eisenhower african american

How many African Americans moved to northern and western cities as part of the Great Migration during the 1950s?

1.1 million African Americans.

What term describes the mass movement of white northerners away from inner cities to the suburbs?

"White flight" (which left behind strictly segregated black neighborhoods like Detroit's "Black Bottom").

What loose group of organizations was founded in 1954 to resist school integration and limit black economic opportunities?

Citizens' Councils (which existed in 30 states, including northern cities like Cleveland, and peaked at 250,000 members by 1956).

Why did the National Urban League push for black access to trade unions during the 1950s?

To combat job discrimination, as 75% of black men worked in low-skilled jobs compared to only 25% of white men.

What nickname did Birmingham, Alabama earn due to the KKK's dynamite bombing campaign against black families?

"Bombingham" (with one targeted neighborhood specifically dubbed "Dynamite Hill").

What instance of mass racial profiling occurred in Detroit in 1960 following the murder of two white women?

Detroit police arrested 1,500 innocent black men over a span of two months.

What tragic 1955 civil rights event occurred in Mississippi involving a 14-year-old boy?

Emmett Till was brutally lynched; his killers were acquitted by an all-white jury and later sold their story for $4,000.

How large was the Ku Klux Klan during the 1950s compared to its 1920s peak?

It was much smaller and highly fragmented, with Eldon Edwards' Klan commanding only about 15,000 members.

How did Columbia Pictures' president use criminal connections against actor Sammy Davis Jr. in 1957?

He blackmailed and terrified Davis into ending his interracial relationship with white actress Kim Novak.

What happened to Richard and Mildred Loving in Caroline County, Virginia in 1958?

They were dragged from their bed by the local sheriff and banished from the state to avoid prison for their interracial marriage.

What historic 1954 Supreme Court case ruled that segregated public schools were inherently unequal and illegal?

Brown v. Board of Education, won by Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP legal team under Chief Justice Earl Warren.

Which southern Democratic governor broke ranks to support desegregation at Clinton High School in 1955?

Frank Clement of Tennessee, who vetoed an anti-desegregation bill and deployed the National Guard to protect black students.

How did the state of Georgia visually protest the Brown v. Board ruling in 1956?

The state officially added the Confederate battle flag to its state flag.

What was the 1956 "Southern Manifesto"?

A document signed by 101 southern congressmen (including Strom Thurmond) committing to resist school desegregation by all legal means.

What did Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus do in 1957 to block the integration of Central High School in Little Rock?

He deployed the Arkansas National Guard to physically block nine black students from entering the school.

How did President Eisenhower respond to Governor Faubus's defiance during the Little Rock Crisis?

He sent in the 101st Airborne Division to protect the "Little Rock Nine" and enforce federal law.

What was the "lost year" in Little Rock (1958–1959)?

Governor Faubus closed all local public schools for a year to stop integration, leaving black students who couldn't afford private school without an education.

Whose arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott in December 1955?

NAACP activist Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat in the white section of a municipal bus.

What organization was formed to manage the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and who was chosen to lead it?

The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), led by a young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King Jr.

How long did the Montgomery Bus Boycott last, and what economic impact did it have?

It lasted 381 days and starved the local bus company of 80% of its regular riding revenue.

What 1956 Supreme Court case legally ended the Montgomery Bus Boycott by outlawing segregation on municipal buses?

Browder v. Gayle.

What civil rights organization did Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy found in 1957?

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

What household technology helped the Civil Rights Movement reach mass audiences, with half of US homes owning one by 1955?

The television.

What shocking 1959 television documentary introduced the American public to the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X?

"The Hate That Produced Hate".

What percentage of African Americans were registered to vote by 1957, and where did the vast majority live?

Only 20%, with the vast majority living in northern and western cities due to southern literacy tests and intimidation.

Who championed and successfully passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957?

Vice President Richard Nixon (with Eisenhower's permission).

How did Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson weaken the Civil Rights Act of 1957?

He added the Jury Trial Amendment, ensuring white southerners accused of blocking black voters would face sympathetic, all-white local juries.

By how much did black voter registration increase after the 1957 Act, and what did Nixon pass in response?

It only grew by 3%, prompting Nixon to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which added a one-year prison sentence for voting rights violators.