Civil Rights

13th Amendment

Freed all slaves and made slavery illegal.

14th Amendment

Granted equality for all U.S. citizens.

15th Amendment

Gave black men the ability to vote.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Sharecropping

A system where a landlord allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop.

Poll Tax

A tax imposed as a prerequisite for voting.

Literacy Tests

Tests requiring reading or interpretation skills used to disenfranchise voters.

Grandfather Clause

Allowed individuals to bypass literacy tests and poll taxes if their grandfathers had voted before 1867.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court case allowing for 'separate but equal' facilities.

Civil Disobedience

Breaking the law peacefully, in an act of protest.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 case that ruled separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

Little Rock Nine

Nine black students who faced violence attempting to integrate an all-white high school in 1957.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A protest against segregated buses initiated by Rosa Parks.

Sit-Ins

Protests that involved sitting in a segregated place and refusing to leave until served.

Ruby Bridges

First African American student to integrate an elementary school in 1960.

George Wallace

Governor of Alabama known for his pro-segregation stance.

James Meredith

First black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi.

Freedom Riders

Activists who tested segregated bus terminals in the South.

March on Birmingham

A 1968 protest organized by SCLC that gained international attention.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation that prohibited discrimination based on race or religion.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation that prohibited literacy tests and aimed to protect voting rights.

Twenty-fourth Amendment

Amendment that prohibited poll taxes in federal elections.

MLK's "I Have a Dream"

A speech advocating for civil and economic equality, delivered during the March on Washington.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who advocated for self-defense and black nationalism.

Black Panthers

A revolutionary group focused on self-defense and community engagement founded after Malcolm X's assassination.

Stokely Carmichael

Leader of SNCC who became known for his nationalist views.

The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program

A set of demands including employment, education, and self-defense for African Americans.

Freedom Summer

A 1964 effort by civil rights activists to register black voters in Mississippi.

Children in the Birmingham March

Young participants who became central to the protests and faced significant risks.

Bull Connor

Alabama police chief known for his violent response to civil rights protests.

Assassination of MLK

MLK was assassinated in 1968, leading to widespread riots and unrest.

Kerner Commission

A commission that analyzed the causes of the 1960s riots and highlighted economic inequality.

Self-Defense

Malcolm X's belief in fighting back against oppression rather than using civil disobedience.

Huey Newton

Founder of the Black Panther Party.

Economic Power

Concept promoted by the Black Power Movement emphasizing financial independence for black communities.

Segregated Interstate Bus Seating

The issue the Freedom Riders aimed to challenge.

Violent Backlash Against Civil Rights Activists

Reactions from the KKK and others against activists during the civil rights movement.

Desegregation of Schools

The process of ending the separation of students based on race in educational institutions.

Rosa Parks

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

Sit-In Movement

A form of protest involving occupying a space and refusing to leave in defiance of segregation.