Civil rights notecards

NAACP founded

• 1906

• Full name: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

• Leaders included W.E.B. Du Bois

• Focus: legal challenges to segregation and discrimination

• Major strategy: court cases (ex: Brown v. Board later)

• Founded after racial violence and lynchings increased in the U.S.

• Leaders included W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and other activists

• Focused on ending segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement through court cases and legal action

• Played a major role in winning Brown v. Board of Education

CORE

• 1942

• Congress of Racial Equality

• Founded by interracial activists committed to nonviolent protest

• Inspired by Gandhi’s methods of civil disobedience

• Organized sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and protests against segregation

• Became one of the major civil rights organizations of the 1960s

Brown v. Board of Education

• 1954

• Supreme Court case challenging school segregation

• Ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional because “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”

• Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal” doctrine in education

• Huge victory for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund led by Thurgood Marshall

• Sparked resistance in many Southern states

Murder of Emmett Till

• 1955)

• Emmett Till was a 14-year-old Black boy visiting Mississippi from Chicago

• He was kidnapped and brutally murdered after allegedly whistling at a white woman

• His mother held an open-casket funeral so the public could see the violence he suffered

• The murderers were acquitted by an all-white jury

• Became a major catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement

Montgomery Bus Boycott

• 1955–1956)

• Began after Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger

• African Americans boycotted Montgomery buses for over a year

• Led by Martin Luther King Jr. and local activists

• Demonstrated the power of organized nonviolent protest

• Supreme Court eventually ruled bus segregation unconstitutional

SCLC Founded

(1957)

• Southern Christian Leadership Conference

• Founded by MLK Jr. and other Black ministers after the Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Used churches to organize protests and civil rights campaigns

• Promoted nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience

• Became one of the most influential civil rights organizations

Desegregation in Little Rock

(1957)

• Nine Black students (“Little Rock Nine”) attempted to attend Central High School in Arkansas

• Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to block them

• President Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort the students safely into school

• Showed the federal government enforcing desegregation

• Demonstrated intense Southern resistance to Brown v. Board

First Woolworth Sit-In

(1960)

• Four Black college students sat at a segregated Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina

• Refused to leave after being denied service

• Sparked similar sit-ins across the South

• Sit-ins became a major tactic of peaceful protest

• Many businesses eventually desegregated

SNCC Founded

(1960)

• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

• Formed by student activists involved in sit-ins

• Focused on grassroots organizing and voter registration

• John Lewis became one of its important leaders

• Later became more radical and supportive of Black Power ideas

Freedom Riders

(1961)

• Activists rode interstate buses into the South to test desegregation laws

• Organized mainly by CORE with help from SNCC

• Riders faced violent attacks, beatings, and arrests

• Federal government was pressured to enforce desegregation of interstate travel

• Showed the danger civil rights activists faced

Malcolm X – National Spokesperson for the NOI

(early 1960s)

• Malcolm X became the leading spokesman for the Nation of Islam

• Promoted Black pride, economic independence, and self-defense

• Criticized integration and MLK’s nonviolent approach

• Believed African Americans should control their own communities

• Became one of the most influential Black nationalist leaders

James Meredith at Ole Miss

(1962)

• James Meredith became the first Black student admitted to the University of Mississippi

• White riots broke out when he tried to enroll

• President Kennedy sent federal marshals and troops to restore order

• Two people were killed in the violence

• Symbolized federal enforcement of desegregation

Civil Rights Protests in Birmingham

(1963)

• Organized by MLK Jr., SCLC, and local activists

• Protesters marched against segregation and unfair treatment

• Police chief Bull Connor used fire hoses and police dogs against protesters, including children

• Television coverage shocked Americans nationwide

• Helped increase support for civil rights legislation

Murder of Medgar Evers

(1963)

• Medgar Evers was the NAACP field secretary in Mississippi

• Worked to fight segregation and increase Black voter registration

• Assassinated outside his home by a white supremacist

• His death became a symbol of racist violence in the South

• Murderer was convicted decades later

March on Washington

(1963)

• Massive civil rights march in Washington, D.C.

• Over 250,000 people attended

• Demanded jobs, equality, and civil rights legislation

• MLK Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech

• Increased national support for civil rights reform

4 Girls Killed in Birmingham Bombing

(1963)

• Ku Klux Klan members bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham

• Four Black girls were killed during Sunday church services

• The attack horrified the nation

• Highlighted the violent resistance to civil rights

• Increased pressure for stronger federal action

Freedom Vote

(1963)

• Mock election held in Mississippi by civil rights activists

• Allowed Black citizens to demonstrate their desire to vote

• Exposed how African Americans were denied voting rights

• Helped build momentum for Freedom Summer and voting rights activism

JFK Assassination

(1963)

• President John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas

• Lyndon B. Johnson became president afterward

• Kennedy had proposed civil rights legislation before his death

• Johnson used national sympathy to help pass major civil rights laws

24th Amendment

(1964)

• Eliminated poll taxes in federal elections

• Poll taxes had been used to prevent poor African Americans from voting

• Important step toward expanding voting rights

Freedom Summer

(1964)

• Major voter registration campaign in Mississippi

• Organized by SNCC and CORE

• Many college students from the North participated

• Activists faced violence, arrests, and intimidation

• Drew national attention to racial discrimination in voting

Malcolm X Splits from NOI / Goes to Mecca / Creates OAAU

(1964–1965)

• Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam after disagreements with Elijah Muhammad

• Traveled to Mecca and saw Muslims of all races worshipping together

• Began supporting broader human rights cooperation

• Founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU)

• Views became more internationally focused and less separatist

3 Freedom Summer Workers Killed in Mississippi

(1964)

• James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner disappeared during Freedom Summer

• Murdered by white supremacists connected to the KKK

• Their deaths shocked the nation

• FBI launched a massive investigation

• Demonstrated the extreme dangers activists faced in the South

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• One of the most important civil rights laws in U.S. history

• Banned segregation in public places like restaurants and hotels

• Prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

• Allowed federal government to enforce desegregation

• Marked a huge victory for the Civil Rights Movement

Malcolm X Assassination

(1965)

• Malcolm X assassinated while giving a speech in New York City

• Former Nation of Islam members were convicted

• His death made him a powerful symbol of Black empowerment and resistance

Selma to Montgomery March / Bloody Sunday

(1965)

• Protest march demanding voting rights in Alabama

• On “Bloody Sunday,” marchers were attacked by police on Edmund Pettus Bridge

• Violence was shown on national television

• MLK Jr. later helped lead a successful march to Montgomery

• Events helped lead to the Voting Rights Act

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Banned literacy tests and discriminatory voting practices

• Allowed federal government to oversee elections in discriminatory states

• Greatly increased Black voter registration and participation

• Considered one of the most effective civil rights laws

Black Panther Party Founded

(1966)

• Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in California

• Supported armed self-defense against police brutality

• Promoted Black pride and community control

• Organized free breakfast programs, clinics, and community aid

• Seen as more militant than earlier civil rights groups

Black Power / Stokely Carmichael

(1966)

• SNCC leader Stokely Carmichael popularized the slogan “Black Power”

• Encouraged racial pride, self-determination, and political power

• Reflected frustration with slow progress and ongoing racism

• Shifted part of the movement away from strict nonviolence

MLK Jr. Assassination

(1968)

• Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee

• Was supporting striking sanitation workers at the time

• Riots and protests erupted across many U.S. cities

• Marked a major turning point in the Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act)

• Passed shortly after MLK’s assassination

• Banned racial discrimination in housing sales and rentals

• Expanded federal civil rights protections

• Addressed segregation in neighborhoods and housing opportunities