Civil Rights Movement Overview

Vocabulary flashcards covering key figures, events, and legislation in the Civil Rights Movement.

Brown v. Board of Education

A 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered the desegregation of all public schools.

Thurgood Marshall

An American civil rights lawyer and the first black justice on the Supreme Court, known for advocating for the rights of minorities and the poor.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, resulting from the March on Washington.

Voting Rights Act

Legislation that outlawed discriminatory voting practices, such as literacy tests and grandfather clauses.

Little Rock Nine

A group of courageous African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Martin Luther King Jr.

A U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader who organized nonviolent resistance and peaceful demonstrations against discrimination.

Malcolm X

A charismatic civil rights leader who advocated for African Americans to fight for their rights by any means necessary.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A protest led by Dr. Martin L. King Jr. after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat; resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that declared public transportation segregation illegal.

Fannie Lou Hamer

A SNCC organizer and former sharecropper who helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Medgar Evers

The NAACP director in Mississippi who was murdered by a Ku Klux Klan member.

Stokely Carmichael

Head of the SNCC and a believer in Black Power.

Bayard Rustin

An influential civil rights activist known for his work organizing events for the movement, including the March on Washington.

John Lewis

Student leader of SNCC who organized sit-ins and marches, contributing significantly to civil rights activities.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

An organization founded by Martin Luther King Jr. that focused on nonviolent protests and marches.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

A student-led organization that worked to integrate buses and register voters in the South, involved in the March on Washington.