US History civil rights movement test

5/14/26

President John. F Kennedy

the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president, at 43 years.

President Lyndon Johnson

vice president under John F. Kennedy from 1961 until Kennedy's assassination in 1963, when he assumed the presidency

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was a prominent leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968

Rosa Parks

She is best known for her 1955 refusal to move from her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in defiance of Jim Crow racial segregation laws, which sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. She is sometimes known as the "mother of the civil rights movement".

Dolores Huerta

American labor leader and feminist activist. After working for several years with the Community Service Organization, she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association

Gloria Steinem

an American journalist, feminist, and activist who emerged as a prominent leader of the 1960s and 70s women's rights movement. Her writing and outspoken protests against sexist laws and media were instrumental in the movement's success. Steinem co-founded Ms. magazine in 1972 and remained an editor for 15 years. She also co-founded the Women's Action Alliance and the National Women's Political Caucus.

Dennis Banks

a Native American activist, teacher, and author. He was a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement, which he co-founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 to represent urban Indians.

George Mitchell

co-founder of the American Indian Movement (AIM), established in Minneapolis in 1968 to fight police brutality, poverty, and discrimination against urban Native Americans

Clyde Bellecourt

a founder and the executive director of the American Indian Movement (AIM), an organization promoting total sovereignty of Native Americans and their lands.

Plessy vs, Ferguson

a landmark United States Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal"

McLaurin vs. Oklahoma

a United States Supreme Court case that prohibited racial segregation in state supported graduate or professional education

Sweatt vs. Painter

a United States Supreme Court case that successfully challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation established by the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson.

Brown vs. The board of education

a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, even if the segregated facilities are equal in quality.

Morgan vs. Hennigan

a landmark federal lawsuit that determined the Boston School Committee intentionally segregated Boston public schools. Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. ruled that the school system was unconstitutionally segregated, leading to court-ordered busing to achieve desegregation

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Aimed primarily at protecting African American voting rights, it established the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department and a federal Civil Rights Commission to investigate voter suppression

Civil Rights Act of 1964

a US Civil rights and labor law that outlawed discrimination based on race, religion, national origin or gender. It ended segregated or separate public accommodations and schools, as well as banning employment discrimination

Civil Rights Act 1968

commonly known as the fair housing act. It did not allow for discrimination regarding the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or gender.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, a landmark federal statute designed to enforce the 15th Amendment, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. It outlawed discriminatory practices like literacy tests, allowing federal oversight of registration in areas with histories of suppression.

High Education Act of 1972 (Title 9)

a landmark federal civil rights law, signed by President Nixon on June 23, that prohibits gender based discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal funding. It ensures equal opportunity in athletics, academics, and protects against harassment and violence

New Frontier

a political program and slogan introduced by President John F. Kennedy in his 1960 nomination acceptance speech, describing the challenges facing the U.S. in the 1960s. It focused on economic reform, social safety nets, civil rights, international aid via the Peace Corps, and space exploration

Peace Corps

a U.S. government agency established by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961, to promote world peace and friendship. Volunteers (often called PCVs) serve two-year, grassroots-level terms in developing countries, working in sectors like education, health, and agriculture. It acts as a key public diplomacy tool for foreign policy

Alliance for progress

a 10-year, $20 billion U.S.-led aid program initiated by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to promote economic growth, social reform, and democratic governance in Latin America. It aimed to alleviate poverty to prevent the spread of communism following the Cuban Revolution

Montgomery Bus Boycott

a seminal 381-day nonviolent protest by Black Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, against segregated seating on city buses. Triggered by Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to yield her seat to a white man, it led to the Supreme Court ruling segregation on public buses unconstitutional

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

an American civil rights organization founded in 1957 by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it aimed to coordinate local protest groups and achieve racial equality through nonviolent direct action, playing a key role in the 1960s civil rights movement

Student Nonviolent coordinating committee

a pivotal, student-led civil rights organization formed in April 1960 at Shaw University. It promoted "bottom-up" grassroots organizing, utilizing nonviolent direct action—like sit-ins and Freedom Rides—to desegregate public facilities and secure voting rights

Freedom Ride 1961

a series of courageous civil rights protests where interracial groups of activists rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern U.S. to challenge non-enforcement of Supreme Court rulings that banned segregated public transportation. Organized by CORE, the rides met violent resistance but forced federal intervention, leading to the integration of interstate travel facilities

March on Washington

held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans.

“I have a dream” speech

"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called for civil and economic rights and an end to legalized racism in the United States

Amendment 13

The ____Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in December 1865, officially abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States,

Amendment 14

granting citizenship to all born/naturalized in the U.S. (including former slaves) and guaranteeing "equal protection of the laws" and "due process" against state violations

Amendment 15

prohibits federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude

Amendment 24

prohibits Congress and the states from imposing poll taxes or other taxes as a requirement for voting in federal elections. It was designed to eliminate financial barriers that disproportionately prevented African Americans and poor citizens from participating in federal elections

KKK

a white supremacist hate group founded in 1865-1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee, arising as a violent, secretive response to Reconstruction-era efforts to integrate African Americans. has existed in three distinct waves, targeting Black Americans, immigrants, Catholics, Jews, and activists through terrorism

Jim Crowe Laws

state and local statutes in the Southern United States, enacted between the late 19th century and 1965, that enforced mandatory racial segregation. Under the guise of "separate but equal," they marginalized African Americans by segregating public facilities, schools, transportation, and restricting voting rights

Poll Tax

A _____in US history was a fixed-amount fee imposed on individuals as a prerequisite for voting, used heavily in the South from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century to disenfranchise African Americans and poor whites. It was a key voter suppression tool that was officially banned in federal elections

Feminism

equality between men and women

Farm Worker Movement

a 1960s nonviolent labor and civil rights effort led by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Larry Itliong to secure higher wages and better conditions for migrant workers. notably the 1965 Delano Grape Strike—to gain contracts

National Organization Women (NOW)

the largest organization of feminist activists in the U.S., founded in 1966 to bring women into full participation in mainstream society. advocates for reproductive rights, economic justice, ending violence against women, racial equality, and LGBTQIA+ rights through lobbying, litigation, and grassroots organizing

American Indian Movement (A.I.M)

Founded in Minneapolis in 1968, a prominent Native American advocacy group that emerged to address systemic issues, including police brutality, poverty, and treaty rights violations. Led by figures like Dennis Banks and Clyde Bellecourt, used high-profile protests like the 1973 Wounded Knee Occupation to force national attention on sovereignty and tribal rights