Civil Rights Movement

13th Amendment

Outlawed slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

Made African Americans citizens and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Guaranteed African Americans the right to vote.

Plessy v. Ferguson

U.S. Supreme Court case that made segregation 'legal' in the United States.

Brown v. Board of Education

Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks

Her decision not to give up her seat sparked a new era of the Civil Rights Movement.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A boycott organized in response to Rosa Parks' arrest, aimed at ending segregation in Montgomery's public transportation.

Southern Manifesto

A document signed by 101 Southern Congressmen denouncing the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; the oldest and largest civil rights organization in American history.

SCLC

Southern Christian Leadership Conference; organized by African American ministers to encourage voting and eliminate segregation.

SNCC

Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee; founded by college students to head voter registration drives.

Freedom Summer

A campaign to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation that outlawed segregation in most public places and granted equal access to facilities.

24th Amendment

Abolished poll taxes, guaranteeing the right to vote for African Americans.

Bloody Sunday

March 7, 1965, a day when peaceful marchers were violently confronted while trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Authorized the Attorney General to send federal examiners to register qualified voters.

Malcolm X

A symbol of the black power movement; preached black nationalism and self-defense.

Black Power Movement

A movement advocating for more aggressive actions in securing rights for African Americans.

Black Panthers

An organized group fighting police brutality and calling for control over major institutions in the African American community.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement who advocated for non-violent protest.