civil rights 1954-60

Question 1

what laws made it so that black and white Americans were to be segregated

Answer 1

Jim Crow laws

Question 2

what did Jim Crow laws state

Answer 2

its legal to segregate as long as its separate but equal

Question 3

what was segregated under the Jim Crow laws

Answer 3

public facilities and services ( cinemas, toilets, schools and transport)

Question 4

what was the reality of the Jim Crow laws and separate but equal

Answer 4

the services for black people were limited and inferior to the white facilities

Question 5

name two type of violence and discrimination were black people faced with in the southern state

Answer 5

racists white officials, police and judges would often be members of the KKK, which lead to the frequent assaults and murders of black people were not properly investigated or prosecuted
black people were not allowed to sit on juries in the court of law

Question 6

name three types of violence and discrimination were black people faced during voting

Answer 6

white gangs physically stopped black people voting and attacked them when they tried to register to vote
some Southern state passed laws to make it harder for black people to vote, e.g. literacy test that were virtually impossible
some southern states introduced the ‘grandfather clause’ which made everyone prove their forefathers had the voted. for descendants of slaves this was impossible

Question 7

name two civil rights organisations

Answer 7

NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
CORE, Congress Of Racial Equality

Question 8

What did NAACP do

Answer 8

set up 1909, fought for civil rights using legal means
defended black people who were unfairly convicted of crime
focused on overturning ‘separate but equal’ ruling

Question 9

what did CORE do

Answer 9

set up in 1942, similar membership to NAACP
used non-violent direct actions, trained local activists in these
mostly in northern states
during earlier times most members were white and middle class

Question 10

what did the Plessey vs Ferguson case allow

Answer 10

in 1896 allowed the segregation of public services, including schools

Question 11

what began Brown vs Topeka case

Answer 11

1952, NAACP took school segregation to court for breaking the 14th amendment( citizenship and equal protection) making black children feel inferior

Question 12

why did the Brown vs Topeka case have little impact at first

Answer 12

may 1954, segregation in schools was ruled unconstitutional and schools were to be desegregated but the court set not time limit
may 1955 a second ruling was set to be done ‘with all deliberate speed’

Question 13

when were schools finally desegregated and how many

Answer 13

1957, 723 schools

Question 14

what is meant by the term ‘Little rock nine’

Answer 14

1957, 75 black students applied to the newly desegregated Little rock high, Arkansas, 25 were accepted, however their parents were threatened
at the start of the 1957 school year, nine students showed despite the death threats to register, they were called the little rock nine

Question 15

who opposed the integration of schools

Answer 15

Governor Faubus
1958, closed all schools in Little rock to avoid integration
it lasted from a year but pressure from parents forced him to reopen

Question 16

name two kinds of oppositions that the ‘little rock nine’ faced trying to get into school

Answer 16

Faubus sent 250 state troops to ‘ keep the peace’ and block the black students entering the school
mobs of angry white people

Question 17

Why was Elizabeth Eckford significant

Answer 17

She wasn’t notified about arriving with the rest of the group and NAACP and was targeted by crowds and racially abused which showed media that a peaceful student trying to get education was attacked and threatened for simply going to school

Question 18

When and how were the students finally able to safely attend school

Answer 18

24th September when President Eisenhower sent in federal troops, to ensure the black students safety

Question 19

Why did the president get involved

Answer 19

Worldwide media coverage was ruining the USA’s image abroad

Question 20

What was President Eisenhower concerned about and what did he want

Answer 20

He was concerned about white opposition to integration and he wanted to improve black civil rights while avoiding potential violent unrest about racial integration in the deep south

Question 21

Why was Little rock significant

Give two reasons

Answer 21

Hundred of reporters from local and international news stations reported the event and people were shocked by what was happening

There was continuity in resistance to school integration after 1957, Faubus shut down schools in order to not integrate, however after reopening the first black student graduate from little rock in 1958

Question 22

What led to the Montgomery bus boycotts

Answer 22

1st December 1955 Rosa parks refused to give up her seat to a white person and was arrested and fined for breaking segregation laws

Question 23

Who focused on bus discrimination and when

Answer 23

1950 Women’s political council

Question 24

When did the bus boycott begin

Answer 24

5th December 1955 when MIA was set up to coordinate the boycotts, Martin Luther King was elected chairman

Question 25

What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Answer 25

Black people in Montgomery wouldn't ride any bus service until the situation changed, MIA organised car pooling, which began 12th December involved 300 cars

Question 26

What else helped with the Bus boycott

Answer 26

MIA negotiated with taxi companies to reduce cab fares with black drivers to enable boy otters to travel

Question 27

What kind of violence increased media coverage of the boycotts and whne

Answer 27

30th January 1956, MLK's House was fire bombed and King responded peacefully, which gained sympathy to the movement

Question 28

What was set up to coordinate church based protests and when

Answer 28

January 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Question 29

Who led SCLC

Answer 29

Martin Luther King and ralph Abernathy

Question 30

What was the 1957 civil rights act

Answer 30

The act aimed to increase black voter registration and allow federal to prosecute states which didn't guarantee citizens voting rights

Question 31

When was the KKK set up and what does it stand for and why was it set up

Answer 31

1865 Ku Klu Klan, after the slaves won their freedomb

Question 32

Who was Emmet Till and why was it significant

Answer 32

He wolf-whistled at a white lady and a few days later was kidnapped, Beat up severely, shot and thrown in a river with a cotton mill tied around his neck with barbed wire His mother held an open casket funeral, which led to extensive media coverage and fuelled widespread shock and outrage, especially in the North where they weren't aware how bad it was. The trial was reported nationwide but they men were found not guilty and later got their story published in a magazine admitting to the murder

Question 33

What did the NAACP do for Tills murder

Answer 33

1955 published a booklet called M is for Mississipi and for Murder, highlighting all the murders of black people in Mississipi on that year that went unpunished

Question 34

What was the sit in movement

Answer 34

1st February 1960, four black students waited to be served at a segregated lunch counter, when told to leave and held a sit-in and remained in store still closing time, this was to gain publicity to make the department store change its policies

Question 35

Why was the greensboro sit in significant

Answer 35

The next dqy they had 25 more students, then the 4th 300 students both black and white worked in shifts to continue the protests, after a week the sit uns spread to towns in North Carolina