Civil Rights, Questionnaire Example

After What War Did Blacks Gain their right to vote?

After the Civil War the constitution was changed to allow Black men to vote.  After World War I, the Black women were granted the right to vote.

What were three ways southern states kept blacks from voting?

There were threats from white employers to keep Blacks from voting.  Fear of lynching from the Ku Klux Klan.  And the White majority voted out the Republican, creating restrictions to keep Blacks from having an option to vote.

What were Jim Crows Laws?

Jim Crow’s laws included discriminated against African Americans attendance in public schools as well as the use of facilities such like restaurants, theaters, hotels, cinemas and public baths. Trains and buses were also segregated and in many states there were bans marriage between whites and African American people.

What were 4 examples where Jim Crows Laws were in effect?

Jim Crows laws were effect in public schools, buses and public transportation, restaurants, and public bathrooms.

Describe Plessy vs. Ferguson.  What concept did it establish?

Homer Plessy boarded a white only train, and refused to move to the black car.  He was arrested as a result.  This is the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the concept of “separate but equal”.  This concept required racial segregation.

What were two reasons that Blacks could be lynched?

A Black could be lynched for stealing.  They could also by lynched for lying, robbing, or pretty much and indiscretion determined necessary.

Why did Blacks move north after the civil war?

To escape the racism and prejudice of the south.  Many still practiced slavery even after abolishment.

Why did Blacks move north after WWI and WWII?

Racial tension erupted, and they moved north to escape the prejudices.

What is the NAACP?

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.  An organization created to help support Black opportunities and advancement.

Describe Brown vs. Board of Education?

Linda Brown was an eight year old girl who had to attend a different school than her white friends. Linda’s parents sued in federal district court on the basis that separate facilities for blacks was unequal.  The Supreme Court ruled unanimously to end racial segregation in public schools.

What did Brown vs. board abolish?

It abolished segregation in the public school.

Describe what happened with the Arkansas governor and President Eisenhower?

Arkansas governor refused to uphold the Supreme Court’s order to end segregation. Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround CentralHigh School to keep the nine students from entering the school, President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to insure the safety of the “Little Rock Nine” and that the rulings of the Supreme Court were upheld.

Describe how bus seating was expected to be in the south?

Blacks were expected to sit in the back of the bus.

Who was Rosa Parks?

She was an African American civil rights activist.  She was also known as the “mother of the freedom movement.” She refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger as order to do by the bus driver.

Describe the Montgomery Bus boycott.

Began in 1966 when the blacks of Montgomery, Alabama, decided that they would boycott the city buses until they could sit anywhere they wanted, instead of being relegated to the back when a white boarded.

How did the boycott finally end?

In 1956, the US Supreme court declared that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, and the boycott was brought to an end.

Who was Booker T. Washington?

Was a representative of the last generation of black leaders born into slavery. He was an educator, author, orator and political leader.

What was Washington’s belief about Black education?

He believed that Black education would promote economic progress.

Who was W.E.B. Dubois? How did he feel about Booker?

W.E.B Dubios is another prominent black leader.  He was born free and in the North. He did not experience the harsh conditions of slavery or of southern prejudice. “He (Washington) is striving nobly to make Negro artisans business men and property-owners; but it is utterly impossible, under modern competitive methods, for workingmen and property-owners to defend their rights and exist without the right of suffrage” (DuBois 68).

What did Dubious feel about black education?

DuBois believe in what he called the “the talented tenth” of the black population who, through their intellectual accomplishments, would rise up to lead the black masses. He felt that blacks should educate themselves in the liberal tradition, just like whites.

Who was Martin Luther King Jr?

Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist, American clergyman, and prominent leader in the African American Civil right movement.  He was also a Baptist preacher.

What kind of protest did MLK preach?

He preached a nonviolent social protest. Nonviolent passive resistance.

What are 3 types of non-violent protest that MLK used?

Montgomery Bus boycott.  His famous speech, “I have a dream”.  Preaching and speaking on civil rights laws.

Where and when was MLK killed?

He was killed in 1968 on his balcony room at Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

What were sit-ins?

An example of a sit-in is that a group of students would go to a lunch counter and ask to be served. If they were, they’d move on to the next lunch counter. If they were not, they would not move until they had been. If they were arrested, a new group would take their place. The students always remained nonviolent and respectful.

What were freedom riders?

Freedom Rides were designed to test the laws against segregation to see if they worked.  A group of black riders would board a white bus to ensure they were not segregated against.

What happened when the first freedom ride reached Alabama?

After the Freedom Riders entered Montgomery the Freedom Riders got off the Greyhound, a mob of 300 angry people attacked them with baseball bats, pipes, and sticks. One black rider was covered with kerosene and set on fire.

What happened when the freedom ride reached Mississippi?

The freedom riders faced more beatings. In Jackson, Mississippi in 1961, many Freedom Riders were arrested and unfairly put in jail.

How did Robert Kennedy helps the Freedom Ride?

Robert Kennedy requested the state police to protect the Freedom Riders. When they failed to he requested federal marshals to be sent to the city.

Who was James Meredith?

He was the first African American student at the University of Mississippi.

What was the purpose of Birmingham Boycott?

Birmingham boycott was refusing to shop at businesses that were racist in serving and hiring blacks. They did sit-ins, and marches to protest.

Who led the Birmingham Boycott?

This boycott was led by Martin Luther King Jr.

Describe what happened during the peace march of the Birmingham Boycott?

Police used dogs to attack students who were marching in protest to Birmingham’s practices.

How did John Kennedy get Black votes for the presidential elections?

He won their votes by responding to Martin Luther King while he was in jail.

Who was Medgar Evers?

African American civil rights activist who helped overturn the segregation at the University of Mississippi. He was later assassinated by a white citizens’ council.

Describe the march on Washington?

Civil rights march for jobs and freedom.  Took place in 1963 led my Martin Luther Kind and was the largest political rally in support of civil and economical rights for African Americans.

What famous speech did MLK give at the march on Washington?

Martin Luther’s famous speech was, “I have a dream.”

What role did Lyndon Johnson play with Kennedy’s civil rights bill?

He was one of the most influential people in civil rights movement. After JFK’s assassination he made sure that the civil rights bill passed to honor the late president.

What did civil rights bill of 1964 ban?

Was a landmark piece of legislation that outlawed major forms of discrimination against blacks and women. It ended unequal voter requirements and racial segregation in school, work place, and in public.

What was Freedom summer?

Freedom summer was a campaign that was designated to register as many Mississippi African American individuals to be able to vote.

Describe the Selma March.

There were three marches that marked the emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. On Sunday March 7, 1965 six hundred civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police, naming that day “Bloody Sunday”. The second march was on March 9 and the third March 21 began in Selma, ending in Montgomery.

Describe the voting Rights act of 1965.

A national Legislation in the US that outlawed discriminating voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans prior.

How did the above act and the 24^th amendment affect voting barriers?

The voting rights took away the barriers; the 24^th amendment took away limitations, deeming African Americans an equal vote.

Who was Malcolm X?

He was an African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist.

How did Malcolm X view whites?

He was accused of preaching black supremacy, antisemitism, and violence. He believed that blacks and whites should be separate.

How did Malcolm X pilgrimage affect his racial views?

He was a part of the civil rights movement which was to end segregation, but he was still for segregation. He was still a great leader and a monumental figure in the change for equality even with his dislike for white people.

Describe Malcolm X assassinations?

Malcolm X was shot as he was giving a speech at the Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom. On man with a sawed off shot gun shot him first, and two men with hand guns fired as well, hitting him 16 times.

Who were the black panthers?

A civil rights movement group who felt violence was the best way to make change. They demanded equality and would use violence to get it whenever necessary.

What cause race riots to break out in large US cities?

They were due to racial discrimination and retaliation.

Describe the Watts Riots?

A six day riot in Watts’s neighborhood of California. It was a result of police officers stopping an African American man who was intoxicated and refusing to let his brother drive the car home. Witnesses grew and became violent as the events continued.