Key Concepts of the Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movement

A social and political movement in the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial segregation, discrimination, and securing equal rights for African Americans.

Segregation

The enforced separation of different racial groups in daily life, such as in schools, housing, and public facilities.

Integration

The process of bringing together people of different races in schools, businesses, and public spaces to promote equality.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws in the United States that enforced racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans, particularly in the southern states.

Nonviolent Protest

A form of protest that rejects the use of violence to achieve social or political change, focusing on peaceful demonstrations.

Civil Disobedience

The active refusal to obey certain laws or government demands as a form of nonviolent protest.

Sit-in

A form of protest where participants occupy a place (e.g., a lunch counter) and refuse to leave until their demands are met.

Boycott

A protest in which people refuse to buy goods or use services to show disapproval, often to bring about social or political change.

Freedom Riders

Activists who rode interstate buses in the South during the 1960s to challenge segregation in public transportation.

March on Washington (1963)

A massive rally for jobs and freedom in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark federal law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin in employment, education, and public accommodations.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A significant law that eliminated voting barriers, such as literacy tests, and ensured African Americans could vote.

Black Power

A political and social movement that emphasized racial pride, self-reliance, and the empowerment of African Americans.

Affirmative Action

Policies aimed at increasing the representation of historically marginalized groups (including African Americans) in education, employment, and other areas.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A leader in the Civil Rights Movement who advocated for nonviolent protest and delivered the famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Rosa Parks

An African American woman whose refusal to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Thurgood Marshall

The first African American Supreme Court Justice and a leading lawyer in the fight against segregation, including in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case.

Malcolm X

A civil rights leader who advocated for African American empowerment, self-defense, and a more radical approach to achieving civil rights.

Little Rock Nine

A group of African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, with the help of federal troops.

James Meredith

The first African American student to attend the University of Mississippi, whose enrollment sparked violent protests.

Medgar Evers

An African American civil rights activist who was assassinated in 1963, fighting for equal rights in Mississippi.

Fannie Lou Hamer

A civil rights activist known for her leadership in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and advocacy for voting rights.

Daisy Bates

A civil rights leader and the head of the Arkansas NAACP who played a key role in the integration of Little Rock Central High School.

Martyr

A person who is killed or sacrifices something for a cause, particularly in the context of the Civil Rights Movement, where some activists were killed for their work.

Activism

The practice of taking action to bring about political or social change, often through protests, demonstrations, or other forms of resistance.

Demonstration

A public gathering or protest, typically to show support for or opposition to a cause or policy.

Discrimination

The unfair treatment of individuals based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or religion.

Desegregation

The process of ending the separation of different racial or ethnic groups in public facilities and schools.

Oppression

The systematic and unjust treatment of a group of people, often characterized by domination, exploitation, and denial of rights.

Empowerment

The process of gaining confidence, control, and power, particularly for marginalized or oppressed groups.

Grassroots

A movement that begins at the local level, often driven by ordinary people, to create change from the ground up.

Social Justice

The pursuit of a fair and just society, where all individuals have equal access to rights, opportunities, and resources.