The Civil Rights Movement
The American civil rights movement saw landmark events like Brown v. Board of Education, which ended 'separate but equal' and mandated school desegregation. The murder of Emmett Till and Rosa Parks' bus protest, led by Martin Luther King Jr., catalyzed the fight for racial equality and the adoption of nonviolent resistance.
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The Landmark Case of Brown v. Board of Education
The landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in 1954, marked a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement. Originating from several cases, including a 1951 protest by black students against the substandard conditions of their segregated school in Virginia, the NAACP's legal challenge to school segregation led to a unanimous Supreme Court decision. Chief Justice Earl Warren declared that state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students were unconstitutional. This ruling overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and mandated the desegregation of schools across the nation.The Aftermath of Brown v. Board and the Struggle for Desegregation
The Brown v. Board of Education decision was a significant victory for civil rights, but it did not immediately end school segregation. The Supreme Court's follow-up decision, Brown II, in 1955, called for desegregation to proceed "with all deliberate speed," a phrase that was interpreted variably across the United States. Resistance was particularly strong in the South, where some states employed tactics of "massive resistance" to avoid integration. For example, Prince Edward County, Virginia, closed its public schools for five years rather than integrate. It wasn't until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent federal enforcement that significant progress was made toward desegregation in public schools.The Murder of Emmett Till and Its Impact on the Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was profoundly affected by the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly flirting with a white woman. The acquittal of Till's murderers by an all-white jury and the publication of graphic photographs of his mutilated body in Jet magazine drew national attention and outrage. The courage of Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, in holding an open-casket funeral to show the world the brutality of the killing, served to ignite widespread activism and became a catalyst for the burgeoning civil rights movement.Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Rise of Martin Luther King Jr.
Rosa Parks' refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus on December 1, 1955, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This 381-day mass protest against racial segregation on the public bus system was led by the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association, with Martin Luther King Jr. as its president. The boycott resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that declared the Alabama laws requiring segregated buses unconstitutional. The successful protest propelled Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence and marked the emergence of nonviolent direct action as a powerful strategy in the civil rights movement.The Little Rock Nine and the Fight for School Integration
The integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, by the Little Rock Nine in 1957 became a defining moment in the civil rights struggle. These nine African American students faced intense hostility and the governor's opposition, necessitating President Dwight D. Eisenhower's intervention with federal troops to enforce integration. The Little Rock Nine's perseverance in the face of violent resistance highlighted the ongoing challenges of implementing Brown v. Board of Education and the federal government's role in enforcing civil rights legislation.Nonviolence as a Strategy in the Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement's strategic use of nonviolent protest was instrumental in its efforts to challenge and change systemic racial discrimination. Drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent resistance, civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for peaceful protest as a means to achieve social and legislative change. This approach required rigorous training in nonviolent tactics and discipline, and while not universally accepted within the movement, it became a defining characteristic of the struggle for racial equality. Nonviolent action facilitated many of the movement's successes and has left a lasting legacy on social activism.Want to create maps from your material?
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1
The case ______ v. ______ of ______, in ______, was a turning point in the U.S. civil rights movement.
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2
The ______'s legal efforts to end school segregation resulted in a ______ decision by the Supreme Court.
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3
Chief Justice ______ ______ ruled that separate public schools for different races were against the Constitution.
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4
The protest by black students in ______ in ______ against their inferior segregated school was one of the cases leading to the landmark decision.
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5
The ruling mandated the ______ of schools throughout the United States.
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6
Brown II 'deliberate speed' interpretation
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Massive resistance in the South
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8
Civil Rights Act of 1964 impact on schools
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9
The ______ rights movement was significantly impacted by the lynching of ______ Till, a young African American from ______, in ______ for supposedly interacting with a white woman.
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10
Mamie Till-Mobley, Emmett Till's mother, bravely held an open-casket ______ to reveal the ______ of his murder, fueling activism and becoming a pivotal event for the civil rights ______.
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11
Montgomery Bus Boycott Duration
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Organization Leading Montgomery Bus Boycott
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13
Supreme Court Ruling on Segregated Buses
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14
In ______, nine African American students, known as the Little Rock Nine, integrated Central High School in ______.
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15
The Little Rock Nine encountered severe opposition, including from the state's ______, leading to President ______ sending federal troops to enforce integration.
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Influence of Gandhi on Civil Rights Movement
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Role of Martin Luther King Jr. in Nonviolent Protests
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Impact of Nonviolent Tactics on Movement's Success
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