The Civil Rights Movement 1945-1968
Jackie Robinson- The first African American to play in Major League Baseball. By
joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, he broke the sport's color barrier, striking a
major symbolic blow to segregation and helping shift public attitudes.
Order 9981- An executive order issued by President Harry S. Truman in 1948
that mandated the desegregation of the United States Armed Forces. It
established the policy of equality of treatment and opportunity in the military
regardless of race.
Dixiecrats- A breakaway faction of conservative Southern Democrats who formed
the States' Rights Democratic Party in 1948. They strongly opposed President
Truman's civil rights platform and sought to preserve racial segregation and Jim
Crow laws.
Thurgood Marshall- A prominent civil rights lawyer who directed the NAACP's
Legal Defense Fund and successfully argued landmark desegregation cases,
including Brown v. Board of Education. He later became the first African American
to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Brown ss Board of Education- A landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision that
declared state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools
unconstitutional. It overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v.
Ferguson, ruling that segregated schools were inherently unequal.
Earl Warren- The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who presided over the
Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. Under his leadership, the Court
made a series of rulings that advanced civil rights, desegregation, and individual
liberties.
Little Rock- he capital of Arkansas, which became a focal point of desegregation
in 1957. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus initially used the National Guard to
block nine Black students (the "Little Rock Nine") from entering Central High
School, prompting President Dwight D. Eisenhower to send federal troops to
enforce integration.
Rosa Parks- An activist whose 1955 arrest in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing
to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a white passenger catalyzed the
modern civil rights movement.
Montgomery Bus Boycott- A year-long mass protest in which African Americans
refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated
seating. Sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest, it resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that
declared bus segregation unconstitutional.
Martin Luther King Jr- A Baptist minister and social activist who became the most
visible leader of the civil rights movement. He advocated for nonviolent civil
disobedience and led major campaigns, including the March on Washington, to
demand equal rights and voting protections.
Sit Ins- A form of nonviolent direct action where protestors occupy a space—
often segregated lunch counters—and refuse to move. This tactic was famously
used by students across the South in 1960 to challenge segregated public
facilities and force businesses to integrate.
Freedom Rides- A series of political protests in 1961 where civil rights activists
rode interstate buses into the segregated American South to test whether local
authorities would enforce Supreme Court rulings that banned segregation on
interstate transportation.
Birmingham- A major Alabama city that was a central battleground for the civil
rights movement in 1963. The Birmingham campaign, led by MLK and local
organizers, used sit-ins, boycotts, and marches to target segregated businesses
and institutions.
Bull Conor- The Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham, Alabama, known
for his staunch defense of segregation. During the 1963 Birmingham campaign,
he drew national outrage by ordering police to use high-pressure fire hoses and
attack dogs against peaceful, nonviolent protestors.
Civil Rights Act- Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, this
landmark legislation legally prohibited racial discrimination in public places,
schools, and employment, effectively ending the Jim Crow era of legalized
segregation.
Elijah Muhammad- A religious leader who led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until
his death in 1975. He preached Black nationalism, self-reliance, and economic
independence, and was a major influence on Malcolm X.
Malcolm X- A prominent civil rights activist and vocal minister in the Nation of
Islam. He advocated for Black empowerment, self-defense, and human rights,
often challenging the nonviolent methods of Martin Luther King Jr. before his
assassination in 1965.
King Assassination- The tragic event on April 4, 1968, in which Martin Luther
King Jr. was shot and killed by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee. His
death sparked widespread mourning and nationwide uprisings, accelerating the
passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
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