8.6

Jackie Robinson

First African American to play Major League Baseball, breaking the color barrier in 1947 and paving the way for integration in sports.

Harry S. Truman

U.S. president (1945-1953) who desegregated the military and established the Committee on Civil Rights.

Committee on Civil Rights

A group formed by Truman in 1946 to investigate racial discrimination and propose civil rights reforms.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

A civil rights organization that fought segregation through legal challenges, including Brown v. Board of Education.

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer who led the legal battle against segregation and later became the first African American Supreme Court justice.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who presided over the Brown v. Board of Education decision, promoting civil rights.

Southern Manifesto

A 1956 document signed by Southern politicians opposing the Brown decision and calling for resistance to school desegregation.

Desegregation

The process of ending racial segregation, particularly in schools and public facilities.

Little Rock

Site of a 1957 crisis where federal troops were sent to protect nine Black students integrating Central High School in Arkansas.

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights leader who advocated for nonviolent resistance and led key protests, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Nonviolent Movement

Civil rights strategy using peaceful protests, such as boycotts and sit-ins, to challenge segregation and discrimination.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A yearlong protest (1955-1956) against segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Civil rights organization founded by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957 to coordinate nonviolent protests.

Sit-In Movement

A protest strategy where Black students peacefully occupied segregated lunch counters, demanding service and integration.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

A civil rights organization formed in 1960 to empower young activists through nonviolent protest.

Civil Rights Commission

A federal agency established in 1957 to investigate discrimination and protect voting rights.