Civil Rights Movement Study Guide
Key Terms:
Discrimination: The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.
Segregation: The enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment.
De jure/de facto:
De jure segregation refers to segregation that is enforced by law (e.g., Jim Crow laws).
De facto segregation occurs through social conditions, customs, or economic factors rather than legal requirements.
Civil disobedience: The nonviolent refusal to obey certain laws, demands, or commands of a government as a form of political protest (e.g., sit-ins, marches).
Black power/nationalism: A movement that emphasized racial pride, economic empowerment, and the creation of black political and cultural institutions; leaders like Stokely Carmichael and the Black Panthers advocated for self-defense and self-determination.
Reverse discrimination: The claim that policies like affirmative action result in unfair treatment of majority groups, often white individuals.
Pay equity: The concept that individuals in the same workplace should receive equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender or race.
Affirmative Action: A set of policies that aim to increase opportunities for historically marginalized groups in education and employment by considering factors like race or gender in admissions and hiring processes.
Key People/Groups:
Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil rights leader who advocated for nonviolent protest and led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, and the Selma marches; assassinated in 1968.
Rosa Parks: Civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Malcolm X: A leader in the Nation of Islam who initially advocated for black separatism but later supported racial unity; assassinated in 1965.
Huey Newton/Bobby Seale: Founders of the Black Panther Party, which advocated for self-defense, community programs, and resistance against police brutality.
Stokely Carmichael: Leader in the SNCC who popularized the term “Black Power” and later aligned with the Black Panther Party.
James Meredith: The first Black student to integrate the University of Mississippi in 1962; his enrollment sparked violent riots.
President Truman: Issued Executive Order 9981, which desegregated the U.S. military in 1948.
President Eisenhower: Sent federal troops to enforce school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957).
President Kennedy: Supported civil rights legislation and sent federal marshals to protect Freedom Riders and James Meredith; assassinated in 1963.
President Johnson: Signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, advancing major civil rights reforms.
Black Panthers: A militant civil rights organization that advocated for self-defense, social programs, and racial justice.
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People): A civil rights organization that fought for desegregation and legal equality, including involvement in the Brown v. BOE case.
SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee): A youth-led civil rights group that organized sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and voter registration efforts.
SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference): Founded by MLK Jr., this organization focused on nonviolent protests and civil rights activism.
Key Events:
Brown v. BOE (1954): Supreme Court ruling that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.
Murder of Emmett Till (1955): A 14-year-old Black boy was brutally lynched in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman; his open-casket funeral sparked national outrage.
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956): A protest against segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama, led by MLK Jr.; resulted in the Supreme Court ruling bus segregation unconstitutional.
Little Rock 9 (1957): A group of Black students who integrated Central High School in Arkansas; faced violent opposition, prompting Eisenhower to send federal troops for protection.
Woolworth’s Sit-In (1960): Four Black college students in Greensboro, NC, staged a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter, sparking a nationwide sit-in movement.
Freedom Rides (1961): Integrated bus rides through the South to challenge segregation in interstate travel; met with violent resistance but led to federal intervention.
Children’s March (1963): A march by Black schoolchildren in Birmingham, Alabama, to protest segregation; police used fire hoses and dogs on the children, drawing national attention.
March on Washington (1963): A massive protest for civil rights where MLK Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Freedom Summer (1964): A voter registration campaign in the South, primarily Mississippi, that faced violent resistance, including the murders of three civil rights workers.
Selma (1965): A series of marches for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery; Bloody Sunday, where peaceful marchers were attacked by police, led to the Voting Rights Act.
Watts Riots → Kerner Commission (1965): Riots in Los Angeles over racial injustice and police brutality; the Kerner Commission later reported that systemic racism and economic inequality caused urban unrest.
Key Legislation/Supreme Court Decisions:
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) → Brown v. BOE (1954):
Plessy v. Ferguson upheld segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine.
Brown v. BOE overturned Plessy, ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public places and employment.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: Banned literacy tests and other voter suppression tactics, ensuring Black Americans could exercise their right to vote.
Civil Rights Act of 1968: Also known as the Fair Housing Act, it prohibited housing discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin.