CIVIL RIGHTS AND BLACK POWER MOVEMENT
TIMELINE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS AND BLACK POWER
MOVEMENT
1896 - Plessy vs Ferguson segregation was legalised on the bases that being
separate needed to be equal
1909: NAACP founded Civil rights advocacy begins; focuses on legal challenges to
segregation.
Aug 1952 – Malcom X joins the Nation of Islam (NOI) after incarceration
May 1954 – Brown v Board of Education
Aug 1955 - Emit Till lynched & killed
Dec 1955 – Montgomery Bus Boycott launched by CORE & NAACP after Rosa Parks
refused to sit at the back of the bus.
Jan 1957 – Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded with MLK as
leader
Sep 1957 – Little Rock Nine attend Little Rock High, Arkansas -> schools are
desegregated
Feb 1960 — Greensboro Sit-ins
Apr 1960 – Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) founded
Nov 1960 — Ruby Bridges attends a former whites-only school
May 1961 – Freedom Rides
1962 - James Meredith at the university of mississippi graduated - first black student at
an all white university ~ was protected by united states federal troops
Apr 1963 – Birmingham Campaign launches
Aug 1963 – March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom ( MLK “I have a dream”
speech.)
,Jun 1964 – Freedom Summer Launches
Jul 1964 – Civil Rights Act passed
Feb 1965 – Malcolm X assassinated
Mar 1965 – Selma To Montgomery March for voting rights (3 attempts – 1st Bloody
Sunday; 2nd unsuccessful; 3rd successful)
Aug 1965 – Voting Rights Act passed
Oct 1966 – Black Panther Party founded by Huey Newton & Bobby Seale (militant
stance on racial justice, community programs)
Apr 1968 – MLK assassinated; Fair Housing Act added to Civil Rights Act
Jan 1969 – Free Breakfast Program for Children Program launches
Apr 1969 – Stokley Carmichael/Kwame Ture leaves the USA
1982: Voting Rights Act amended Strengthens protections against discriminatory
election laws.
2013: Black Lives Matter founded Response to acquittal in Trayvon Martin killing.
The Civil Rights Movement
Amass movement in the 1950s and 1960s that fought to end racial segregation and
discrimination against African Americans, particularly in the South. It aimed to achieve
equal rights under the law, especially in areas like voting, education, and public access.
The movement is most closely associated with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who
became its leading figure and symbol of hope. The CRM is known for its strategy of
nonviolent protest, including marches, sit-ins, boycotts, and legal challenges.
This was done to finally make the USA a country of freedom for all and end the
country's history of rasism, slavery and segregation of black and white people due to the
color of their skin.
The Black Power Movement
Emerged in the late 1960s as a more militant and self-determined phase of the struggle
for Black liberation. It focused on racial pride, economic empowerment, and political
self-determination, often challenging the slower, nonviolent approach of the earlier
CRM. The face of the movement included leaders like Stokely Carmichael (Kwame
Ture), Malcolm X and groups such as the Black Panther Party. The BPM embraced
, self-defense, cultural expression, and sometimes revolutionary rhetoric, emphasizing
that true freedom required more than legal rights, it demanded full control over Black
communities, institutions, and identity, a complete cultural shift.
Terms BPM & CRM
Segregation Separation of people according to their race and/or gender
White supremacists Radicals who believed in absolute separation of races
CRM Civil Rights Movement
NAACP Nation Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
SCLC Southern Christian Leadership Conference
CORE Congress for Racial Equality
SNCC Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee
BPM Black Power Movement
BPP Black Panther Party
NOI Nation of Islam
Malcom X A Leader of the Black Power Movement
Stokley Carmichael/Kwame Ture A leader of the Black Power Movement; member of Nation of
Islam
Rosa Parks Bus boycotts (Refused to give up her seat for a white woman)
Bobby Seale A leader of the Black Panther Party
Huey P Newton A leader of the Black Panther Party
Martin Luther King Jr Pastor; Leader of CRM
“Bull” Conner Commissioner for Public Safety in Birmingham, Alabama
How did WW2 inspire the CRM in America?
After challanging oppression of freedom in Europe due to the Nazis this incoraged black
peple to question why they were not challangeing the oppresion they were facing at
home and inspiring them to take a stand against it, this then shows that by fighting
, against the nazis and germeny gave them inlightenment to the fact that they did not
need to remain under an oppressive system they could take a stance against it. .
The U.S. Federal System of
Government
1. Federal System
- The USA has a federal government
system, meaning power is divided
between the national (federal)
government and individual state
governments.
- Each state has its own government, constitution, and power to make laws on
issues like education, policing, marriage, and elections.
- However, all states fall under the federal government in Washington, D.C.,
which passes federal laws that apply nationwide.
2. State vs. Federal Tensions
- Because states often have different interests (e.g., conservative vs. liberal, urban
vs. rural), conflicts can emerge.
- Example: Civil rights → some Southern states wanted to keep segregation, but
the federal government pushed for integration.
- States can pass their own laws, but if these laws conflict with the U.S.
Constitution, the Supreme Court can strike them down.
○ Example: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overruled state laws that
allowed segregated schools.
3. The Three Branches of Government (Separation of Powers)
The U.S. Constitution created three branches to divide power:
1. Legislative Branch (Congress – Senate + House of Representatives)
○ Make laws.
○ Controls taxes and spending.
○ Can override a presidential veto with enough votes.
2. Executive Branch (President + Cabinet + federal agencies)
○ Enforces laws.
○ The President is Commander-in-Chief of the military.
TIMELINE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS AND BLACK POWER
MOVEMENT
1896 - Plessy vs Ferguson segregation was legalised on the bases that being
separate needed to be equal
1909: NAACP founded Civil rights advocacy begins; focuses on legal challenges to
segregation.
Aug 1952 – Malcom X joins the Nation of Islam (NOI) after incarceration
May 1954 – Brown v Board of Education
Aug 1955 - Emit Till lynched & killed
Dec 1955 – Montgomery Bus Boycott launched by CORE & NAACP after Rosa Parks
refused to sit at the back of the bus.
Jan 1957 – Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded with MLK as
leader
Sep 1957 – Little Rock Nine attend Little Rock High, Arkansas -> schools are
desegregated
Feb 1960 — Greensboro Sit-ins
Apr 1960 – Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) founded
Nov 1960 — Ruby Bridges attends a former whites-only school
May 1961 – Freedom Rides
1962 - James Meredith at the university of mississippi graduated - first black student at
an all white university ~ was protected by united states federal troops
Apr 1963 – Birmingham Campaign launches
Aug 1963 – March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom ( MLK “I have a dream”
speech.)
,Jun 1964 – Freedom Summer Launches
Jul 1964 – Civil Rights Act passed
Feb 1965 – Malcolm X assassinated
Mar 1965 – Selma To Montgomery March for voting rights (3 attempts – 1st Bloody
Sunday; 2nd unsuccessful; 3rd successful)
Aug 1965 – Voting Rights Act passed
Oct 1966 – Black Panther Party founded by Huey Newton & Bobby Seale (militant
stance on racial justice, community programs)
Apr 1968 – MLK assassinated; Fair Housing Act added to Civil Rights Act
Jan 1969 – Free Breakfast Program for Children Program launches
Apr 1969 – Stokley Carmichael/Kwame Ture leaves the USA
1982: Voting Rights Act amended Strengthens protections against discriminatory
election laws.
2013: Black Lives Matter founded Response to acquittal in Trayvon Martin killing.
The Civil Rights Movement
Amass movement in the 1950s and 1960s that fought to end racial segregation and
discrimination against African Americans, particularly in the South. It aimed to achieve
equal rights under the law, especially in areas like voting, education, and public access.
The movement is most closely associated with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who
became its leading figure and symbol of hope. The CRM is known for its strategy of
nonviolent protest, including marches, sit-ins, boycotts, and legal challenges.
This was done to finally make the USA a country of freedom for all and end the
country's history of rasism, slavery and segregation of black and white people due to the
color of their skin.
The Black Power Movement
Emerged in the late 1960s as a more militant and self-determined phase of the struggle
for Black liberation. It focused on racial pride, economic empowerment, and political
self-determination, often challenging the slower, nonviolent approach of the earlier
CRM. The face of the movement included leaders like Stokely Carmichael (Kwame
Ture), Malcolm X and groups such as the Black Panther Party. The BPM embraced
, self-defense, cultural expression, and sometimes revolutionary rhetoric, emphasizing
that true freedom required more than legal rights, it demanded full control over Black
communities, institutions, and identity, a complete cultural shift.
Terms BPM & CRM
Segregation Separation of people according to their race and/or gender
White supremacists Radicals who believed in absolute separation of races
CRM Civil Rights Movement
NAACP Nation Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
SCLC Southern Christian Leadership Conference
CORE Congress for Racial Equality
SNCC Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee
BPM Black Power Movement
BPP Black Panther Party
NOI Nation of Islam
Malcom X A Leader of the Black Power Movement
Stokley Carmichael/Kwame Ture A leader of the Black Power Movement; member of Nation of
Islam
Rosa Parks Bus boycotts (Refused to give up her seat for a white woman)
Bobby Seale A leader of the Black Panther Party
Huey P Newton A leader of the Black Panther Party
Martin Luther King Jr Pastor; Leader of CRM
“Bull” Conner Commissioner for Public Safety in Birmingham, Alabama
How did WW2 inspire the CRM in America?
After challanging oppression of freedom in Europe due to the Nazis this incoraged black
peple to question why they were not challangeing the oppresion they were facing at
home and inspiring them to take a stand against it, this then shows that by fighting
, against the nazis and germeny gave them inlightenment to the fact that they did not
need to remain under an oppressive system they could take a stance against it. .
The U.S. Federal System of
Government
1. Federal System
- The USA has a federal government
system, meaning power is divided
between the national (federal)
government and individual state
governments.
- Each state has its own government, constitution, and power to make laws on
issues like education, policing, marriage, and elections.
- However, all states fall under the federal government in Washington, D.C.,
which passes federal laws that apply nationwide.
2. State vs. Federal Tensions
- Because states often have different interests (e.g., conservative vs. liberal, urban
vs. rural), conflicts can emerge.
- Example: Civil rights → some Southern states wanted to keep segregation, but
the federal government pushed for integration.
- States can pass their own laws, but if these laws conflict with the U.S.
Constitution, the Supreme Court can strike them down.
○ Example: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overruled state laws that
allowed segregated schools.
3. The Three Branches of Government (Separation of Powers)
The U.S. Constitution created three branches to divide power:
1. Legislative Branch (Congress – Senate + House of Representatives)
○ Make laws.
○ Controls taxes and spending.
○ Can override a presidential veto with enough votes.
2. Executive Branch (President + Cabinet + federal agencies)
○ Enforces laws.
○ The President is Commander-in-Chief of the military.
