Unit 8 – U.S. Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key events, laws, organizations, leaders, and themes of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Landmark Supreme Court case declaring that segregated public schools are inherently unequal.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)

Year-long boycott sparked by Rosa Parks that ended bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama.

Little Rock Integration (1957)

Eisenhower-enforced admission of nine Black students to Central High School, testing Brown’s mandate.

Greensboro Sit-in (1960)

Student-led protest at a whites-only lunch counter that ignited sit-ins across 20+ states.

Civil Disobedience

Nonviolent refusal to obey unjust laws to highlight their injustice.

Freedom Riders (1961)

Interracial activists who rode interstate buses to challenge segregated terminals in the Deep South.

Boynton v. Virginia (1960)

Supreme Court ruling that segregation in bus terminals violates interstate commerce protections.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Order (1961)

Federal directive, issued after Freedom Rider violence, banning segregation in interstate travel.

March on Washington (1963)

Mass rally of 200,000+ in D.C. demanding jobs and freedom for Black Americans.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic address envisioning racial equality, delivered at the March on Washington.

Selma–Montgomery Marches (1965)

Series of voting-rights demonstrations in Alabama, including the violent "Bloody Sunday."

Bloody Sunday (March 7, 1965)

State troopers’ attack on peaceful marchers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, televised nationwide.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law banning literacy tests and placing federal oversight on jurisdictions with voter suppression histories.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation outlawing segregation in public facilities, employment, and education.

Fair Housing Act of 1968

Statute prohibiting discrimination in the sale or rental of housing.

Media’s Role in Civil Rights

Television, newspapers, and photography that broadcast brutality, building national empathy and political pressure.

Nonviolent Imagery

Powerful visuals of peaceful protesters facing violence that swayed public opinion toward civil-rights goals.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Organization led by MLK that provided moral leadership and national strategy for nonviolent protest.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Youth-driven group pioneering grassroots tactics such as sit-ins and voter registration drives.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Civil-rights group that organized Freedom Rides and promoted interracial activism.

Grassroots Mobilization

Bottom-up organizing that empowered local communities to participate in protests and voter drives.

Collective Leadership

Strategy of multiple organizations and figures sharing decision-making to strengthen movement resilience.

John Lewis

SNCC chairman and future congressman who helped lead Freedom Rides and the Selma marches.

"Post-racial" Society Debate

Discussion, questioned by John Lewis, about whether legal gains equate to true racial equality.

Peaceful Protest Effectiveness

Research-supported idea that nonviolent tactics achieve policy change more reliably than violent ones.