Civil Rights Movement Study Guide

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.