Civil Rights and Social Movements (1950s - Now)

Historical vocabulary covering the key figures, legal cases, and social movements of the Civil Rights era and subsequent liberation movements.

Warren Court

The period from $1953$ to $1969$ when Earl Warren served as Chief Justice, recognized for its high point in judicial power and rulings on civil rights, Miranda Rights, and the separation of church and state.

Brown v. Board of Education ($1954$)

The landmark Supreme Court case that ruled public schools cannot be separated by race, declaring that "separate is inherently unequal."

Thurgood Marshall

The lawyer for the Brown case who later became the first African American Supreme Court justice.

Little Rock 9

A group of African American students in Little Rock, Arkansas, who integrated Central High School in $1957$ under the protection of $1000$ federal paratroopers ordered by President Eisenhower.

Rosa Parks

The activist who, in December $1955$, refused to give up her seat to a white man in the black section of a bus, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A nonviolent protest led by MLK Jr. that lasted $381$ days and ended when the Supreme Court ruled segregating buses was illegal.

Civil Rights Act of $1957$

The first civil rights legislation passed since the days of Reconstruction, representing a bipartisan effort by both political parties.

SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)

An organization led by MLK Jr. that used nonviolent methods to present civil rights as a moral issue.

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

A group supported by northern students that conducted sit-ins and freedom rides, later focusing on Black Power and the Vietnam War.

Freedom Rides

$1961$ protests where people of all races rode buses through the South to challenge segregation.

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

The famous document written by MLK Jr. after being arrested during the spring $1963$ demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama.

T. Eugene "Bull" Connor

The Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner who used fire hoses and police dogs against protesters, causing nationwide sympathy through news coverage.

March on Washington

An August $1963$ event where over $200,000$ people gathered for speeches, including MLK Jr.'s "I Have a Dream," to urge support for civil rights legislation.

$24\text{th}$ Amendment

An amendment ratified in $1964$ that abolished poll taxes.

Civil Rights Act of $1964$

Legislation that outlawed segregation in public accommodations and gave the Justice Department power to prosecute discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.

Voting Rights Act of $1965$

Law that prohibited literacy tests and sent federal examiners to seven southern states to register voters.

Loving v. Virginia ($1967$)

Supreme Court case that ruled state laws banning interracial marriage are unconstitutional.

Malcolm X

A Muslim minister and civil rights leader who initially argued that black and white people can only exist if completely separated; he was assassinated in $1965$.

Black Panther Party

An organization founded in October $1966$ that symbolized young militant African Americans and protected urban neighborhoods from police abuse.

Watts Riots

An August $1965$ racial disorder in Los Angeles that resulted in $34$ deaths and nearly $\text{\textdollar}40$ million in property loss.

Betty Friedan

Author of "The Feminine Mystique" ($1963$) and co-founder of the National Organization of Women (NOW) who inspired the modern women's liberation movement.

Title IX ($1972$)

A law that prohibited sex discrimination in any federally funded educational program, most notably leading to a rise in girls' sports.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

A proposed amendment from $1972$ that sought to legislate gender equality; it failed in $1982$ after falling three states short of the required votes.

Sandra Day O’Connor

The first female Supreme Court Justice, appointed by President Reagan in $1981$.

Griswold v. CT ($1965$)

A Supreme Court ruling that struck down a state law banning contraceptives, establishing a "right to privacy."

Roe v. Wade ($1973$)

A ruling that legalized abortion during the first trimester based on the "right to privacy," which was later overturned in $2022$.

Cesar Chavez

Leader who organized the National Farm Workers Association to fight for better pay for Mexican American workers.

AIM (American Indian Movement)

An organization founded in $1968$ that occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs building and Wounded Knee to protest reservation conditions and land loss.

Stonewall Riot

A $1969$ event in NYC that catalyzed the Gay Liberation movement and led the American Psychiatry Association to end the classification of homosexuality as a disease.

Gideon v. Wainwright ($1963$)

A Supreme Court case ruling that all citizens, regardless of the crime, have the right to an attorney.

Miranda v. Arizona ($1966$)

A ruling requiring that suspects must be informed of their rights, including the right to remain silent, at the time of arrest.