Civil Rights Movement 1950s and 1960s Research Activity
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
● The NAACP initiated a series of court cases challenging the constitutionality of segregation.
● In Brown v. Board of Education, newly appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren led the court to declare
that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
● The court postponed ordering a clear timetable to implement the decision.
● Undoes the principle of “separate but equal” estab. in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896
● As a result of its victory in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the NAACP continued to base its
court suits on the equal protection of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Montgomery Bus Boycott, December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956
● sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955
● was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit
system of Montgomery, Alabama.
● a 13-month mass protest that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses
is unconstitutional.
Little Rock Nine, Little Rock, Arkansas – September 1957
● Southern whites declared their intention to nullify the decision.
● In Little Rock, Arkansas, a judge ordered integration.
● The governor ordered the National Guard to keep African-American children out of Central High.
● When the troops were withdrawn, a riot erupted, forcing President Eisenhower to send in more
troops to integrate the school.
Sit-Ins
Resource
● https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/sit-ins
Questions Start Here:
1. The sit-ins of the 1960s allowed a younger generation to do what?
2. How did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. describe the sit-ins?
3. Find the following information about the first sit-ins”
For more information about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the sit-in movement follow this link:
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/burning-truth-south
Freedom Rides
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-rides
When:
Where:
Initial responses:
What was the central component of the sit-in movement?
4. What was the purpose of the freedom rides?
5. Explain what happened on May 14, 1961, when the freedom riders first arrived in Anniston, Alabama?
6. Describe how southern communities responded in other ways to the freedom rides. Use specific examples.
7. What finally resulted from the freedom rides and white Southern reactions to them?
Birmingham, Alabama 1963
http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/civil-rights-movement-birmingham-campaign/
Follow the link below and watch the video. It is 10 minutes and 13 seconds. – please use earbuds. Once finished
with it please remove the earbuds and continue working. Use the video content to answer the questions below.
8. How did the children of Birmingham challenge the segregation of the city?
9. How did authorities respond to the marches of the children?
10. What resulted from these marches in Birmingham, Alabama?
"Birmingham fully awakened blacks to a sense of their new powers; it ignited a mighty
confidence in the potency of mass social dislocation to overcome white intransigence. If such a
bastion of segregation could be defeated then any other city or area could be brought to heel by
an aroused black community. Birmingham also spurred self-pride, a spirit of black unity, a
willingness to join the struggle."
March on Washington 1863
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington
11. What was the March on Washington and how many people participated?
Resource
https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf (full text)
Resource
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
https://www.nps.gov/articles/16thstreetbaptist.htm
13. Identify and explain the circumstances of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Where did it happen?
14. Who were the victims?
15. What was the aftermath of the event? Why was this church selected for the attack?
16. Was there eventual justice for the victims?
Resource
Freedom Summer 1964 in Mississippi
https://snccdigital.org/events/freedom-summer/
17. What was the purpose of the Freedom Summer or Mississippi Summer Project (1964)?
Resource
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedomsummer-murder/
18. What were the events surrounding the Freedom Summer murders in Mississippi?
Resource
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedomsummer-missing-workers/ (video clip)
Resource
The assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://origins.osu.edu/milestones/april-2018-assassination-dr-martin-luther-king-jr
19. Summarize the events surrounding the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
Excerpt of the last speech given by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. – “I have been to the Mountaintop”
“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter to
me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a
long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will.
And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land.
I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the
promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. My
eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
