Ch. 18 Vocab : Civil Rights Movement

Jim Crow Laws

state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in southern states (US)

Plessy vs. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court decision that ruled separate but equal facilities (racial segregation) was constitutional

de jure segregation

Racial segregation that is required by law

de facto segregation

segregation by unwritten custom or tradition

Brown vs. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court case that ended segregation in public schools

Thurgood Marshall

lawyer for the NAACP in the 1950s & 60s; first African American on the Supreme Court

Rosa Parks

In 1955, refused to give up seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white passenger, sparking a bus boycott

Martin Luther King

Leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and co-founder of SCLC; adopted the civil disobedience modeled by Gandhi

SCLC

organization formed by Dr. Martin Luther King consisting of Christian pastors and ministers who preached nonviolence

NAACP

Interracial organization founded in 1909 to abolish segregation and discrimination and to achieve political and civil rights for African Americans; used lawsuits to challenge segregation

literacy test

a requirement that citizens show that they can read before registering to vote

civil disobedience

the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

protest in 1955-1956 by African Americans against racial segregation in transportation

sit-in

protests by black college students, 1960-1961, who took seats at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave until served

SNCC

civil rights organization led by young people who emerged as leaders during the sit-in movement.

Freedom Rides

effort by black and white students to integrate the bus terminals and waiting rooms in the South

March on Washington

1963 mass protest to support the Civil Rights bill before Congress; MLK made his "I have a dream" speech.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, or ethic background in hotels, restaurants and all places of employment doing business with federal government

24th Amendment

It eliminated the poll taxes in federal election

Voting Rights Act 1965

law that outlawed discrimination in voting practices; made literacy tests illegal

Malcolm X

controversial spokesman for the Nation of Islam. who supported Black superiority and Black separatism

Nation of Islam

African American religious organization founded in 1930 that advocated separation of the races

Black Power

a social movement that called for increased political strength and independence for African Americans

Black Panthers

a militant African-American political organization formed in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to fight police brutality and to provide services in the ghetto