The Civil Rights Movement Study Guide

Who is considered to have helped advance the Civil Rights Movement the most? Martin Luther King Who is considered to have helped advance the Civil Rights Movement the most?  

2. What women is considered to be the mother of the Civil Rights Movement? Rosa Parks Who is considered to have helped advance the Civil Rights Movement the most?  

3. Describe the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was an event where in African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, This was to protest segregated seating. It is regarded as the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the U.S. The boycott began when Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, refused to yield her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. She was arrested and fined. This boycott of public buses began on the day of Parks’ court hearing and lasted 381 days.

What role did Martin Luther King play in this boycott? Martin Luther King rose to importance as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement by helping to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Describe the Court Case Brown vs. The Board of Education Topeka, Kansas In Topeka, Kansas, a black third-grade girl named Linda Brown had to walk more than a mile through a railroad switchyard to get to her school for black children, even though there was an elementary school for white children less than seven blocks away. Her father tried to get her into the white school, but the principal of the school refused. Twelve more black parents joined Oliver Brown, Linda’s father, in trying to get their children into the white elementary school. Even though it was said that the two schools were both equal, this was not true. As the principal refused to allow their children into his school, a legal case was made. The case won and it was made illegal for there to be separate schools for blacks and whites, even though some states, at first, refused. This case was supported by the NAACP.

What did the Supreme Court rule about this case? The ruling in the case was that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This undid an earlier decision called Plessy v. Ferguson, which said that separate schools were legal. This decision made the racial segregation of schools against the law in every US state.

Who is Thurgood Marshall and what was his role in the Civil Rights Movement as well as American History? Thurgood Marshall was first known as a Civil Rights activist and lawyer for the NAACP. He known for winning the Court Case, Brown vs. The Board of Education Topeka, Kansas. Later on he became the first Supreme Court Justice in the United States.

Describe what nonviolent protest or civil disobedience is and how it was used to create change during the 1950’s and 1960’s Protest that is free of violence the refusal to obey certain laws by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes. Protestors used civil disobedience to demand change and to end Jim Crow Laws.

What were sit-ins? Sit-ins were organized protest against racial segregation in which protestors occupied seats prohibited to them in restaurants and other public places.

Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A federal law that outlawed segregation in public places and employment. This was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.

Describe the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A law passed at the time of the civil rights movement that eliminated literacy tests and poll taxes that were used to stop voting by black people. It also authorized the enrollment of voters by federal registrars in states where fewer than fifty percent of the eligible voters were registered or voted. All such states were in the South.

Why was it necessary to pass the Civil Rights Act as well as the Voting Rights Act? The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act was passed to end discrimination and segregation . It ended racial and gender discrimination in the south.

Describe the March on Washington. On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a political rally known as the March on Washington. Organized by civil rights and religious groups, the event was designed to show the problems faced and to demand change for African Americans. The march was a key moment in the struggle for civil rights in the United States when Martin Luther King Jr.’s delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. This speech called for racial justice and equality.

What is the 1960’s time period called where people protested for equal rights for African Americans and they demanded an end to Jim Crow Laws? Civil Rights Movement

Describe the beliefs and roles of the groups listed. Congress of Racial Equality- The Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE, played a leading role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. CORE is best known for organizing freedom rides to challenge segregation in interstate busing. They advocated nonviolent protest. NAACP- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was one of the earliest and most influential civil rights organization in the United States. It focused on legal strategies to confront the critical civil rights issues as well as organizing nonviolent protests like the March on Washington to promote change. National Urban League- A civil rights organization that speaks out for African Americans against racial discrimination in the United States.

Describe how John F. Kennedy died. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in an open motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas. He was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.

Describe how Martin Luther King Died. Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis Tennessee on April 4, 1968. He was there to lead a protest in support of sanitation workers. James Earl Ray was convicted for the assassination of Dr. King.

Describe what effect the deaths of John F Describe what effect the deaths of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King had on the Civil Rights Movement. John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King’s death had a huge effect on the Civil Rights Movement. There death caused many to lose hope but the Civil Rights Movement continued. There death also caused President Lyndon B. Johnson to pass Civil Rights legislation to protect the right to vote and to end segregation. Lastly, their deaths challenged Americans to think about and change their beliefs about African Americans and women’s rights.