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Rosa Parks
an African American civil rights activist. In Alabama, Parks refused to obey a bus drivers order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger after the white section was filled. This became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement and she became an international symbol of resistance to racial segregation. NAACP people thought that Parks was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her arrest. Later, she worked with other civil rights l -
Malcolm X
an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. He advocated for the rights of blacks. Some accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, and violence. Malcolm X became a member of the Nation of Islam and rose to become one of the leaders of it. He was a public face of this controversial group. After he left the Nation of Islam after founding his own organizations, he was assassinated by three members of the group. At the beginning of his career as a spokesman for the Nation o -
James Meredith
American civil rights movement figure. He was the first student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi. When applying to the University, Meredith wanted to put pressure on the Kennedy Administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. This overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. It claimed racial segregation was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and the 14th amendment. It was a case that helped set the way for integration and was looked at as a victory of the civil rights movement. -
Emmett Till
An African American boy who was murdered in Mississippi when he was fourteen years old. He was killed because someone reported him flirting with a white woman who was married. Her husband found out and killed Till with help from his half brother. This brought more attention to black civil rights in Mississippi. At first newspapers believed this violence to be wrong, they soon begin to support the killers. The murders were acquitted, but they were protected against double jeopardy, so they admit -
Bus Boycott
a US civil rights movement. A political and social protest campaign against the racial segregation on the public transportation in Montgomery. The campaign lasted until Rosa Parks was arrested on the bus for not giving up her seat. -
SCLC
Southern Christian Leadership Conference: an African American civil rights organization with Martin Luther King, Jr. as its first president. This organization had a large role in the Civil Rights Movement in the US. The SCLC was organized after the Montgomery Bus Boycott when Dr. King invited 60 black ministers and leaders to Ebenezer Church in Atlanta. They were involved in the Albany movement and the Birmingham campaign. -
Little Rock 9
A group of African American students enrolled at Little Rock Central High School. At first these students weren't allowed from entering the racially segregated school because of Governor Faubus. After the Brown v. Board of Education, the NAACP tried to register black students in previously all-white schools in cities throughout the South. After that, the school had registered nine black students to attend Little Rock Central High. -
SNCC
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: one of the organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement. It came after a series of student meetings by Ella Baker at Shaw University. It grew into a large organization with supporters who raised funds to support in work in the South. At first it held non-violent tactics, but after the Democratic Convention of 1964, the group began to split into two factions, one believing in nonviolence and the other moving toward the ideologies of the Black Pow -
Great Society
a set of domestic programs in the US announced by Lyndon Johnson. The two main goals of the Great Society were to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. New spendings programs concerning education, medical care, urban problems, and transportations were launched during this period. The Great Society resembled the New Deal. -
freedom riders
civil rights activist who rode interstate buses into segregated southern US to challenge the non-enforcement of the US decision of Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia, which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce them -
march on Washington
A large political rally for human rights in the US and called for civil and economic rights for blacks. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his “I have a dream speech” here during the march. The march was organized by a group of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations under the theme “jobs and freedom.” This political rally was said to have helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, workplace, and facilities. At first there wasn’t much power given to enforce the act, the in the later years there were more there was more enforcement. -
Selma
Marches and protests marking the political peak of the American civil rights movement. Three marches were from Selma to Alabama. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, started by blacks who formed the DCVL. The first march was called bloody sunday, where marchers marched in protest the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson. -
Kerner Commission
National Advisory Commission of Civil Disorders: a commission established by Johnson to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in the US and to provide recommendations for the future. There were only 11 members. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race or national origin. The Act was signed during the King assassination riots by Johnson.
