civil rights

Brown vs Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court ruled school segregation which was a legal win with zero enforcement mechanism

Weakness of the Brown vs BOE case

No clear enforcement mechanism. While it was a legal win, there was no change to the system

What is the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)

A 381 day boycott of Montgomery buses which was sparked by Rosa Park’s arrest

How did Montgomery bus boycott legally end?

Browder v Gayle ruled segregated bus seating unconstitutional

[EVENT 3] What happened at Birmingham and the March on Washington (1963)?

Violent police response to protestors (fire hoses, dogs) and a 250,000-strong march built national pressure for legislation

What famous speech did MLK give at the March on Washington?

I Have a Dream' — delivered by MLK, articulating a vision of racial equality to a mass national audience

What did the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) each cover?

Civil Rights Act (1964): banned segregation in public places/employment. Voting Rights Act (1965): banned literacy tests, enabled federal oversight of voter registration

What was the shared weakness of both Acts, despite being landmark laws?

Slow, uneven enforcement at the state level despite the laws being passed

Martin Luther King Jr

LED non-violent direct action and co-founded the SCLC

Malcolm X

Nation of Islam spokesperson; rejected nonviolence and integration, argued for Black self-reliance/self-defence

Rosa Parks

NAACP activist whose deliberate, planned arrest triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Lyndon B. Johnson

US President who signed both the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965)

NAACP — method?

Pursued change through litigation — responsible for Brown v. BOE

SCLC & SNCC — method?

Organised nonviolent direct action — boycotts, sit-ins, marches (SCLC = MLK, church-based; SNCC = student-led, grassroots)

What happened at Little Rock (1957)?

Governor Faunus used the National Guard to block 9 black students from entering an all white school. In response, Eisenhower federalised the Guard and sent 1200 troops to enforce integration

Post Little Rock in 1958

Arkansas closed all Little Rock high schools for an entire year - while whites found alternative schooling only 1.2 of AAs were able to continue their education

What are freedom rides (1961)?

Activists rode buses through the South to test desegregation rulings on travel where a bus was firebombed and riders were beaten in Alabama

Outcome of Freedom Rides

The ICC issued a desegregation order in 1961 for interstates buses and terminals

What was Freedom Summer (1964)?

A campaign to register Black voters in Mississippi, run largely by student volunteers, using Freedom Schools and voter drives

What tragedy occurred during Freedom Summer, and what did it lead to?

Three civil rights workers were murdered by the KKK, drawing national outrage towards the Voting Rights Act the following year