Civil Rights Movement

• What were Jim Crow laws?

  They were laws that enforced the strict separation of the races.
• what are some examples that were segregated?

  theatres, public transport, cinemas, toilets etc.
• what did white people believe about black people?

  that they were racially and intellectually inferior.
• what does NAACP stand for?


  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• what did the NAACP do?

  -they fought for civil rights using the legal system and courts.

  -the defended black people who were wrongly evicted of crimes.

  -focused on overturning the 'separate but equal' ruling.
• What does CORE stand for?

  Congress of Racial Equality
• what did CORE do?

  -members used non-violent direct action.

  -operated mostly in northern states.

  -they had a smaller membership than the NAACP.

  -in the early years most members wee white and middle class.
• what is a short summary of the Brown v. Topeka case?


  a legal case which was set up against the board of education, it argued that the principle of 'separate but equal' in schools was unconstitutional and damaged black children.

  Linda Brown felt separate and not equal to the white kids.
• what was the short term significance of the Brown v. Topeka case?

  -overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision.

  -there was white backlash and KKK members increased.

  -black students and teachers faced threats and hostility.

  -many southern states found ways to avoid complying with the court rulings.
• what was the long term significance of the Brown v. Topeka case?

  -awareness of civil rights issues in the southern states increased.

  -rulings were an inspiration for other desegregation campaigns.

  -white Americans moved out of areas where black Americans lived, to avoid forced desegregation.
• what was the Little Rock Nine?

  -75 black children applied for the school =, 25 were accepted.

  -only 9 students were planning to go due to the threats and backlash.
• what happened during the Little Rock Nine?

  -the NAACP arranged for the 9 to arrive together.

  -Faubus sent 250 state troops to surround the school and blocked the entrance for arriving students.

  -Elizabeth Eckford didn't get the notice to arrive together, she was targeted by the crowd and racially abused.

  -on September 24 Eisenhower sent in federal troops t ensure black students could attend the school without being attacked.
• what were the long term causes of the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

  -the WPC were focused on bus discrimination since 1950.

  -black passengers were forced to sit at the back and give their seat up for white passengers.

  -requests for bus companies to change their policies were not listened to.
• what were the short term causes for the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

  -on 1 December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus.

  -police arrested her and charged Parks under the segregation laws.
• What does WPC stand for?

  Woman's Political Council
• What does MIA stand for?

  Montgomery Improvement Association
• what happened to ensure black people didn't have to use the buses?

  churches set up their own taxi services at the same price as a bus fare.
• What made the Montgomery Bus Boycott so successful?

  -it was publicised well.

  -it was committed to success.

  -the bus companies were hurt financially.

  -it was well organised by the MIA.
• what made Rosa Parks so significant?

  -middle aged, married woman.

  -understood the principles of non-violent action.

  -she was secretary of the Montgomery NAACP.
• what was the supreme court ruling following the Bus Boycott?

  -on 5 June the supreme court ordered that segregation on buses was unconstitutional and buses and be desegregated.

  -on 20 December the MIA called off the boycott and racially integrated bus services began on 21 December.
• what date did the supreme court rule that segregated buses were unconstitutional?

  5 June 1956
• what date did the MIA call off the boycott and when did desegregated bus services begin?

  20 and 21 December 1956
• what was the significance of Martin Luther King's leadership?

  -he advocated a non-violent approach.

  -made powerful speeches.

  -he appealed to all Americans regardless of race.

  -he worked and was paid by the church.
• what was the Southern Leadership Conference 1957?

  -set up to coordinate church-based protest across the south.

  -led by Martin Luther King.

  -secured black and white membership.

  -used non-violent direct action.
• What was the KKK? (Ku Klux Klan)

  -a group operated mostly in southern states.

  -terrorised black people.

  -a form of white supremacy.

  -law enforcement officers were often involved.
• when was the murder of Emmet Till?

  1955
• What was the Emmett Till Case?

  -Carolyn Bryant said that he made sexual advances on her.

  -Carolyn's husband abducted him and beat him severely, shot him and threw him into the river with a weight around his neck.
• what happened once Emmett Tills body had been found?

  -his mother held an open casket funeral, this led to extensive media coverage which fuelled shock and outrage.

  -the defendants were found not guilty. but later sold their story to a magazine admitting to the murder.
• what were the dixiecrats?

  -a democratic party made up of southern politicians.

  -they had strong views about keeping segregation.
• what does the WCC stand for?

  White Citizens Council
• what was the WCC?

  -set up from 1954 to stop desegregation.

  -they opposed any desegregation.

  -they used economic means to stop calls for desegregation.
• what was the federal opposition to civil rights?

  -Attempts to introduce these rights were opposed by some southern members of congress.

  -The dixiecrats had strong views about keeping segregation laws.

  -presidents needed the dixecrats support so had to take their views on-board. they were scared the dixiecrats would disrupt government.
• What were the events of Greensboro 1960?


  -4 black students waited to be served at a segregated lunch counter, knowing that they would be asked to leave the white only area.

  -They held a sit-in, remaining in the store till it closed.

  -The following day more people arrived for a sit-in.
• what was the significance of Greensboro 1960?


  -There was white and black supporters.

  -High levels of media coverage.

  -There was mass support

  -It was visible to the public and it spread quickly.
• what does SNCC stand for?

  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
• When and why was the SNCC set up?

  -To organise non-violent protests.

  -Trained their students to cope with the hostility and harassment that they faced during sit-ins and other demonstrations.
• when was the desegregation of all bus station facilities ruled?

  December 1960.
• What happened to check that desegregation of bus services and facilities was really happening?

  CORE activists organised bus journeys from the North to the Deep South to test whether desegregation was really happening.
• What happened to James Meredith 1962?

  -Applied to the university of Mississippi after an earlier failed attempt.

  -the NAACP brought a successful case and the supreme court ordered that the university must admit him.

  -on 30th September he was escorted onto campus were 3000 segregationists attacked them.
• why did the events in Birmingham, Alabama happen where they did?

  -Martin Luther King and the SCLC led the campaign here because it was:

  still completely segregated and black Americans were regularly attacked there.