Civil Rights Study Guide

1. Describe Martin Luther King Jr 1. Describe Martin Luther King Jr.’s methods to calling attention to ending racial discrimination. Martin Luther King Jr. chose to use peaceful or nonviolent methods to call attention to racial discrimination. 2. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed in an effort to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, and national origin. 3. The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation was constitutional in what case? Plessy v. Ferguson 4. How did the 15th Amendment help African Americans? The 15th Amendment gave all men the right to vote regardless of their race or whether they had been slaves before the Civil War.

5. Describe what happens during a boycott. A boycott called for consumers to avoid a product or service that discriminated against African Americans. 6. Who was Malcom X? How did his views for gaining civil rights differ from Martin Luther King Jr.? Malcom X was an activist who promoted black independence, self-defense, and human rights. His views differed from Martin Luther King Jr. because he thought civil rights would have to be gained through any means necessary-even violence. 7. This case was an important victory for the civil rights movement when the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment. What was the name of the case? Brown v. Board of Education

8. What is prejudice? intolerance 9. What was the main purpose of the poll tax and literacy tests? The purpose of the poll tax and literacy test was to prevent African Americans from voting. 10. During Reconstruction, many southern states adopted laws known as_____________________, which created a legal form of segregation. Black Codes 11. What are Jim Crow Laws? Jim Crow Laws were found all over the South and even in many Northern states and were a legal form of continuing segregation.

Lyndon B. Johnson attempted to continue the fight for civil rights by supporting the passage of _____________________________ after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 13. One way activists brought attention to the civil rights movement was sit-ins. Describe what happened during a sit-in._____________ Sit-ins were a way to integrate a business or public area. African Americans would sit at “whites only” areas and wait to be served. 14. Who founded the NAACP and what does it stand for? W. E. B. Du Bois founded the NAACP which was an organization that challenged segregation. It stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

15. What civil rights group or organization do the acronyms stand for? SNCC-Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee CORE-Congress on Racial Equality SCLC-Southern Christian Leadership Conference 16. What did the Supreme Court decide in the case of Loving v. Virginia? In 1967, the Supreme Court decided that any state law that prohibited interracial marriage is unconstitutional. 17. This way of bringing attention to the civil rights movement involved large groups of protestors taking to the streets with signs and banners. They would even sing songs and chant.____________ marches

18. What was the major goal of the civil rights movement? To end segregation based on race. 19. What are the four ways activists used to end racial discrimination? Marches, sit-ins, boycotts, court cases 20. In what city did Martin Luther King Jr. lead a year long bus boycott in after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to whites on a public bus? Montgomery, Alabama 21. What was the Emancipation Proclamation? President Lincoln’s declaration that all slaves in the South were free.

22. Who was Thurgood Marshall? Thurgood Marshall was the lawyer who represented the Brown family in Brown v Board of Education. He became the first African American Justice on the Supreme Court. 23. What did the 24th Amendment to the Constitution do? It ended the practice of poll taxes so state and local governments could no longer charge citizens for the right to vote. 24. Who was Medgar Evers and what was his contribution to the civil rights movement? He was a civil rights activist who investigated cases for the NAACP and helped to integrate the University of Mississippi. 25. What was the Voting Rights Act of 1965? It prohibited any restriction on the right to vote including poll tests and voter intimidation.