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Civil Disobedience
The refusal to obey unjust or immoral laws. Rosa Parks practiced civil disobedience by sitting in the white section of the bus. -
Black Codes
Black codes were local laws that took rights from black people and forced them to do things like step out of the way for white people and to avoid eye contact with them. They often used loopholes to achieve this. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was ratified, making slavery and all forms of involuntary servitude unconstitutional. This excludes cases where it is a punishment for a crime, and the due processes have taken place. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment was ratified, which made any person born within the United States a citizen. It also stated that any attempts by the states to deprive citizens of their life, liberty, property, privileges, or immunities were unconstitutional. -
Sharecropping / Tenant Farming
Tenant farming was the renting of farmland to work on, while sharecropping was tenant farming, but you had to share a portion of the harvest with the landowner. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment stated that it was unconstitutional to deny or abridge the right to vote to any person for their race, skin color, or any past servitude. -
Jim Crow Laws
Laws that made separate facilities for black and white people. The black facilities were usually worse. It politically and socially controlled the black population, and made them feel inferior. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The court case that decided that "Separate but Equal" laws were constitutional. -
19th Amendment
Prohibited the federal and state governments from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on their gender. -
20th Amendment
This amendment moved the date of the final day of a president's term to January 20th from March 4th, and the final day of a Congressman's term to January 3rd from March 4th. This was an attempt to eliminate "Lame Duck" leadership. -
Hector P. Garcia
Physician, surgeon, World War II veteran, civil rights advocate, and founder of the American G.I. Forum. A jack of all trades. He advocated for Hispanic-American rights, and was rewarded with the Medal of Freedom. He was the first Mexican-American member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The court case that decided that having separate schools for black and white children was unconstitutional. -
Desegregation
President Truman ended segregation in the military by executive order in 1948. Desegregation of public schools was started by Brown v. Board of Education in 1955. More desegregation took place afterward, until it was fazed out. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks worked for the NAACP, and worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. Following in the footsteps of Claudette Colvin, she refused to give up her seat on a public bus. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery busses were segregated so that black people had to sit at the back of the bus, and give up their seats to white people. This year-long boycott stopped people from riding the busses until the problem was eventually resolved. -
Orville Faubus
The governor of Arkansas during the desegregation of schools. He sent the Arkansas National Guard to stop the Little Rock Nine from entering their school. President Eisenhower had to send the U.S. Army to escort the students. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
This act kickstarted the enforcement of the Constitution on segregation, and was the first act of its kind in over 70 years. -
Sit-ins
A type of peaceful protest in which people occupy a space. These were sometimes met with violence. The most famous case happened in Greensboro, North Carolina at a restaurant counter. -
Affirmative Action
A policy of favoring members of disadvantaged groups who have suffered discrimination. -
Cesar Chavez
A labor leader and civil rights activist for farm workers, improving their treatment and pay. With Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. He led a boycott to bargain for the right of farm workers to unionize. -
George Wallace
The governor of Alabama. "I say segregation today, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever. He ran for President 4 times, but never won. -
Betty Friedan
An American writer and activist who wrote "The Feminine Mystique," which explored nontraditional roles for women. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
A preacher who advocated for nonviolent protests and equal rights. He was arrested for protesting and was eventually assassinated. King was the youngest man to win the Nobel Peace Prize. -
Nonviolent Protest
A type of protest where violence of any kind is not permitted. It was advocated by Martin Luther King Jr. Some examples include peaceful protests and sit-ins. The idea was influenced by Thoreau and Gandhi. -
24th Amendment
Prohibited the federal and state governments from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on a failure to pay poll taxes or other kinds of taxes. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or place of birth. -
Upward Bound
A federally funded educational program that serves high-school students from low-income families, and those whose parents have less than a bachelor's degree. It came from the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. -
Head Start
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services program that provides services like early childhood education and health to low-income children and their families. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act protected the voting rights of black men during a time when many were cheated from them. -
Lester Madox
A governor of Georgia and segregationist. When he was a restaurant owner, he refused to serve black people. Despite this, he oversaw many improvements to employment rights for black people as governor. -
Thurgood Marshall
A distinguished lawyer and the grandson of a slave. He argued and won Brown v. Board of Education in 1955. Marshall was the 1st African American Supreme Court Justice in 1967. He established a record for supporting the voiceless Americans. -
Lynching
A form of vigilante justice in which a person, usually black, is hung. The last lynching occurred in 1980, and was of a man named Michael Donald. -
26th Amendment
Prohibited the federal and state governments from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on their age. The Amendment also lowered the minimum voting age to 18 from 21. -
Title IX
A federal law that's part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. It prohibited discrimination by gender of education services receiving Federal financial assistance. -
Federal Housing Authority
A federal law that's part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. It prevents discrimination or denial of educational services receiving Federal financial assistance.
