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De Jure Segregation

Segregation enforced by law, such as Jim Crow laws.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern U.S. from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

De Facto Segregation

Segregation that happens by custom or social practices rather than by law.

Jackie Robinson

The first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era, breaking the sport's color barrier in 1947.

Emmett Till

A 14-year-old African American boy who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955, sparking national outrage and fueling the Civil Rights Movement.

Election of 1948 ('Dewey Defeats Truman')

A presidential election where Harry Truman unexpectedly won against Thomas Dewey; the Dixiecrats opposed Truman's civil rights policies.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.

Thurgood Marshall

Civil rights lawyer who argued Brown v. Board and later became the first African American Supreme Court justice.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who led landmark rulings, including Brown v. Board.

14th Amendment

Grants citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

Little Rock Nine

A group of nine Black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, facing violent resistance.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A 1955-1956 protest against segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest; led by Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK, Jr.

Leader of the Civil Rights Movement who advocated for nonviolent resistance.

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)

Civil rights organization led by MLK Jr., promoting nonviolent protests.

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

Civil rights group that organized sit-ins and freedom rides, later becoming more radical.

Sit-In Movement (Greensboro, NC)

Protests where Black students sat at segregated lunch counters in 1960, demanding service.

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated South to challenge bus segregation laws.

JFK, Election of 1960

John F. Kennedy won the presidency in a close race against Richard Nixon; he supported civil rights.

James Meredith

The first African American student to integrate the University of Mississippi in 1962.

Birmingham Civil Unrest (1963)

Protests against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, where police used violent tactics against demonstrators.

March on Washington (August 1963)

A massive protest where MLK Jr. delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech, advocating for civil rights and economic equality.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law that banned segregation in public places and prohibited employment discrimination based on race.

Selma / Edmund Pettus Bridge

Site of the 1965 march for voting rights, where peaceful marchers were attacked by police on 'Bloody Sunday.'

Governor George Wallace

Alabama governor who strongly opposed desegregation and symbolized Southern resistance to civil rights.

Lyndon B. Johnson / Kerner Commission

President who signed major civil rights laws; the Kerner Commission reported on racial inequality and urban violence in 1968.

Eugene 'Bull' Connor

Birmingham's police commissioner who used brutal tactics against civil rights protesters.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law that outlawed literacy tests and other barriers preventing African Americans from voting.

Watts, Los Angeles

A predominantly Black neighborhood where riots erupted in 1965 due to racial tensions and police brutality.

Nation of Islam / Malcolm X

Black nationalist movement that advocated for Black self-sufficiency; Malcolm X was a key leader.

Black Panthers / Huey Newton & Bobby Seale

A militant Black political group founded in 1966 to fight police brutality and promote community programs.

24th Amendment

Eliminated poll taxes, which had been used to prevent Black Americans from voting.

White Flight

The movement of white families from cities to suburban areas.

Civil Rights Movement

A pivotal struggle during the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial segregation and discrimination against Black Americans.