Civil Rights Mov't Flashcards
(30 cards)
Define the term “segregation”
setting someone of something apart from other people or things, especially because of race or other differences.
Define the term “literacy test”
test used to try to keep African Americans from voting or even registering to vote.
Define the term “boycott”
a refusal to use services or buy goods from a particular company or store as a punishment or protest. I.e. The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Define the term “poll tax”
a fixed amount required as a qualification for voting. Used to prevent African Americans from voting.
What is the 24th Amendment?
The 24th amendment was important to the Civil Rights Movement as it ended mandatory poll taxes that prevented many African Americans. Poll taxes, combined with grandfather clauses and intimidation, effectively prevented African Americans from having any sort of political power, especially in the South.
What was the CORE?
The Congress of Racial Equality was founded by James Farmer in Chicago to advocate nonviolence. It sponsored the 1961 Freedom Rides in the South, breaking segregation rules on buses and eventually changing those rules.
What was Plessy v. Ferguson?
. An 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld a Louisiana state law requiring “separate but equal” facilities. The majority of the court stated that the 14th Amendment protected only political equality, not social equality.
What was Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?
A 1954 Supreme Court case that challenged the “separate but equal” ruling established in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, held that separate was inherently unequal and instructed states to integrate.
Who was Thurgood Marshall?
He argued the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka before the Supreme Court. He later became the first African American Supreme Court Justice.
Who was Emmett Till?
1955-Mississippi-A teenage African American who was killed by two white men for supposedly whistling at one of their wives. The two men were found “not guilty” of the murder.
Who were the “Little Rock Nine”?
In 1957, the NAACP helped nine African American students register to attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High.
What were the state and federal governments’ responses to the Little Rock Nine?
Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to block the students from entering the school on September 4, 1957. President Eisenhower intervened with US Army troops and the students attended their first day on September 25, 1957.
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American seamstress, boarded a bus in Montgomery, AL. A few stops later, the bus driver demanded she give up her seat to a white passenger, according to the city’s laws. She refused and was arrested. In response, a core group of civil rights activists organized a one-day boycott of the city’s buses. This boycott continues for more than a year. It ended with a Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses in unconstitutional. The bus company lost 65% of its income.
What was the SCLC?
SCLC stands for Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was chairman of this group. It was established after the Montgomery Bus Boycott and advocated for nonviolent resistance to fight injustice. The SCLC organized protests and a Prayer Pilgrimage in Washington, D.C. in 1957.
Who was Jackie Robinson?
He was the first African American baseball player to play major league baseball, joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He braved death threats and rough treatment, but throughout his career he won the hearts of millions and paved the way for integration of other sports.
What were “sit-ins”?
Sit-ins began in February 1960, when four African American students in Greensboro, NC sat at the Woolworth’s “Whites Only” lunch counter and refused to leave until they were served. Students across the South staged similar sit-ins.
What was the SNCC?
The SNCC was the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Its goal was to create a grass-roots movement that involved all classes of African Americans in the struggle to defeat white racism and to obtain equality.
What was the 1963 March on Washington?
Date- August 28, 1963 ; Official name was “The March for Jobs and Freedom ; Goal was to promote passage of the Civil Rights Act by Congress. It was the largest peaceful protest march ever held in the US. MLK delivers his “I Have a Dream Speech”.
Who was James Meredith?
He was Air Force veteran who became the first African American to enroll at the all-white University of Mississippi, also known as “Ole Miss.” The governor tried to stop him, even though a federal court case had ordered the university to desegregate. President Kennedy sent Federal marshals to protect him on campus and in class.
Who was Medgar Evers?
He was an NAACP leader in Mississippi. He encouraged boycotts of businesses that had “whites only” signs posted and did not hire black employees. In June 1963, he was assassinated by a member of the KKK in his own driveway in Jackson, MS.
What were the Freedom Riders?
Date May – Sept 1961; Black and white college students rode interstate busses through southern states to test the Supreme Court ruling that ended segregation on these busses and in bus stations; In southern cities riders were attacked and some busses were bombed. President Kennedy sends US Marshals to protect the riders. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) bans bus companies from segregating passengers on busses or in bus terminals.
What is the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
proposed by President Kennedy; signed into law by President Johnson. Prohibited discrimination in all public accommodations and in employment based on race, religion, gender, and national origin.
What was the Freedom Summer?
Summer 1964; Organized by CORE and SNCC ; Recruited college students willing to help African Americans in MS register to vote and teach in Freedom Schools ; Part of the Voter Education Project started in 1962. Three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney were killed in Philadelphia, MS.
Describe the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Proposed by President Johnson; signed into law by President Johnson; Eliminated literacy tests as a requirement for voter registration; gave federal government the power to register voters denied that right by state and local officials. The 24th Amendment to the Constitution made charging a poll tax to vote illegal (1964).
