Elizabeth Specht
Ms. Scott
May 20th, 2014
Period 5
Civil Rights Movement Syllabus
Martin Luther King, Jr: Was a civil rights activist who supported non-violent
protests. He was on the executive board of the NAACP and created the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). SCLC joined with the student non-violent
coordinating committee to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Gave the famous
march on Washington speech “I have a dream”.
13TH Amendment: Abolished slavery.
14th Ammendment: 1868 granted equal protection of the lawless African Americans.
15th Amendment: 1870 Plessey vs. Ferguson: established the “Separate but Equal”.
Allows for segregation.
March on Washington: was held August 28th, 1963 in front of Lincoln’s memorial,
where MLK Jr. gave his “ Have a dream” speech. This was the largest civil rights
protest, which urged JFK to sign a new Civil rights Bill into law.
Malcolm X: was born Malcolm Little, but changed his last name to X. He disagreed
with non-violent protests and MLK at first and was apart of the radical group, the
nation of Islam. In his trip to Mecca he realized the corruption within the nation of
Islam and broke away. He opened a temple in Harlem and was assassinated by 3
members of the nation of Islam 8 months later.
Rosa Parks: A middle aged black activist who worked for the NAACP. She was
chosen to not move seats from the back of the bus. She was arrested in Montgomery,
Alabama and this started the boycotts.
Thurgood Marshall: was the lawyer who argued and won the Brown vs. Board case,
ending segregation in schools.
SNCC: The Student non-violent Coordinating Committee, who eventually joined with
the SCLA
SCLC: southern Christian Leadership Conference, created by King, who promoted
non-violent protests.
Emmit Till: Was a 14-year-old African American boy in Mississippi who was
murdered for flirting with a white woman. His story made national news.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Made racial segregation of public places illegal and required
employees to provide equal employment opportunities. Was initiated by JFK and
signed into law by LBJ.
Brown vs. BOE Topeka, Kansas: Linda Brown had to walk a long dangerous path to a
not equal school for African Americans. Case was taken by the NAACP to the
Supreme Court where Thurgood Marshall won, abolishing segregated schools.
Jim Crow Laws: Laws that establish segregation, “Separate but Equal”.
Little Rock 9: 9 black kids were to be admitted to high school. Governor Orval
Faubus refused to admit them and called national guard to block entry. Eisenhower
sent 6,000 paratroopers and 10,000 national guardsmen to help kids in.
Sit-ins: African Americans in Greensboro, NC staged the first of many in 1960. They
would sit at lunch counters in Woolworth’s. It would spread to 54 sit-ins in 9 states.
Passive Resistance: Martin Luther King Jr along with SNCC and SCLC believe in nonviolent protests such as boycotts and sit-ins.
Black Panthers: was the party for African American self-defense, created by Huey
Newton. Known for their aggressive protests and black racism.
Booby Seale/ Huey Newton: Founders of the Black Panthers
Medger Evers: First African American to attend a university. Desegregated the
University of Mississippi.
James Earl Ray: Convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr on March 10th,
1969.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil rights activists who organized the Montgomery bus
boycott and created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He spent time in
jail where he wrote, “The letter to Birmingham jail” and is most famously known for
his “I have a dream” speech from the March on Washington.
Malcolm X: Was born Malcolm Little and was apart of the nation of Islam. He
disagreed with King’s non-violent views at the beginning. After his pilgrimage to
Mecca he broke away from the nation of Islam and was assassinated 8 months later.
In those 8 months he thoroughly apologized to King for disagreeing with him.
Rosa Parks: Was a middle-aged woman who worked for the NAACP. The
organization chose her for the boycott because she was the most innocent looking
woman. She refused to give up her seat on a bus, which lead to getting her arrested
and sparked the bus boycotts.
Thurgood Marshall: Was a civil rights activist and the first African American to be
appointed to the Supreme Court. He was then appointed solicitor general by LBJ,
another first for African Americans.
Booby Seale: Was one of the founding leaders of the black panthers. Was convicted
of taking money from the organization and was tried along with Huey Newton.
Today Booby sells barbeque equipment.
Huey Newton: A founder of the Black Panthers. Was convicted of murder, which
started the Free Huey campaign, where many believed he was framed. Huey became
a public figure, which abseiled money from the organization for drugs. He was
assassinated later in life.
The Great Society by Lyndon Johnson:
The Great Society was introduced by the Johnson Administration to end poverty,
promote equality, improve education, rejuvenate cities and protect the
environment. This proposal was similar based off the “New Deal” that was shown in
the past. He wished to help the one-quarter of Americans who were unemployed.
The bill created a pre-school program called head start, which helped children
prepare for success in public schools. The bill also created the Elementary and
Secondary education act, which provided federal aid for education lower than a
college, level. The national teachers corps was also created that provided financial
assistance to students wishing to attend college. This was to help the millions of
Americans who did not have the fiancés to afford an education.