Civil Rights Movement

Flashcards about the Civil Rights Movement lecture notes.

Brown v. Board of Education

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

De jure segregation

Segregation enforced by law, ended by Brown v. Board of Education.

De facto segregation

Segregation that exists in practice, even if not legally mandated; remained strong nationwide after Brown v. Board.

Emmett Till

A young African American boy who was murdered in Mississippi after allegedly flirting with a white woman; his death sparked outrage and galvanized the Civil Rights Movement.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A civil rights protest in which African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to ride city buses to protest segregated seating.

Rosa Parks

An activist who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama, triggering the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

A leader in the Civil Rights Movement who advocated for nonviolent direct action to achieve equality.

Little Rock Nine

A group of nine African American students who were initially prevented from entering a segregated high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, prompting federal intervention.

CORE

Congress of Racial Equality, an activist group that participated in the Freedom Rides and other civil rights actions.

SCLC

Southern Christian Leadership Council, a civil rights organization founded by Martin Luther King Jr. and others.

SNCC

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a civil rights organization formed by students to protest segregation.

Black Nationalism

A philosophy advocating for the creation of a separate nation for African Americans, emphasizing self-sufficiency and independence.

Black Panthers

A militant black political organization that advocated for self-determination and armed self-defense.

Malcolm X

A black nationalist leader and Nation of Islam spokesperson who advocated for black empowerment and separation.

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 to challenge the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court rulings which had declared segregated public buses unconstitutional

Medgar Evers

Head of the Mississippi NAACP who was assassinated in 1963.

March on Washington

A large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. in 1963 to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation that banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public accommodations and employment.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation that outlawed discriminatory voting practices, such as literacy tests, and authorized federal oversight of voter registration.

24th Amendment

Outlawed the poll tax, a payment required to vote that disproportionately affected African Americans.

Cesar Chavez

A labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

Native American activist organization that advocated for indigenous rights and self-determination.

Executive Order 9981

Desegregation of the military

Thurgood Marshall

Chief Counsel for the NAACP. Strategy – use the judiciary to chip away at the legal foundation of segregation.