Civil Rights Vocabulary

Poll Tax	A fee paid in order to vote
Civil Rights	The rights of citizens to political and social freedom/equality
Racism	Prejudice or discrimination towards someone based upon their race
Boycott	Refusing to buy a good or service as a form of protest
Passive Resistance	Nonviolent opposition to authority
Integration	The act of putting separate people groups or things together
Jim Crow Laws	Laws that made segregation legal
Sit In	To occupy a place as a form of protest
Segregation	The act of separating people or things by a common characteristic
Riot	A violent disturbance of peace by a crowd of people
NAACP	An organization created to fight for equality for minorities
Constitutional	Saying that something agrees with the constitution
Act	Another word for a law

Civil rights are the rights of individuals to receive equal treatment and have equal opportunities regardless of characteristics such as race, gender, disability, or religion. The civil rights movement, particularly in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, sought to end segregation and discrimination against African Americans and secured legislation to protect these rights.

Key milestones in the civil rights movement include the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion,[REDACTED], or national origin, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which aimed to eliminate barriers to voting for African Americans. Prominent figures in the movement included Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X, who all played significant roles in advocating for justice and equality.

The struggle for civil rights continues today, addressing issues such as police brutality, voting access, and discrimination in various forms.