Civil Rights

• What events in the 1950s challenged segregation?

  Events in schools and on public transport
• After which war was the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution supposed to give black Americans legal equality?

  The American Civil War
• What act disappointed many civil rights campaigners in 1957?

  The 1957 Civil Rights Act
• What was the intended purpose of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution?

  To give black Americans legal equality
• In what year was the Plessy v Ferguson case heard by the Supreme Court?

  1896
• What law did Louisiana pass in 1890?

  A law to segregate train carriages
• What was the name of the black man arrested for sitting in a white carriage?

  Homer Plessy
• What principle was established by the ruling in Plessy v Ferguson?

  ‘Separate-but-equal’ principle
• What did the 'separate-but-equal' principle lead to?

  More segregation
• How did the Plessy v Ferguson ruling affect schools in the South?

  Schools continued to be segregated
• In what year did Thurgood Marshall take up the case of Linda Brown?

  1954
• Who was the lawyer from the NAACP who took up Linda Brown's case?

  Thurgood Marshall
• What was the name of the black schoolgirl in the Brown v Topeka case?

  Linda Brown
• Where did Linda Brown live?

  Topeka
• What was Thurgood Marshall's argument in the Brown v. Topeka case?

  Education could not be 'separate but equal'
• According to Marshall, what effect did segregation have on black students?

  A feeling of inferiority
• Who did the Supreme Court rule in favor of in the Brown v. Topeka case?

  Oliver Brown
• What was the basis of the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Topeka?

  Black people had a right to equal education
• What was the court concerned about regarding its judgement in Brown v. Topeka?

  That it might be ignored
• Why did the court not set a timescale for desegregation in its first Brown v. Topeka ruling?

  Racism was a core feature of society
• In what year did the Supreme Court issue its second ruling on desegregation?

  1955
• What phrase did the court use regarding the speed of desegregation in the second ruling?

  ‘All deliberate speed’
• How did opponents interpret the phrase ‘all deliberate speed’?

  Desegregation could happen slowly
• What states began the process of desegregation?

  Missouri and West Virginia
• By mid-1955, how many white people had joined the White Citizens' Council?

  Around 60,000
• What was the goal of the White Citizens' Council?

  To stop desegregation
• Who supported the White Citizens' Councils?

  Most southern politicians
• What was the Supreme Court seen to be doing for the first time after Brown v. Topeka?

  Supporting black people
• What eventually happened to schools in the South after much resistance?

  They did desegregate
• What process did Brown v. Topeka mark the beginning of?

  The desegregation process
• What were state governors allowed to do to desegregated schools?

  Close them
• What did laws allowing governors to close desegregated schools show?

  Politicians opposed to civil rights
• What was the long-term significance of Brown v. Topeka?

  Beginning of the end of 'separate but equal'
• What role did national media coverage play in the civil rights movement?

  Raising awareness
• What is the US Supreme Court?

  The ultimate court of appeal in USA
• When was the NAACP created?


  1909