civil rights vocab

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 supreme court ruling declaring that segregation in public schools was illegal.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

1978 Supreme court ruling that narrowly upheld affirmative action, declaring that race may be one factor, but not the sole criterion, in senior admissions.

Warren Court

Supreme court under chief Justice Earl Warren from 1953 - 1969. Known for its activism on civil rights and free speech.

Kerner Commission

National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders that concluded that white racism was the fundamental cause of the Watts riot.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Organization founded in 1942 that was dedicated to civil rights reform through nonviolent action.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Organization formed by MLK and other civil rights leaders in 1957 to use nonviolent resistance to achieve social and political goals.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Civil rights organization formed in 1960 by college students, who organized sit-ins and other nonviolent protests.

Freedom Rides

Civil rights protests in which Black and white people rode interstate buses together in 1961 to test whether Southern states were complying with the Supreme Court ruling against segregation on interstate transport.

March on Washington

1963 protest in which more than 250,000 demonstrated in the nation's capital for jobs and freedom and the passage of civil rights legislation.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

1955 boycott resulting in the integration of the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama.

Black Panther Party

Group founded in 1966 demanding economic and political rights and was prepared to take violent action.

Black Power

Call by many civil rights activists, beginning in mid-1960s, for African Americans to have economic and political power, with an emphasis on not relying on nonviolent protest.

Nation of Islam

Religious group, also known as the Black Muslims, promoting complete separation from white society by establishing black businesses and communities.

Watts Riot

1965 race riot in Watts, a black neighborhood in LA, caused by frustrations about poverty, prejudice, and police treatment.

Freedom Summer

1964 campaign by CORE and SNCC to register black voters in Mississippi.

de facto segregation

Segregation established by practice and custom rather than by law.

de jure segregation

Segregation by law.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark act banning discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Outlawing literacy tests and other tactics used to deny African Americans the right to vote.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

Law banning discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, or national origin.