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Jim Crow laws
Starting in the 1880s and continuing through the 1960s, most states in the U.S. used Jim Crow laws to enforce segregation and take away freedom/human rights from African Americans. Buses, railroads, restrooms, pools, schools, water fountains, and restaurants are only some examples of the types of places where whites and blacks were seperated. -
NAACP
The Nation Association for the Advancement of Colored People was one of the first civil rights organizations formed. It focused on legal ways to confront the civil rights issues during that time. They fought for integration and equality among other things. -
CORE
CORE stands for the Congress of Racial Equality and was one of the leading activist groups of the civil rights movement. They first focused on peaceful tactics, but later changed to thinking about black nationalism and separatism. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education made a huge change in American society. The ruling of the case declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal". -
Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK Jr. was a very well known Baptist minister and social activist that fought for equality in the civil rights movement. He believed in nonviolent ways to protest and was the man behind many huge civil rights events. -
SCLC
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was formed after the successful 381-day boycott of the Montgomery Alabama's segregated buses. The famous MLK Jr was a founder of this organization that coordinated civil rights protests in the South. -
Little Rock Nine
Nine black students enrolled at Central High School, a formerly all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. The state National Guard was called in on the first day of school to keep the students safe upon their entry to the school. This was a huge event in the civil rights movement because segregation in public schools was no longer constitutional. -
Greensboro Woolworth Sit-ins
African American students had a peaceful protest by sitting at a lunch counter at Woolworth in Greensboro, NC. This created a wave of other sit-ins and eventually led to establishments to change their segregation policies. -
Black Power and Stokely Carmichael
Stokely Carmichael was a civil rights activist. He created the popular slogan "black power" in the 1960s. He was also a member of SNCC. -
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was a black nationalist leader and a minister. He was the spokesman for the Nation of Islam in the 1950s and '60s. He believed in stopping racism by any means necessary, even resulting to violence. -
SNCC
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee was created to give younger blacks a voice that could be heard in the civil rights movement. Ella Baker helped put together the first meeting and encouraged those who formed the group to look at social change rather than just integration. -
John F. Kennedy's Role
JFK showed support for the civil rights movement and opposed segregation; however, his major priorities during his presidency were things other than this issue. He did give a televised speech where he talked about the violence that had been going on that was racially based. He also outlined a general idea for a Civil Rights Bill during that speech. -
James Meredith and Ole Miss
An African American man, James Meredith, tried to enroll at the University of Mississippi. This caused tensions to rise and broke out into riots that injured many people and even killed some. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into action by Lyndon B. Johnson. The act ended segregation in public places. It also banned employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, color, or national origin. -
Lyndon B. Johnson's Role
One of the largest things that President Johnson contributed to the civil rights movement was the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. This really changed things for African Americans and moved America towards losing racism. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment made it illegal for states to have a poll tax for voting in federal elections. This enabled many African Americans to vote. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was created to get past legal barriers at state and local levels that were preventing African Americans to vote, which was a right given to all under the 15th Amendment. -
Black Panthers and Huey Newton
Huey Newton was an African American activist who started the Black Panther Party. The group focused on self defense and taught how/patrolled neighborhoods to protect people from police brutality. -
Kerner Commission
The President's National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders is also know as the Kerner Commission. They released a report in 1968 that said racism was the primary cause of the recent riots. President Johnson appointed an eleven member group to discover the causes of urban riots and then recommend solutions. The commission was headed by Illinois Governor, Otto Kerner. -
Assassination of MLK, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot while he was standing on the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was hit with one shot in the neck by James Earl Ray. He died an hour later while in the hospital. This created a rise in riots in black communities all across the United States.
