Unit 5 - The Civil Rights Movement, 1954-68 Flashcards
(44 cards)
What event did the Civil Rights movement start with?
The Brown v Board of Education ruling.
What event did the Civil Rights movement end with?
The assassination of MLK.
Name important civil rights activists of the time.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
Who was Earl Warren?
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1943 to 1953.
He convinced the other justices to overturn Plessy v Ferguson.
What is the Brown 2 case?
A declaration by the Supreme Court demanding the speedy integration of all public schools.
When was the Brown v Board of Education ruling passed?
What ruling did it overturn?
- It overturned Plessy v Ferguson of 1896.
What was CORE and what did they stand for?
Freedom Riders of the Congress of Racial Equality.
They tested the implementation of Supreme Court rulings by highlighting racial discrimination on interstate buses and trains.
Why did a Supreme Court ruling not mean automatic implementation of the decision?
Because the federal and state governments needed to implement the decisions made by the court.
What did the 1956 Browder v Gayle case rule on?
It declared segregation of passengers on public transport in cities unconstitutional.
Who started the Montgomery Bus Boycott? Which figure rose to national prominence due to it?
Rosa Parks stated it.
Martin Luther King Jr rose to national prominence.
What was the Montgomery Improvement Association?
An organisation to ensure the bus boycott was effective.
It organised car lifts for black Americans so they wouldn’t need to use the buses. This created severe financial difficulties for the bus company.
When was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
1955
Why did the Montgomery Bus Boycott receive national support?
Because the spokesperson, MLK, had a moderate and non-violent message and his oratory was eloquent.
When did MLK give his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech?
August 28, 1963.
When did MLK receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
1964.
What was the SCLC?
Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It wanted to fight for black American’s rights in a non-violent way.
What were the three main aims of the SCLC?
-To encourage white Americans to participate in the organisation to bring change
-To encourage all black Americans to seek justice and reject injustice
-To encourage the use of non-violent protest
Why was the SCLC’s Crusade for Citizenship campaign of 1958-1960 ineffective?
Limited funds and poor organisation.
Name two SCLC protest examples.
-Albany, Georgia (1961-62)
-Birmingham, Alabama (April and May 1963)
Briefly outline the Albany, Georgia SCLC protest of 1961-62.
Police arrested everyone peacefully and even MLK was released quickly after his fine was paid by an anonymous donor. The protest didn’t get much attention due to the non-violent response of law enforcement.
Briefly outline the Birmingham, Alabama SCLC protest of 1963.
The police violently broke up protesters with water cannons and dogs. This was recorded and shown on TV across the country. MLK was arrested and wrote ‘A Letter from Birmingham Jail’. The impact of the events made MLK a national civil rights figure.
What was the SNCC?
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. The youth wing of the civil rights movement.
Their protest received widespread media attention and led directly to the desegregation of lunch counters across the South.
What was CORE? Give some details.
Congress of Racial Equality.
It was created in 1942 in Chicago. They believed in non-violent protest, the Freedom Rides gave them national attention.
Explain the tactics of the SNCC, CORE and the SCLC.
Non-violent protests. However, law enforcement often reacted violently. These events were filmed and shown on television and in the media to create outrage and bring awareness. They wanted to show that segregation was being enforced in the South unconstitutionally.
