CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTS

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine, providing the legal basis for Jim Crow laws.

Apartheid

A system of racial segregation; often used to describe the severe racial separation in the U.S. South during Jim Crow.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans in the South.

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer who argued Brown v. Board of Education and later became the first African American Supreme Court Justice.

Morgan v. Virginia (1946, interstate buses)

Supreme Court case that ruled segregation on interstate buses unconstitutional.

Sweatt v. Painter (1950, Law Schools)

Supreme Court case that ruled segregated law schools were unequal, weakening “separate but equal.”

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; organization that fought segregation through legal challenges and activism.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Orval Faubus

Arkansas governor who tried to block school integration during the Little Rock Crisis.

Little Rock Nine

Nine African American students who integrated Central High School in Arkansas in 1957.

Rosa Parks

Activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Leader of the nonviolent civil rights movement who promoted peaceful protest and equality.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

1955–1956 protest against segregated buses in Alabama that led to desegregation of city buses.

SCLC

Southern Christian Leadership Conference; organization led by MLK that coordinated nonviolent protests.

SNCC

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; student-led group that organized sit-ins and voter registration drives.

CORE

Congress of Racial Equality; civil rights group that organized direct action protests including Freedom Rides.

Sit-ins

Nonviolent protests where activists sat at segregated lunch counters and refused to leave.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who led the Court during the Brown v. Board decision.

Freedom Riders

Activists who rode interstate buses to challenge and test segregation in the South, John F. Kennedy used federal marshals to protect them

James Meredith

First African American student admitted to the University of Mississippi.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

1963 letter by MLK defending nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.

Eugene “Bull” Connor

Birmingham official who used police dogs and fire hoses against civil rights protesters.

Civil Rights Act of 1957 (Voting)

Law aimed at protecting African American voting rights, first civil rights act since reconstruction

Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Equality in Public)

Law that banned segregation in public places and employment discrimination.

Civil Rights Act of 1965 (Protecting Voting Rights Act)

Law that banned literacy tests and protected voting rights.

Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Housing)

Law that banned discrimination in housing (Fair Housing Act).

“I Have a Dream” speech

MLK’s 1963 speech during the March on Washington whose goal was to persuade Congress to pass Kennedy’s civil rights bill

Freedom Summer (1964)

Campaign to register African American voters in Mississippi, led by Robert “Bob” Moses, hoped to attract national attention and influence Congress on passing a voting rights act

Fannie Lou Hamer

Civil rights activist who fought for voting rights and spoke at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Amendment that banned poll taxes in federal elections.

Selma

Alabama city where 1965 voting rights marches helped lead to the Voting Rights Act, Selma to Montgomery march televised violent scenes which convinced Lyndon B. Johnson to ask Congress for a swift passage of a voting rights act.

Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Protecting Minority)

Landmark law protecting minority voting rights and allowing federal oversight of elections.

De facto segregation

Segregation that occurs by custom or social patterns rather than by law.

De jure segregation

Segregation that is enforced by law.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who promoted Black nationalism, self-defense, and Black pride.

Nation of Islam

Religious movement that promoted Black empowerment and separation from white society.

Stokely Carmichael

Civil rights leader who popularized the slogan “Black Power.”

Black Power

Movement emphasizing racial pride, economic independence, and political self-determination.

Black Panthers

Organization that promoted armed self-defense and community programs to fight police brutality and inequality.

Kerner Commission

Government commission that concluded racism and inequality caused urban riots in the 1960s.

Watts Riot (1965)

Violent uprising in Los Angeles caused by racial tensions and police brutality.

Shirley Chisholm

First African American woman elected to Congress and first Black woman to run for president.

Affirmative action

Policies designed to increase opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups.

Cesar Chavez

Labor leader who organized farm workers and led boycotts for better wages and conditions.

United Farm Workers (UFW)

Labor union founded to protect farm workers’ rights.

La Raza Unida

Political party formed to advocate for Mexican American civil rights.

AIM (American Indian Movement)

Organization founded to fight for Native American rights and self-determination.

Reynolds v. Sims (1964, 1 person 1 vote)

Supreme Court case that established the principle of “one person, one vote.”

Betty Friedan

Feminist leader who wrote The Feminine Mystique and helped found NOW.

Feminism

Movement advocating equal rights for women.

Ms. Magazine

Feminist publication promoting women’s rights and equality.

NOW (National Organization for Women)

Organization founded to promote gender equality in jobs, education, and politics.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide (later overturned in 2022).

ERA (Equal Rights Amendment)

Proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights regardless of sex.

Phyllis Schlafly

Conservative activist who led the campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment.

Lyndon B. Johnson

President after the assassination of JFK, 1965-1969