Modern Civil Rights and Social Movements

Flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, and landmark court cases of the Modern Civil Rights Movement and other social movements as detailed in the lecture transcript.

Thurgood Marshall

The lawyer for the Brown case who would eventually become the first African American Supreme Court Justice.

Little Rock $9$

A group of black students in Arkansas ($1957$) who required the protection of $1000$ paratroopers ordered by Eisenhower to attend school after mob violence and the National Guard blocked them.

Rosa Parks

An African American woman who in December $1955$ refused to give up her seat in the first row of the black section of a bus to a white man.

MLK Jr.

A leader who advocated for nonviolent opposition to unjust laws and led a bus boycott that lasted $381$ days until the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation was illegal.

Civil Rights Act of $1957$

The first Civil Rights Act since the days of Reconstruction; while not major, it represented a bipartisan effort between both political parties.

Freedom Rides ($1961$)

Protests involving people of all races who rode buses through the South to challenge segregation.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

An organization that used nonviolent ways to present civil rights as a moral issue, with MLK Jr. serving as president.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

An organization with significant Northern support that focused on sit-ins, freedom rides, Black Power, and opposition to the Vietnam War.

T Eugene "Bull" Connor

The Public Safety Commissioner in Birmingham, AL, who turned firehoses and police dogs on marchers, including children, in Spring $1963$.

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

A famous document written by MLK Jr. after he was arrested for participating in a demonstration against a city ban in Birmingham.

Loving v Virginia ($1967$)

A Supreme Court ruling that declared laws banning interracial marriage to be unconstitutional.

Malcolm X

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

Black Panther Party

An organization founded in October $1966$ that focused on Black Power and all-black businesses and communities.

Watts Riots

A racial disorder in LA in August $1965$ resulting in $34$ deaths, over $1000$ injuries, and nearly $40$ million dollars in lost property.

MLK Jr. Assassination

Occurred on April $4$, $1968$, in Tennessee; the event triggered a massive wave of riots across the country.

Cesar Chavez

An organizer of the National Farm Worker Association who fought for better pay for Mexican American laborers.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

Founded in $1968$, this group protested desperate conditions on reservations and occupied Wounded Knee, SD, in $1973$.

Asian American Political Alliance

A group that protested US involvement in Vietnam and racial slurs while calling for Asian-American studies in colleges.

Betty Friedan

Author of "The Feminine Mystique" ($1963$) and co-founder of the National Organization of Women (NOW) in $1966$.

Griswold v CT ($1965$)

A Supreme Court case that struck down a ban on contraceptives and created a "right to privacy."

Roe v Wade ($1973$)

A case that legalized abortion by ruling state laws could not restrict it during the first trimester; later overturned in $2022$.

Title IX ($1972$)

A law prohibiting sex discrimination in any federally-funded education program, often associated with the rise of support for girls' programs.

Sandra Day O'Connor

Appointed by Reagan in $1981$, she was the first female Supreme Court Justice.

Gideon v Wainwright ($1963$)

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

Miranda v Arizona ($1966$)

A ruling requiring that suspects must be told of their rights when they are arrested.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A pivotal event in the civil rights movement that began in December 1955, where African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating.

Brown v. Board of Education (I and II)

The landmark Supreme Court decision in 1954 (I) that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, followed by the 1955 ruling (II) that mandated desegregation be implemented 'with all deliberate speed.'

Eisenhower's Position on Civil Rights

President Eisenhower initially took a cautious approach to civil rights, supporting some legal measures like the Civil Rights Act of 1957, but was often reluctant to take a strong public stance.

Kennedy's Position on Civil Rights

President Kennedy became more supportive of civil rights in the early 1960s, advocating for civil rights legislation and addressing issues of racial discrimination following events like the Birmingham protests.

Johnson's Position on Civil Rights

President Lyndon B. Johnson played a crucial role in advancing civil rights legislation, notably signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Crisis at Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas

In 1957, a crisis occurred when the Little Rock Nine, a group of African American students, faced violent resistance while attempting to integrate Central High School, prompting federal intervention.

Sit-in Movements (Greensboro, NC & Nashville, TN)

Nonviolent protests in 1960 where African American students sat at 'whites-only' lunch counters, sparking a wave of similar protests across the South.

Birmingham, AL (Spring of 1963)

A pivotal city in the civil rights movement where peaceful protests met with violent resistance, drawing national attention to the struggle for civil rights.

March on Washington (August 1963)

A massive rally where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech, advocating for civil and economic rights for African Americans.

Freedom Summer

The campaign in 1964 to increase voter registration among African Americans in Mississippi, which faced violent backlash and aimed to highlight the struggle for voting rights.

March to Selma for Voting Rights

The series of marches in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery that protested voting restrictions, leading to the Selma to Montgomery marches and significant civil rights legislation.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark law that prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and outlawed segregation in public places.

24th Amendment

The amendment ratified in 1964 that abolished poll taxes in federal elections, removing financial barriers for voters.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation aimed at overcoming legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote.

The Feminine Mystique

A book published in 1963 by Betty Friedan that sparked the second wave of feminism by addressing the dissatisfaction of women with traditional roles.

Women’s Rights Movement

A social movement in the late 20th century advocating for equal rights and opportunities for women, focusing on issues like workplace equality, reproductive rights, and access to education.

LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Movement

The ongoing struggle for the rights and acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals, including issues like marriage equality, anti-discrimination laws, and social acceptance.

Stonewall Riots

A series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in June 1969, seen as a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.