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Plessy v. Ferguson
An 1896 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that separation of the races in public accommodations was legal, thus establishing the "separation but equal" doctrine. -
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Aimed for nothing less than the full equality among the races. -
Race Riots
White workers, furious over the hiring of African Americans as strikebreakers at the munitions plant, rampaged through the streets. Forty blacks and nine whites died. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
A 1954 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" education for black and white students was unconstitutional. Thurgood Marshall was a justice of the court and he is mainly known for the victory of this case which occurred on May 17th, 1954. -
De jure vs.De Facto segregation
De jure- racial separation established by law.
De Facto- racial separation established by practice and custom, not by law. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott (Rosa Parks)
Rosa Parks refused to move back and empty the seat for a white man when told. She thought it was a time for change. -
Little Rock School Integration
"Little Rock Nine" - nine African American students who had volunteered to integrate Little Rock's Central High School. -
Sit-in
A form of demonstration used by African Americans to protest discrimination, in which the protesters sit down in a segregated business and refuse to leave until they are served. -
Freedom Rides
Civil rights activists who rode buses through the South in the early 1960s to challenge segregation. -
March on Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham in the 1950-60s was known for total segregation in public life and racial violence. Martin Luther King was invited to help desegregate the city. On May 2nd, more than a thousand African American children marched in Birmingham. 959 of them were arrested. On May 3rd, a second "children crusade" came face to face with a helmeted police force. TV cameras caught all of the violent acts that the African American received from the police. Many of viewers heard the children screaming also. -
Marching to Washington
On August 28th, 1963, more than 250,000 people- including 75,000 whites- went to Washington. People listened to speakers demand the immediate passage of the civil rights bill. ( guaranteed equal excess to all public accommodations and gave the U.S. attorney general the power to file school desegregation suits.) -
24th Amendment
The key clause in the amendment reads: " The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election... shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax." -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A law that that banned discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, or religion in public places and most workplaces. -
March from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights
Once a demonstrator was shot and killed because of voting rights , King responded by announcing a 50-mile protest march from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital. On March 7th, 1965, about 600 protesters set out for Montgomery. The nation witnessed the cruel mistreatment that African Americans received from police. Ten days later President Johnson presented Congress with a new voting rights act and asked for it to be passed. 3,000 marchers set out again for Montgomery with federal protection. -
Voting Rights of 1965
A law that made it easier for African Americans to register to vote by eliminating discriminatory literacy tests and authorizing federal examiner to enroll voters denied at the local level. -
Black Panther Party
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded this political party to fight police brutality in the ghetto. The party advocated self-sufficiency for African-American communities, as well as full employment and decent housing. Panthers events included the establishment of daycare centers, free breakfast programs, free medical clinics, assistance to the homeless, and other services. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott ( Martin Luther King Jr.)
Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader. He brought powerful speeches to the table about African American rights and freedoms that they should have. -
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's role models
Gandhi (the leader who helped India throw off British rule)- King learned to resist oppression without violence. Thoreau (writer)- King took the concept of disobedience. Randolph- King learned to organize massive demonstrations. -
Emmett Till
A 14-year old African-American boy who had allegedly flirted with a white women. The two white men that beat Emmett to death were not found guilty until a year later when they admitted to killing Emmett in an interview. -
Malcolm X (1925-1965)
He was a leader and speaker. Earlier in his lifetime, Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam. He developed a philosophy of black superiority and separatism from whites. He believed in violence. He broke away from the Nation of Islam organization and went to Mecca. He came back with a new philosophy. "Ballots or bullets" He said "Well, if you and I don't use the ballot, we're going to be forced to use the bullet. So let us try the ballot."
