Civil Rights movement

Sharecropping

A farming system after the Civil War where formerly enslaved people rented land from white landowners and paid with part of their crop. It kept many Black families in poverty and debt.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case that legalized segregation under the idea of 'separate but equal.'

Brown v. Board of Education

Supreme Court case that ruled school segregation unconstitutional and overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in education.

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer who argued Brown v. Board of Education and later became the first Black Supreme Court justice.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who supported the unanimous Brown v. Board decision.

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A boycott of Montgomery buses after Rosa Parks' arrest. It lasted over a year and ended bus segregation there.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Organization led by Martin Luther King Jr. that promoted nonviolent protest.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

Student-led civil rights organization known for sit-ins and voter registration drives.

Southern Manifesto

Document signed by Southern politicians opposing desegregation after Brown v. Board.

Little Rock

City where school integration became a major conflict in 1957.

Orval Faubus

Governor who tried to block Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School.

Little Rock Nine

Nine Black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock under federal protection.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Leader of the nonviolent civil rights movement and famous for the 'I Have a Dream' speech.

James Meredith

First Black student admitted to the University of Mississippi.

University of Mississippi ('Ole Miss')

University where violent riots occurred when James Meredith enrolled.

Birmingham Campaign

Major protests against segregation where police used dogs and fire hoses on demonstrators.

March on Washington

Huge civil rights rally in Washington, D.C. where MLK gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Selma

Site of voting rights marches and 'Bloody Sunday.'

Medgar Evers

NAACP leader in Mississippi who was assassinated in 1963.

Watts Riots

Violent unrest in Watts, California caused by racial tensions and police brutality.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who promoted Black pride and self-defense.

Nation of Islam

Black nationalist religious movement associated with Malcolm X.

Stokely Carmichael

SNCC leader who popularized the phrase 'Black Power.'

George Wallace

Segregationist governor known for resisting integration.

James Earl Ray

Man convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

Great Society

Lyndon B. Johnson's programs aimed at ending poverty and racial injustice.

Lyndon B. Johnson

President who signed major civil rights laws including the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Black Lives Matter

Modern movement protesting racism and police brutality against Black Americans.

George Floyd

Black man whose death during arrest sparked nationwide protests.

George Floyd protests ('Summer of 2020')

Mass protests across the U.S. focused on racial justice and police reform.

de jure segregation

Segregation enforced by laws.

de facto segregation

Segregation caused by social or economic conditions rather than laws.

sit-in

Nonviolent protest where demonstrators sat in segregated places and refused to leave.

Lynching

The illegal killing of a person, often used to terrorize Black Americans in the South.

Jim Crow laws

Southern laws enforcing racial segregation after Reconstruction.

poll tax

A fee required to vote, used to prevent poor Black citizens from voting.

grandfather clause

Law allowing people to vote only if their grandfathers had voting rights before the Civil War.

literacy exams

Unfair reading tests used to stop Black citizens from voting.

Freedom Rides

Integrated groups rode buses through the South to challenge segregation.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

First civil rights law since Reconstruction; protected voting rights.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Banned segregation and discrimination in public places and employment.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

Also called the Fair Housing Act; banned housing discrimination.

Twenty-fourth Amendment

Ended poll taxes in federal elections.

Freedom Summer

Campaign to register Black voters in Mississippi.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Protected voting rights and banned discriminatory voting practices.

Black Power

Movement encouraging Black pride, self-sufficiency, and political power.

Black Panther Party

Group promoting self-defense and community programs for Black communities.

Black separatism

Belief that Black Americans should separate from white society socially or politically.

Long, Hot Summers

Series of urban riots in the 1960s caused by racial tensions and poverty.

1967 Detroit Riot

One of the deadliest riots of the 1960s.

desegregation

Ending racial separation.

Kerner Commission

Commission that investigated causes of riots and concluded racism and inequality were major causes.

School busing

Transporting students to different schools to achieve racial integration.

integration

Bringing different racial groups together equally in society.

civil rights

Rights guaranteeing equal treatment and protection under the law.

nonviolent resistance

Peaceful protest against injustice.

civil disobedience

Refusing to obey unjust laws peacefully.

affirmative action

Policies designed to increase opportunities for historically discriminated groups.

racial profiling

Targeting people based on race or ethnicity, especially by law enforcement.

Rodney King incident / LAPD Trials

Police beating of Rodney King and the later acquittal of officers that sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Civil Rights Movement

Movement focused on ending segregation and discrimination against Black Americans and securing equal rights.