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What I Learned Section 1 -- Answer
the Following Questions: In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled "separate but equal" accommodation were constitutional. This case was Plessy v. Ferguson. Only Justice John Marshall Harlan dissented (or disagreed) and wrote, "Our Constitution is color-blind." During the 1950's and 1960's, southern states continued to pass "separate but equal" laws. These laws are referred to as segregation laws because they segregated (or separated) people based on race. Most of the public places in the South were segregated by law. This included schools, restaurants, water fountains, and hospitals. It also applied to libraries, swimming pools, parks, movie theaters, restrooms, waiting rooms, hotels, elevators, lunch counters, public beaches, telephone booths, cemeteries, and seating on public buses. There were signs stating "Whites Only" or "Colored Only" designating the separate facilities. At movie theaters, African-Americans sat either in the back, upstairs, or in separate theaters. When African-Americans rode a bus, they entered the front door to pay, and then they exited the bus and re-entered through the back door. During the Civil Rights Movement, many people used civil disobedience as a form of protest. Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey a law considered wrong, evil, or unjust. Did you know almost 20,000 people were arrested between 1960 and 1963 for protesting and breaking segregation laws? During the Civil Rights Movement, laws were passed which ended segregation and discrimination. Restaurants, hotels, theaters, bus stations, and other public places became integrated. 2. True or False: Before
1954, it was legal for public schools to be segregated. White children and black children were usually not allowed to play together. On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the issue of "separate but equal" in public schools in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Court ruled segregation in public schools was inherently unequal. However, segregation remained in private schools. Did you know Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer for the NAACP who argued Brown v. Board of Education? Later, Marshall became the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice. In September, 1957, nine African-American students tried to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The governor sent the Arkansas National Guard to stop the students from entering the school. President Eisenhower stepped in. He sent U.S. soldiers to Arkansas to escort the children to school for the entire school year. In 1962, James Meredith tried to attend the University of Mississippi. The governor did not allow him to enroll because Meredith was African-American. President Kennedy stepped in. He sent federal marshals and the National Guard to Mississippi. Meredith was finally allowed to enroll, and he became the first African-American to graduate from the University of Mississippi. In 1963, two African-American students tried to attend the University of Alabama. Governor George Wallace of Alabama stopped them from entering. Again, President Kennedy stepped in, and again he sent in federal troops. The students were finally allowed to enter. 3. Describe ONE of the
following people:
4. Name the state in
which each city is located. 5. Define ONE of the
following marches or protests: The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the first protests of the Civil Rights Movement. In March, 1955, teenager Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, and she was arrested. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was also arrested for the same reason. Parks was found guilty and required to pay a $14 fine. Jo Ann Robinson, the president of the Women's Political Council, and E. D. Nixon had a plan to boycott the city buses of Montgomery. They distributed 35,000 leaflets asking African-Americans to stop riding the buses. Community leaders and church ministers, including Martin Luther King, Jr., met to discuss the protest. The next Monday (December 5), 50,000 African-Americans did not ride the city buses. They decided to continue the boycott until segregation on buses ended. For over a year, African-Americans walked, hitchhiked, rode bicycles, or shared car rides. On November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Alabama's state and local laws requiring segregation on buses were unconstitutional. The boycott ended on December 21, 1956. It had lasted 382 days. On February 1, 1960, four African-American students bought school supplies at a Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina. When they ordered at the lunch counter, they were told they were not allowed to sit there because of their race. They continued to sit there until they were served. The news of the sit-in spread. By the end of February, there were sit-ins in thirty-one cities across the South. The sit-ins continued throughout the year. By the spring of 1961, the sit-ins helped change segregation laws in almost 140 cities. The lunch counter sit-ins also inspired other types of civil rights protests. There were wade-ins at pools, stand-ins at theaters, sit-ins at libraries, kneel-ins at churches, and lie-ins at hotels and motels. The Freedom Rides of 1961 were one of the most famous civil rights protests. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled buses traveling from state to state must be integrated, and the bus stations must also be integrated. However, these laws were ignored in the South. In 1961, James Farmer, the head of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), organized a "Freedom Ride" from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans, Louisiana. During this trip, thirteen people (seven black and six white) sat together. On the outskirts of Anniston, Alabama, one of the two buses carrying the Freedom Riders was attacked and set on fire. Several of the riders were beaten. The second bus reached Birmingham, Alabama, and some of its passengers were beaten. The news of this violence was spread through newspapers. The riders decided to stop. Students belonging to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) thought the Freedom Rides should continue to make buses in the South safe for everyone. They rode from Birmingham to Montgomery, Alabama, and on to Jackson, Mississippi. In Montgomery, the Freedom Riders and their supporters were attacked, and President Kennedy sent 600 federal marshals to protect them. In Jackson, the Freedom Riders were imprisoned for disobeying segregation laws. The Freedom Rides continued throughout the summer of 1961. In September, 1961, the U.S. government found new ways to enforce the integration of buses and bus stations, and these laws were obeyed. The words "Freedom Rider" became a badge of honor and described any person who helped the Civil Rights Movement. On August 28, 1963, civil rights supporters gathered near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to attend the March on Washington to protest discrimination. Almost 250,000 people rode at least 2,000 buses and 30 special trains to attend this event planned by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. One of the speakers was Martin Luther King, Jr. In his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, King stated, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." The right to vote is very important. When a person has the right to vote, he or she has a voice in who is elected as police commissioner, mayor, school board member, and to other public offices. During the Civil Rights Movement, these positions were very important. The police commissioner could decide not to turn attack dogs on children. The mayor could enforce integration laws. And the school board members could choose to buy good books for all children. In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution which gave all men the right to vote regardless of his "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was added which gave women the right to vote. Although African-Americans had the right to vote during the 1950's and 1960's, the laws in the South made it difficult for them to vote. The March from Selma to Montgomery helped shed light on this problem. When the 525 marchers began on March 7, 1965, they were stopped almost immediately by state troopers. Two weeks later, a second march began. This time, there were over 2,000 marchers, and they were protected by 3,000 federal troops. They completed the march five days later in Montgomery, Alabama. On August 4, 1965, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law, and African-Americans had greater access to the polls. Since then, African-Americans have been elected as U.S. Representatives and Senators, state government officials, mayors, police chiefs, and many other positions. Did you know Reverend Jesse Jackson ran for President of the United States in 1984 and 1988?
6. How did the news
of the Civil Rights Movement spread throughout the country? Many of the people living in the South, especially Alabama and Mississippi, experienced the Civil Rights Movement first hand. Others only knew what was going on through reading articles in the newspaper and watching it on television. Images of buses on fire during the Freedom Rides, police dogs attacking people, and fire hoses forcefully spraying protestors were seen on television throughout the country. 7. What month is Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s birthday celebrated? Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Four days later, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives establishing a Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday. On November 3, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill establishing the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday. The King Holiday was first observed on January 20, 1986. Did you know Martin Luther King, Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964? The Nobel Peace Prize is given to the person (or persons) in the world who had done the most for peace that year. King believed civil rights protests should be peaceful and nonviolent. >>Read about Martin Luther King, Jr. What I Learned Section 2 -- Define the
following words: Segregation Laws: Laws set up to separate people based on race Sit-in: Nonviolent form of protesting racial segregation in which people peacefully sit in public places where segregation laws prohibit them to sit. For example, African-Americans peacefully sitting at a lunch counter in a public restaurant. Attorney General: The chief lawyer for the United States government Civil Disobedience: Peacefully refusing to obey a law believed to be wrong, evil, or unjust Freedom Singers: A group of singers traveling around the country and singing in concerts to raise money for the Civil Rights Movement Bonus Questions (Answer 1 of the
Following Questions for Your FREE
Bookmark): In the North, neighborhoods, restaurants, and clubs were segregated by custom, not by law. African-Americans usually lived in separate neighborhoods. Since children attended school in their neighborhood, African-American children and white children usually attended different schools. Like in the South, African-American schools in the North had less money and were in worse conditions than white schools. In the North, some public places were desegregated. This included water fountains, lunch counters, buses, and movie theaters. Also, African-Americans in the North were more free to vote. b. What are the words
to the song "We Shall Overcome?" We'll walk hand in hand, We are not afraid, We shall live in peace, Singing was an important part of the Civil Rights Movement. Songs were used to lift spirits and to give people strength and courage. In Albany, Georgia, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized a group of Freedom Singers. These singers traveled around the country singing concerts and raising money for the Civil Rights Movement. Did you know the song "We Shall Overcome" became the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement? c. Describe the significance
of ONE of the following U.S. Supreme Court cases or U.S. laws: In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled "separate but equal" accommodations were constitutional. It allowed a Louisiana state law to require separate accommodations based on race. Only Justice John Marshall Harlan dissented (or disagreed) and wrote, "Our Constitution is color-blind." In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the issue of "separate but equal" in public schools. The Court reversed its 1896 decision that "separate but equal" was constitutional. On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled segregation in public schools was inherently unequal. Did you know Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer for the NAACP who argued the case? Later, Marshall became the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice. In June, 1963, President John F. Kennedy sent a civil rights bill to Congress calling for the desegregation of public places, including hotels, restaurants, and theaters. This bill also gave the Department of Justice authority to sue schools which remained segregated. On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. This Act and the Voting Rights Act were among two of the important Civil Rights laws passed in the 1960's. On August 4, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. It granted all African-Americans the right to vote. This Act and the Civil Rights Act were among two of the important Civil Rights laws passed in the 1960's. d. What do the following
acronyms stand for:
e. Use five of the words
in Section 2 in a sentence.
f. Have a parent or friend give you a spelling test with EACH of the words in Section 2. More Valuable Information about the
Civil Rights Movement:
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If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King (If You)
Martin
Luther King, Jr.: He was one of the most famous leaders of
the Civil Rights Movement. King believed in nonviolent action
and civil disobedience. Sometimes he was arrested for breaking
segregation laws. On April 16, 1963, King wrote a letter from
a Birmingham jail which was published in newspapers and magazines.
It stated segregation laws are unjust and hurt people. It became
famous and is referred to as Martin Luther King's Letter From
A Birmingham Jail. King was also the president of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). 
