegregation
- By the mid 1950s they had over 60000 members
What tactics did the WCC use to stop desegregation
- The WCC used violent protests to stop calls for desegregation
- They also used economic means to stop calls for desegregation e.g WCC would sack black employees who were active civil rights campaigners or ones who signed petitions
- They were worried that desegregation would lead to further calls for political and economic equality for black americans
Who were the KKK
The KKK were a racist group set up in 1865 after black americans won their freedom. Their main aim was to stop black americans gaining equality
- They operated mainly in the southern states
- They terrorised black americans by using extreme violence including lynching
- Many southern law enforcement officers were involved with the Klu Klux Klan or sympathetic with their aims
What did southern churches do in opposition to civil rights
Southern churches claimed that in the bible it said that intergration was a sin and continually opposed civil rights
-Many KKK members were also members of southern churches
What did southern state officials do in opposition to civil rights
Southern state officials favoured segregation and were opposed to civil rights
-Many southern state officials were also members of the KKK
Who was Emmett Till and what happened to him
- Emmet Till was a 14 year old black boy from chicago that went to visit his family in Mississippi in 1955
- Carolyn Bryant , a white woman, claimed that Till made sexual advances at her whilst in her store but his cousins who were outside said he only wolf whistled at her
- The next night , Bryants husband and his half brother abducted Till and beat him severly and shot him. They threw his body in a lack with weights tied around his neck . His body was found three days later
What did Tills mother do and why were her actions significant
Till’s mother, Mamie Bradley, had an open coffin at Emmetts funeral
-This led to widespread media coverage and shock and outrage . This shock and outrage was especially strong in the North where many were ignorant to the treatment of black americans in the south
What happened to Carolyn Bryants husband and his half brother after the murder
- After the murder, the defendants were found not guilty . It only took the jurers 67 minutes to make up their verdict
- The murder trial was also reported worldwide
- After teh trial the defendanats sold their story to a magasine , admitting that they commited the murder
What happend to George W Lee
George W Lee was an NAACP leader who was murdered in 1955 in Mississippi. He was said to be murdered in a car crash but was also shot .
The media reported his murder and other murders of black americans at the time . These led to public outrage and spurred on the growth of the civil rights movement
What was the NAACP ? When was it set up ? What was its main aim? How did it try to achieve this aim
The NAACP stands for the national ascoviation for the advancement of coloured people
- It was set up in 1909
- Its main aim was to overturn the seperate but equal ruiling and more long term gain civil rights
- It tried to do this using the legal system and courts
What was CORE ? When was it set up ? What was its aim ? How did it try to achieve this aim?
- CORE stood for the congress for racial equality
- It was set up in 1942
- It wanted racial equality for black and white people and wanted civil rights for black people
- Members used non violent direct action in order to try and achieve this
