Civil Rights Movement

• What were the 4 main Black organizations?

  NAACP, CORE, Church organizations, Reigonal
• What main organisation was against black people?

  KKK
• What happened to Emmett Till?

  He was a 14 year old kid who was from Chicago in the North. August 1955 Till visited his cousins in the South, Mississippi and went to a store. He was accused of harassing a woman. He was unaware of the consequences, Emmett was kidnapped from his house three days later. He was tortured, mutilated, shot, wrapped in barbed wire and sunk in a river with weights attached. Roy Bryant and JW Milam were arrested and got the verdict not guilty.
• What was the significance of his death?

  It was held in Chicago, Till's mother decided to hold an open casket funeral for people to see how brutally abused he was. It was morbid to post on the newspapers to print and television channels to broadcast.
• What was Plessy V. Ferguson and what new rule overturned that?

  'Separate but equal'
• The rule that overturned it was Brown v. Topeka
• What main group was against desegregation?

  White Citizen's Council
• What did WCC do?

  • Supported laws that helped schools desegregation
  • Paid for newspaper adverts to intimidate black activists
  • Used the membership list of NAACP to target Black activists
• What did the Dixiecrats do?

  The south opposed improving civil rights movement and formed a new political group called the Dixiecrats.
• What was the Southern Manifesto?

  It was 100 congress people representing the south's resistance to desegregation. They created this in 1956 to prevent the desegregation of schools. They offered their support to any state that resisted change in schools. 
• What were the events leading up to Brown V. Topeka?

  Schools in the south were segregated but Black students could attend white schools. Oliver Brown fought for his daughter Linda Brown because she felt unmotivated to perform well in school.
• Long term significance?


  • It was the beginning of the end of the principle of ‘separate but equal’.
  • For the first time, the Supreme Court was seen to be supporting black people.
  • After much resistance, schools in the South did desegregate.
  • It marked the beginning of the desegregation process.
  • It showed how national media coverage was important in raising awareness of the civil rights movement.
• Little Rock Nine incident


  1957
• Orval Faubus


  • Arkansas governor promised to delay desegregation
  • State troops were ordered to prevent the 9 Black students from entering the school
• Desegregation of Little Rock school

  1. 8 students escorted by Arkansas president of NAACP

  2. Had to leave later due to white mob breaking out

  3. Broadcasted nationally and internationally

  4. Eisenhower had to respond to protect USA's reputation

  5. Faubus ignored Eisenhower's request

  6. Eisenhower sent in federal troops

  7. State troops ordered to protect the students for a year
• What happened after?


  Faubus was ordered to desegregate other schools in Little Rock however he decided to close all the high schools down instead. However, the concerns of less wealthy white people about the education of their children changed the policy. Schools were reopened and black students were readmitted
• Significance?

  • Other southern cities decided to continue desegregation slowly, so as to avoid stirring up dramatic protest.
  • Some white parents began to move their children away from desegregated schools to the suburbs or private schools.
  • The federal government had shown that, where necessary, it was willing to overrule state governments.