Civil Rights & Activism Flashcards
(81 cards)
1
Q
Definition/What:
MLK
A
Baptist minister, leader of the Civil Rights Movement, advocate of nonviolent resistance
2
Q
Cause:
MLK
A
- Inspired by Gandhi and Christian principles
- Became a leader during the Montgomery Bus Boycott
3
Q
Effect:
MLK
A
- Unified movement under nonviolence
- Led March on Washington
- Assassinated 1968—became a martyr
4
Q
Definition/What:
Malcolm X
A
Nation of Islam minister; later broke away and promoted Black empowerment & self-defense
5
Q
Cause:
Malcolm X
A
- Grew disillusioned with nonviolence
- Emphasized racial pride and community control
6
Q
Effect:
Malcolm X
A
- Inspired Black Power and later activists
- Assassination in 1965 left lasting ideological impact
7
Q
Definition/What:
AIM
A
American Indian Movement; founded to fight systemic oppression & reclaim native rights
Founded 1968
8
Q
Cause:
AIM
A
- Long-standing grievances over broken treaties, poverty, and cultural erasure
9
Q
Effect:
AIM
A
- Protests like the occupation of Wounded Knee raised awareness
- Helped restore some tribal rights
10
Q
Definition/What:
Jim Crow Laws
A
State and local laws enforcing racial segregation, especially in the South
11
Q
Cause:
Jim Crow Laws
A
- Post-Reconstruction white supremacy
- Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal”
12
Q
Effect:
Jim Crow Laws
A
- Widespread racial inequality
- Sparked civil rights lawsuits and protests
13
Q
Definition/What:
NOW
A
National Organization for Women, founded to fight gender discrimination
Founded 1966
14
Q
Cause:
NOW
A
- Frustration over limited enforcement of anti-discrimination laws
- Exclusion from the Civil Rights Act
15
Q
Effect:
NOW
A
- Advocated for equal pay, ERA, reproductive rights, and legal reform
16
Q
Definition/What:
Betty Friedan
A
Feminist author of The Feminine Mystique, co-founder of NOW
The Feminine Mystique - 1963
17
Q
Cause:
Betty Friedan
A
- Felt unfulfilled by traditional housewife role
- Gave voice to widespread discontent
18
Q
Effect:
Betty Friedan
A
- Sparked second-wave feminism
- Led legal/policy reforms in workplace and education
19
Q
Definition/What:
Brown v. Board
A
Supreme Court case declaring school segregation unconstitutional
1954
20
Q
Cause:
Brown v. Board
A
- NAACP legal strategy
- Evidence that “separate” was unequal
21
Q
Effect:
Brown v. Board
A
- Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson
- Met with resistance
- Led to school integration battles
22
Q
Definition/What:
Emmett Till
A
14-year-old lynched in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman
1955
23
Q
Cause:
Emmett Till
A
- Jim Crow culture
- White supremacist violence
24
Q
Effect:
Emmett Till
A
- Open-casket funeral shocked the nation
- Became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement
25
# Definition/What:
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Boycott protesting segregated buses; began with Rosa Parks
| 1955-56
26
# Cause:
Montgomery Bus Boycott
* Rosa Parks’ arrest
* Decades of bus segregation
27
# Effect:
Montgomery Bus Boycott
* Desegregated buses
* Launched MLK into national spotlight
28
# Definition/What:
Roe v. Wade
Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion nationwide
| 1973
29
# Cause:
Roe v. Wade
* Legal challenge to Texas laws banning abortion
* Framed as privacy issue
30
# Effect:
Roe v. Wade
* Landmark victory for women's rights
* Remains controversial and politically charged
31
# Definition/What:
Cesar Chavez
Labor leader and activist who co-founded United Farm Workers
| (UFW)
32
# Cause:
Cesar Chavez
* Farmworkers faced unsafe, underpaid, and discriminatory conditions
33
# Effect:
Cesar Chavez
* Organized strikes/boycotts
* Won contracts and rights for migrant laborers
34
# Definition/What:
SNCC
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; youth-led civil rights group
35
# Cause:
SNCC
* Formed after student-led sit-ins
* Wanted grassroots activism
36
# Effect:
SNCC
* Organized Freedom Rides, voter drives
* Later radicalized toward Black Power
37
# Definition/What:
SCLC
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by MLK
38
# Cause:
SCLC
* Need for organized nonviolent resistance led by Black clergy
39
# Effect:
SCLC
* Led major campaigns like Birmingham, Selma
* Coordinated protests across the South
40
# Definition/What:
Black Power
Movement emphasizing Black pride, autonomy, and self-defense
41
# Cause:
Black Power
* Frustration with slow progress and nonviolence’s limits
42
# Effect:
Black Power
* Shifted tone of movement
* Inspired groups like the Black Panthers
43
# Definition/What:
Sit-Ins
Peaceful protest tactic used by students to desegregate lunch counters
44
# Cause:
Sit-Ins
* Inspired by Gandhi/MLK
| Greensboro, NC, 1960
45
# Effect:
Sit-Ins
* Led to desegregation of many public spaces and spurred wider youth activism
46
# Definition/What:
Freedom Riders
Interracial groups riding buses through the South to test desegregation laws
47
# Cause:
Freedom Riders
* Supreme Court banned bus segregation
* Southern states ignored it
48
# Effect:
Freedom Riders
* Faced violence
* Forced federal government to enforce integration laws
49
# Definition/What:
Birmingham Campaign
SCLC-led protests in Alabama to confront segregation
| 1963
50
# Cause:
Birmingham Campaign
* Chose “most segregated city”
* Aimed to provoke national outrage
51
# Effect:
Birmingham Campaign
* Brutal police response televised
* Helped push Civil Rights Act.
| (Fire hoses, dogs)
52
# Definition/What:
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Landmark law banning segregation and job discrimination
53
# Cause:
Civil Rights Act of 1964
* Long civil rights campaign
* JFK’s call
* LBJ’s pressure after JFK’s death
54
# Effect:
Civil Rights Act of 1964
* Ended legal segregation
* Empowered federal enforcement; major victory
55
# Definition/What:
Freedom Summer
Campaign to register Black voters in Mississippi
| 1964
56
# Cause:
Freedom Summer
* Black voters denied rights through intimidation, literacy tests
57
# Effect:
Freedom Summer
* Highlighted racist violence
* Increased national attention
58
# Definition/What:
Voting Rights Act 1965
Law banning literacy tests and empowering federal oversight of elections
59
# Cause:
Voting Rights Act 1965
* Bloody Sunday march
* Persistent Southern voter suppression
60
# Effect:
Voting Rights Act 1965
* Huge surge in Black voter registration
* Shifted political power
61
# Definition/What:
Civil Disobedience
Peacefully breaking unjust laws to create moral crisis
62
# Cause:
Civil Disobedience
* Inspired by Gandhi and Christian ethics
63
# Effect:
Civil Disobedience
* Tactic used by King, SCLC, SNCC
* Forced legal and public change
64
# Definition/What:
March on Washington
Rally for jobs and freedom; 250,000+ attended
| Aug 1963
65
# Cause:
March on Washington
* Push for civil rights legislation
* Unity across groups
66
# Effect:
March on Washington
* MLK's “I Have a Dream” speech
* Added momentum to Civil Rights Act
67
# Definition/What:
Black Panthers
Radical group formed to protect Black communities and fight police brutality
| 1966
68
# Cause:
Black Panthers
* Anger over poverty, inequality, police violence
* Influence of Black Power
69
# Effect:
Black Panthers
* Community programs
* Militant image; drew FBI scrutiny and government repression
70
# Definition/What:
Birmingham Jail Letter
MLK’s defense of nonviolence and civil disobedience, written in jail
71
# Cause:
Birmingham Jail Letter
* Arrested during Birmingham campaign
* Criticized by white clergy
72
# Effect:
Birmingham Jail Letter
* Became moral and strategic defense of movement
* Widely read and cited
73
# Definition/What:
Greensboro Sit-Ins
Protest by 4 Black students at a Woolworth’s counter
| 1960
74
# Cause:
Greensboro Sit-Ins
* Triggered by Jim Crow laws and youth desire for direct action
75
# Effect:
Greensboro Sit-Ins
* Sparked a wave of sit-ins and new youth involvement (SNCC)
76
# Definition/What:
Silent Spring
Book by Rachel Carson about environmental harms of pesticides
| 1962
77
# Cause:
Silent Spring
* Pesticide use was largely unregulated and dangerous
78
# Effect:
Silent Spring
* Sparked environmental movement
* Led to formation of EPA and clean-air/water laws
79
# Big-Picture:
Civil Rights: Different Leader Philosophies
* MLK & SCLC: nonviolence + integration
* Malcolm X & Black Panthers: self-defense + racial pride
* Both challenged systemic racism differently
80
# Big-Picture:
Civil Rights Legacy
* Ended legal segregation, expanded voting rights
* Inspired later rights movements (women, Native, LGBTQ)
81
# Big-Picture:
Civil Rights: The Media's Role
* TV and photos exposed brutality (e.g., Birmingham, Freedom Rides)
* Made racism undeniable to white Americans and international audiences
