Apr 2, 2025
Chapter 28 Section 1: Fighting Segregation Briggs v. Elliott: One of the first cases challenging school segregation, later combined into Brown v. Board. NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; played a major role in legal challenges against segregation. CORE: Congress of Racial Equality; promoted nonviolent protest for civil rights. Jackie Robinson: First African American to play Major League Baseball, breaking the color barrier. Thurgood Marshall: NAACP lawyer who argued Brown v. Board and later became the first Black Supreme Court Justice. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Established the "separate but equal" doctrine, later overturned by Brown v. Board. Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Supreme Court case that ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Linda Brown & Oliver Brown: Plaintiffs in Brown v. Board; challenged segregation in Topeka, Kansas schools. Earl Warren: Supreme Court Chief Justice who presided over Brown v. Board decision. Integration: The process of ending racial segregation in public institutions. Senator Harry Byrd, Jr.: Led the "Massive Resistance" movement against school desegregation. Governor Orval Faubus: Arkansas governor who opposed desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. Little Rock Nine: Group of Black students who integrated Little Rock Central High in 1957. President Eisenhower: Sent federal troops to enforce desegregation in Little Rock. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956): Protest against bus segregation sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest. Rosa Parks: Civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat led to the boycott. SCLC: Southern Christian Leadership Conference; founded by MLK to coordinate civil rights activism.
Chapter 28 Section 2: Freedom Now! Mohandas Gandhi: Indian leader whose nonviolent resistance inspired MLK. James Farmer: Founder of CORE, key figure in civil rights activism. CORE: Organized the Freedom Rides and sit-ins. James Lawson: Advocate for nonviolent protest, trained activists in direct action. Sit-in Movement: Protest method where Black students occupied segregated lunch counters. Greensboro, NC: Site of the first sit-in at a Woolworth's lunch counter (1960). SNCC: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; engaged in sit-ins and Freedom Rides. Freedom Riders: Activists who rode segregated buses to challenge segregation laws. Robert Kennedy: U.S. Attorney General who supported civil rights. James Meredith: First Black student at the University of Mississippi. Governor George Wallace: Alabama governor who opposed integration. Albany Movement: Civil rights campaign that faced opposition from local officials. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Leader of the civil rights movement and advocate for nonviolence. Birmingham, Alabama: Site of major protests, including the Children’s Crusade. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail": MLK’s response defending nonviolent protest. Eugene “Bull” Connor: Birmingham's police chief who used violence against protesters. Civil Rights Act of 1964: Outlawed segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination. Assassination of Medgar Evers: NAACP leader murdered in Mississippi. Byron de la Beckwith: White supremacist convicted for killing Evers. March on Washington (1963): Massive protest for jobs and freedom; MLK gave "I Have a Dream" speech.
Chapter 28 Section 3: Voting Rights Voter Education Project (VEP): Encouraged Black voter registration. Robert Moses: SNCC leader who led voter registration drives. 24th Amendment: Banned poll taxes. Freedom Summer (1964): Civil rights campaign to increase Black voter registration in Mississippi. Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner: Civil rights workers murdered by the KKK. KKK & the Murders of Goodman, Chaney & Schwerner: Example of violent opposition to civil rights activism. Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP): Challenged the legitimacy of Mississippi’s all-white delegation. Fannie Lou Hamer: MFDP activist who testified about racial discrimination. Selma Campaign (1965): Protest for voting rights, led to the Voting Rights Act. Edmund Pettus Bridge: Site of Bloody Sunday, where protesters were attacked. Voting Rights Act of 1965: Eliminated literacy tests and other barriers to Black voting.
Chapter 28 Section 4: Changes and Challenges De jure segregation: Segregation by law. De facto segregation: Segregation by social conditions and customs. Watts & Detroit Riots: Major urban uprisings in response to racial injustice. Kerner Commission: Investigated causes of race riots, concluded the U.S. was moving toward "two societies." Stokely Carmichael: SNCC leader who popularized "Black Power." March Against Fear: Protest led by James Meredith, later taken over by MLK and Carmichael. Black Power: Movement advocating racial pride and self-sufficiency. Black Panther Party: Militant civil rights group advocating for self-defense. Black Muslims: Religious movement advocating for Black nationalism. Malcolm X: Leader in the Nation of Islam; later promoted Black unity and self-reliance. Dr. King’s Assassination (1968): Shot in Memphis, Tennessee while supporting striking sanitation workers. James Earl Ray: Convicted of MLK’s assassination.
Key Themes to Study: Nonviolent vs. militant approaches to civil rights. Role of federal vs. state government in civil rights. Impact of major Supreme Court decisions. Influence of key leaders (MLK, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Fannie Lou Hamer, etc.). Major protests and their outcomes (Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Rides, Selma, March on Washington).