Free at Last Questions & Answers
I. Free at Last Video Questions
1. What were the goals of the Civil Rights Movement?
- To desegregate schools, restaurants, buses & other public accommodations
- To freely exercise the right to vote
- To win protection against intimidation & violence
- Equal Rights
2. What were the strategies of the movement?
- They used boycotts, marches, sit-ins, mass meetings and lawsuits
3. Why did the movement succeed?
- It was based on the principle that all men were created equal.
- The movement had a great leader & a committed following.
- The contrast between the protesters non-violence and the injustice that they had to endure supported the movement
- Because of individual commitment
- The participants were willing to risk their lives.
4. Contrast the behaviours of the Black protestors with their White opponents.
- The Black protesters used non-violence
- Whites were violent & harassment
5. Given the chance to participate in any of the events of this movement, which one would you participate in and why?
- Personal Responses
II. “Early Struggles” pages 10 to 15
1. Complete the chart below by comparing the methods used by slaves to gain rights and the methods used by civil rights activists.
______Slaves Civil Rights Activists
-Armed & Unarmed revolts - Marches
- Secret Schools - Boycotts
- UGR - Sit-ins
- mass meetings
- Lawsuits
2. As slaves and disenfranchised citizens, Blacks were kept from good educations. Why would it be important to the White majority that Blacks be kept uneducated?
- They did not want Blacks to have a say in the political process
- They did not want them to get the higher paid jobs
- They did not want them to be able to articulate their dissatisfaction through the media
- They did not want them to learn of other revolts
3. What presidential decisions advanced rights for Black citizens, and which presidents made these decisions?
- Lincoln = Emancipation Proclamation
- Roosevelt = New Deal (jobs & welfare programs)
- Truman = Integrated the armed forces & established a Civil Rights Commission
4. What organization did DuBois establish and what was it’s purpose?
- National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP)
- They launched a legal campaign against reacial injustice, began documenting racist violence, and published a magazine called Crisis
5. Explain the irony of Black soldiers returning to racism after fighting in WWII?
- Black soldiers fought against the Nazi principle of race supremacy (Hitler) during WWII only to return home to segregation and hate crimes
6. Explain the impact of Congress of Racial Equality. (CORE)
- Philosophy of non-violence
- Integrated restaurants, sit-ins
- Tested the Supreme Court decision that outlawed interstate bus segregation
III. “A Movement of the People” Pages 16 to 21
1. Brown v. Board of Education: Topeka, Kansas 1954
A. What were the grievances of Black parents regarding their children’s schools?
B. What organization took up the case? What were they fighting for?
C. What did the Supreme Court rule in 1954?
D. What did the Southern Governors do in response to the decision?
E. In what ways was Southern opposition to integration hurtful to both Blacks and Whites?
2. Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955
A. Although Blacks made up 75% of the bus riders, they were treated unequally. Explain.
B. Who was Rosa Parks? What do you imagine her motivations
were for keeping her seat? Were they ordinary or extraordinary?
C. What did the Women’s Political Council organize? What was formed? Who was the leader?
D. How long did the boycott last?
E.How was the boycott an example of democratic action?
F. Why was the boycott successful?
G. What was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference? (SCLC)
3. Little Rock Nine: Arkansas 1957
A. Why were these nine students chosen to integrate Central High
School?
B. What did Governor Orval Faubus do?
C. What happened to Elizabeth Eckford?
D.In what ways does the picture of Elizabeth represent the entire movement?
E.When Faubus finally agreed listen to a Federal judge and let the students in, why were they unable to stay?
F. What did President Eisenhower order?
G. What did Faubus do the following year?
H. Who was the 1st black student to attend the University of Mississippi? What did Kennedy do to assist him?
IV. “Confrontations” Pages 22 to 29
1. Lunch Counter Sit-ins: Greensboro, North Carolina 1960
A. What was the name of the store where 4 Black college students began the lunch counter sit-ins?
B. What were they protesting?
C. The sit-ins in NC sparked youth in more than 100 Southern cities to conduct sit-ins. What were they protesting?
D. What was the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)? Who influenced them & how?
2. Freedom Riders: 1961
A. What was the purpose of the Freedom Rides?
B. What group did they revitalize?
C. What happened to the 1st bus of Freedom Riders in Anniston?
D. What happened to the 2nd bus?
E. What happened to the 2nd group in Birmingham?
F. Why did Attorney General Robert Kennedy have the Freedom Riders arrested? What was the incident that sparked this decision?
3. Birmingham
A. Why did MLK Jr. choose Birmingham to lead anti-segregation boycotts and mass marches?
B. Who was the largest opposition to King? What tactics did he use?
C. What was MLK Jr.’s message in his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail?
D. What horrified the Kennedy administration into action?
E. How was is possible for the Black protestors not to be bitter about White retaliation?
4. A Shared Dream: March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom 1963
A. Why did 250,000 people march on Washington?
B. Where did King deliver his speech? Why was this significant?
C. Was the name of his speech?
D. What 2 events caused increased public support for a comprehensive civil rights law?
E. In ______, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act that was signed by President Johnson.
V. “Fighting for the Ballot” Pages 30 to 35
1. List the tactics used to prevent Blacks from voting, including physical, legal and economic forms of terrorism.
2. Why was Black voting important to the movement? Explain MLK’s statement “that without the vote, the movement would only achieve dignity without strength.”
3. What was COFO?
4. What was the campaign the COFO launched in 1964?
5. Why was it important that many of the registrars were White?
6. What incident was the motivation for the Selma to Montgomery March of 1965?
7. What happened on the Edmund Pettus Bridge? What was this day known as?
8. Who issued a nationwide appeal for support?
9. In response to the Selma March and the murders of Jackson, Reeb & Liuzzo, Congress passed what? What did it outline?
VI. “Days of Rage” Pages 36 to 39
1. Why did some of the younger civil rights activists criticize MLK Jr.?
2. How was the Vietnam War putting tension on the movement?
3. What did the students of the SNCC do? Who became their leader? What became their phrase?
4. Who became a spokesman for the new movement?
5. Why were some of the urban youth influenced by the message of black militancy?
6. How did many youth deal with their frustrations?
7. What did MLK plan for 1968? What did he hope to accomplish?
8. Who shot MLK in 1968?