civil rights

• What was the status of black Americans in the USA during the 1950s?

  They were treated as second-class citizens.
• What types of discrimination did black Americans face in the South during the 1950s?

  They faced segregation, discrimination, and attempts to prevent them from voting.
• Which organizations campaigned to improve black civil rights in the 1950s?

  NAACP and CORE.
• What was the aim of racial segregation in the Southern states during the early 1950s?

  To prevent black and white Americans from mixing in public places.
• What were 'Jim Crow' laws used for?

  To segregate black and white Americans.
• What types of public facilities were segregated?

  Cinemas, toilets, schools, and transport.
• What did the law state about segregation in terms of services?

  It was legal to segregate as long as services were 'separate but equal'.
• How did the reality of services for black Americans compare to those for white Americans?

  Services for black Americans were often inferior.
• How did the majority of white people view black Americans in the Southern states?

  They viewed black Americans as racially inferior.
• What was the role of racist white officials in the Southern states?

  They were often members of the Ku Klux Klan.
• What was the consequence of frequent assaults and murders of black people in the South?

  They were not properly investigated or prosecuted.
• Were black people allowed to sit on juries in a court of law in the Southern states?

  No, they were not allowed to sit on juries.
• How did white gangs affect black Americans' voting rights?

  They physically stopped black Americans from voting and attacked them for trying to register.
• What laws did some Southern states pass to make it harder for black people to vote?

  They used unfair literacy tests.
• What was the 'grandfather clause' in voting rights?

  Voters had to prove their forefathers had voted, for descendants of Slaves it was literally impossible
• What happened to black workers who registered to vote in some Southern states?

  They were sometimes sacked by white employers.
• What were the bad treatments of black Americans in the early 1950s and the organized resistance to these treatments?

  Bad treatment of black Americans:

  • Segregation in public facilities
  • Discrimination in voting
  • Violence and intimidation

  
  

  Organized resistance:

  • NAACP's legal challenges and fought using the legal system and courts
  • CORE's non-violent protests
  • Community boycotts
• When was the Brown v. Topeka case brought to the Supreme Court?


  In 1952.
• What was the main argument of the Brown v. Topeka case?

  That segregated schools broke the 14th Amendment. That the segregation was unconstitutional as long as facilities were separate but equal Black schools were often unfunded compared to white schools
• What was the long-term significance of the Brown case?

  It increased awareness of civil rights issues in the Southern states.
• What was the short-term significance of the Brown rulings?

  They overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Many southern states found a way to avoid complying with desegregation Black students faced threats
• What did the Supreme Court rule in May 1954 regarding segregated education?

  That it was unconstitutional, but there was no set time limit for the desegregation of schools to happen.
• What was the response of white citizens in the Deep South after the Brown ruling?

  White Citizens' Councils were set up to stop desegregation. They were prepared to use violence
• What did the second court ruling in May 1955 state about desegregation?

  It should happen 'with all deliberate speed'.

  723 school districts had a desegregated education
• What was the name of the group of nine black students who attended Little Rock High School?

  The 'Little Rock Nine' 1957
• What actions did the state governor of Arkanas do to stop integration?

  He closed every school in Little Rock

  but pressure from parents forced him to reopen the schools
• What was the significance of the events at Little Rock High School in 1957?

  It showed the violent resistance to school integration.

  people where shocked by the media coverage of how children were being racially abused
• What happened to Little Rock Nine when they arrived?

  
  

  1. The state Governor sent 250 troops to block them from gaining entrance
  2. Elizabeth was racially targeted by the crowd, as she did not arrive with the rest for the group
  3. District judges and lawyers used to court to challenge it and to withdraw the state troopers
  4. president Eisenhower sent in federal troops to ensure black students could attend school safely.
• What was the outcome for the first black student who graduated from Little Rock High School?

  
  

  Because the USA image was being damaged abroad

  He wanted to improve black civil rights while avoiding violent unrest about racial integration
• What significant action did Rosa Parks take on December 1, 1955?


  She refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person.

  she was arrested and charged under the Montgomery segregation laws
• What was the result of Rosa Parks' arrest?

  It sparked a mass boycott of the buses.
• What were the events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott from 1955 to 1956?

  • 5 Dec 1955: Activists met to discuss a boycott. The MIA was formed

  
  

  • 8 Dec: MIA met bus officials; boycott continued. No black Americans would use the bus service, until it improved

  
  

  • 12 Dec: Car pools began to support boycotters.

  
  

  • 30 Jan 1956: King's home was bombed, due to growing oppostion

  
  

  
  

  • Increased media coverage of the boycott.
• Why was the Montgomery Bus Boycott significant for the civil rights movement?

  It paved the way for further campaigns against segregation.
• What was the significance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the civil rights movement?

  It paved the way for further campaigns against segregation.
• How did the Montgomery Bus Boycott impact Martin Luther King?

  It brought him to the forefront of the civil rights movement.
• What method did the Montgomery Bus Boycott demonstrate could be effective?

  Non-violent direct action.
• What were the reasons for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

  1. Well organized by existing civil rights groups.
  2. Committed participants who faced threats.
  3. Well publicized through church meetings and newspapers.
  4. Financial impact on the bus company due to loss of customers.
• What case did the NAACP file to desegregate Montgomery buses?

  1 February 1956 their lawyers filled Browder v. Gayle against bus segregation

  They argued it went against the 14th Amendant
• What was the Supreme Court's ruling on 5 June regarding bus segregation?

  Segregation on buses was unconstitutional.
• When did the MIA call off the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

  20 December 1956.