Civil Rights Vocabulary Prejudice: irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion (holding unreasonable preconceived judgments or convicts) THOUGHT Discrimination: treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit; to act on prejudice ACTION Segregation: separate by race de facto: segregation that exists by practice and custom ex) white flight after WWII de jure: segregation by law ex) Jim Crow laws Integration: to open to people of all races or ethnic groups without restriction; desegregate

Civil Rights Vocabulary (con’t) Jim Crow: discrimination against blacks especially by legal enforcement or traditional sanctions Black Codes: laws passed by the Southern states after the Civil War to regain control over freed slaves, maintain white supremacy, and ensure the continued supply of free labor. Oppression: unjust or cruel exercise of power or authority; to weigh down Emancipation: the act of setting a person free from any type of restraint or servitude, particularly slavery

Civil Rights Vocabulary (con’t) Civil disobedience: the act of intentionally breaking a law that one thinks is wrong or refusing to obey a governmental order, particularly if one publicizes the act of civil disobedience with the purpose of changing that law or order. Nonviolent protest Pacifism: opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes Bigotry/Bigot: one who regards or treats members of a group with hatred and intolerance Racism: a belief that some races are by the nature superior to others; discrimination based on such a belief Stereotype: an idea that many people have about a thing or group and that may often be untrue or only partly true; applying that idea to individuals as well as the group

13th Amendment Jan. 31, 1865 (proposed) Dec. 18, 1865 (ratified) Made slavery illegal throughout the US

Freedman’s Bureau 1865 Freedman’s Bureau provide relief for all poor people—black & white in the South

14th Amendment 1866 (proposed) July 28, 1868 (ratified) All people born or naturalized in the US are citizens. Citizens guaranteed equal protection under the law States could not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Banned former Confederate officials from holding state or federal offices. State laws are subject to review by federal courts. Congress has power to pass any laws needed to enforce any part of amendment.

15th Amendment Proposed Feb. 1869/ Ratified March 1870 gave African American men in US the right to vote

Civil Rights Act of 1875 Civil Rights Act of 1875 (later declared unconstitutional) guaranteed African Americans equal rights in public places like theaters & public transportation

Tuskegee Institute 1881 Tuskegee Institute founded by Booker T. Washington to develop African American businesses economic power =social change

Ida B. Wells late 1890s Ida B. Wells (-Barnett) A Red Record—3 yr. listing of the lynchings of blacks—named the lynchers

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 Declared that segregation was allowed if “separate but equal” facilities were provided for African Americans.

NAACP 1909 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Civil Rights organization formed by W.E.B. DuBois and others to fight discrimination and segregation Usually used the courts/justice system to work for change

UNIA 1914 UNIA—Universal Negro Improvement Association Founded by Marcus Garvey to promote racial pride and unity & urged blacks to become economically independent

Great Migration During the 1920’s, hundreds of thousands of black southerners began moving to the North to escape racial prejudice Faced opposition from whites concerned about job losses 25 urban race riots during the 1920’s in the North

Harlem Renaissance 1920s (after The Great Migration) An important period of African American artistic growth Countee Cullen-- poet Zora Neal Hurston-- author Paul Robeson— singer/actor

African Americans in the Military 54th Massachusetts Regiment: 1st all black fighting regiment (Civil War, Fort Wagner, movie=Glory) Buffalo Soldiers: built forts and maintained order in the Southwest US and Great Plains; also fought in Spanish-American War (San Juan Hill); with Gen. Pershing against Pancho Villa Tuskegee Airmen: 1st all black military aviation program (movie=Red Tails)

Committee on Civil Rights created by President Truman Findings & recommendations: racial discrimination throughout nation; should have new laws to protect all voters, desegregation of armed forces, permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission Truman’s 1948 actions: ended segregation in military; banned racial discrimination in hiring of federal employees

Sweatt v. Painter (state) law schools must admit black applicants who qualify even if a black law school exists

Brown v. Board of Education Topeka, KN May 17, 1954 major landmark Supreme Court case in which racial segregation was unconstitutional

Murder of Emmett Till 14 year old boy from Chicago, visiting relatives in Mississippi Said “Bye Baby” or wolf whistled at a white woman Kidnapped by woman’s husband & brother-in-law Till’s mother had an open casket funeral so people could see the brutality Jet magazine published picture of corpse (role of media) 5 day trial; l hour jury deliberations; not guilty verdict

Rosa Parks and Montgomery Bus Boycott December 1, 1955 Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger and was arrested. Black leaders organized a boycott of the Montgomery Bus System

The Little Rock Nine” at Central High School Little Rock, Arkansas 1957 9 black students selected to integrate Central HS; Gov. Orval Faubus used National Guard to prevent students from starting school; Pres. Eisenhower sent in federal troops to force desegregation; Ernest Green=1st African American to graduate from Central HS; Little Rock schools closed the next year rather than integrate

SCLC—Southern Christian Leadership Conference 1957 Founded by Martin Luther King, Jr. and 60 other ministers to coordinate non-violent protests

Feb. 1, 1960 Sit-Ins (Greensboro, NC) 4 black NC A&T students sit down at an all whites lunch counter and were refused service; returned the next day with even more African American students; this triggers many other similar non-violent protests in the South Led to the formation of SNCC—Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh, NC

CORE—Congress of Racial Equality May 4, 1961 began a series of Freedom Rides to protest segregation on buses and in southern bus stations

1962 James Meredith won federal court case that allowed him to (enroll) attend the all white University of Mississippi (Ole Miss—named after what they use to call the mistress of the plantation) caused riots and he was shot he did graduate

April 1963 Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail King is jailed in Birmingham, Alabama for participation in a series of protest marches *May 1963 protests continued and Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor used attack dogs and fire hoses on protestors including children seen on national TV, this outraged many and raised awareness of the struggle for Civil Rights  

Medgar Evers June 12, 1963 NAACP field secretary murdered outside of his home in Jackson, Mississippi; Byron De La Beckwith is tried twice for murder, both trials ending in hung juries—he is finally convicted in 1994

March on Washington August 28, 1963 250,000 people on the Mall in front of Lincoln Memorial for Civil Rights; MLK gave his now famous “I Have a Dream” speech

Sept. 15, 1963 4 little girls killed at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Birmingham, Alabama A bomb explodes at African American church, known as a popular Civil Rights meeting place, killing the girls while they were attending Sunday school.  

Civil Rights Act of 1964 July 2, 1964 banned segregation in public places such as restaurants and transportation facilities; also prohibited discrimination by employers, unions, or universities with federal contracts/money

Summer 1964 Freedom Summer white college students traveled to Mississippi to help African Americans register to vote

Aug. 5, 1964 missing Civil Rights workers found murdered names: James Chaney (Af. Am.); 2 whites--Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner Situation: the 3 went to Mississippi to register African Americans to vote

Assassination of Malcolm X Feb. 21, 1965 He had been a leader of the Nation of Islam, which favored black separatism—social and economic independence; in the beginning did not discourage violence—“by any means necessary” left Nation of Islam and was reconsidering his ideas of integration when he was shot by three members of the Nation of Islam in New York City

March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama March 7, 1965 voter registration march organized by MLK

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Aug. 10, 1965 gave federal government the power to inspect voter registration procedures and protect all citizens’ voting rights (final ban on literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, etc.)

Watts Riots August 18, 1965 riots in a neighborhood of Los Angeles caused by anger over racism; lead to riots in other parts of the country

Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee April 4, 1968 James Earl Ray was convicted for shooting Dr. King on the balcony of a Memphis hotel His death caused riots in more than 100 US cities

Civil Rights Act of 1968 Prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing