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Jim Crow Laws
Creates to simply to segregate black people from the white population. -
NAACP
The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race. -
CORE
CORE - Congress On Racial Equality Civil Rights group which first used sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters. It also organized freedom rides with SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee). -
Malcolm X
renamed himself X to signify the loss of his African heritage; converted to Nation of Islam in jail in the 50s, became Black Muslims' most dynamic street orator and recruiter. His beliefs were the basis of a lot of the Black Power movement and equality. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court ruled that "separate but equal" schools for blacks were inherently unequal and thus unconstitutional. The decision energized the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. -
SCLC
(Southern Christian Leadership Conference) Set out to eliminate segregation from American society and to encourage African Americans to register to vote. Lead by Martin Luther King Jr. -
Little Rock Nine
Group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High school in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school. -
SNCC
The Independent civil rights group, which represented students and the young and later evolved into the Black Panthers, changing tactics from Non-violent direct action to militancy. In fact they changed the 'N' in SNCC to 'national' from 'Non-violent' and excluded white members. -
Greensboro Woolworth Sit-ins
- 4 local black students entered Woolworth's store and sat on white's only seats, they refused to move until served.
- 27 students took part on the second day, there were 300 by the forth day.
- By the end of the week store temporarily closed to halt the sit-ins.
- Similar sit-ins and protests were taking place in 6 more states.
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24th Amendment
The 24th amendment was important to the Civil Rights Movement as it ended mandatory poll taxes that prevented many African Americans. -
James Meredith and Ole Miss
This African American had applied for a transfer (the day JFK became president) to Ole Miss, he had a court order permitting him to do so. However, the governor of Mississippi (Ross) refused to allow him . With the support of the NAACP, JFK later sent 500 federal marshals to escort James to school for the rest of the year and he graduated from Ole Miss. -
Lyndon B. Johnson's Role in the Civil Rights Movement
This man became President after the assassination of JFK. He signed both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. Formally acknowledged the racial problem and used the language of the movement in as speech. Supported the movement. -
John F. Kennedy's Role in the Civil Rights Movement
The establishment of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, the extension of the right to vote for African Americans, the appointment of an unprecedented number of African Americans to public office, and the filing of proposals for more complete civil rights legislation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Passed under the Johnson administration, this act outlawed segregation in public areas and granted the federal government power to fight black disfranchisement. The act also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to prevent discrimination in the work place. This act was the strongest civil rights legislation since Reconstruction and invalidated the Southern Caste System. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. -
Black Power and Stokely Carmichael
Co-author of black power, a black civil rights activist in the 1960's. Leader of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee. He did a lot of work with Martin Luther King Jr.but later changed his attitude. Carmichael urged giving up peaceful demonstrations and pursuing black power. He was known for saying,"black power will smash everything Western civilization has created." -
Black Panthers and Huey Newton
Founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. A black nationalist party who believed that black people should govern themselves.
Their aims were: organise the working class, self defence, economic improvements and to improve conditions in northern ghettos.
This party included the Ten-Point Programme created by Newton because he believed this was necessary for black liberation. -
Kerner Commission
Created in July, 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the causes of the 60s race riots. It blames the riots on an "explosive mixture" of poverty, slum housing, poor education, and police brutality caused by "white racism" and advised federal spending to create new jobs for urban blacks, construct additional public housing, and end school segregation -
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist, who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He gave the famous "I have a dream" speech. -
Assassination of MLK, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated at a Memphis hotel. James Earl Ray, white man who resented the increasing black influence in society. King's murder set off a new round of riots across the country, while both blacks and whites mourned the tragic death of a charismatic leader.
