History: Civil Rights and Activism
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Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights ExperienceSouth Carolina content in this title
Spanning nearly 400 years from the early abolitionists to the present, this guide book profiles people, places, and events that have shaped the history of the black struggle for freedom.
- Black Panthers: Topic PageU.S. African-American militant party, founded (1966) in Oakland, Calif., by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.
- Black Power: Topic PageMovement towards black separatism in the USA during the 1960s, embodied in the Black Panther Party founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.
- Brown v. Board of Education: Topic PageCase decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954.
- Civil Rights Movement: Topic PageUS movement especially active during the 1950s and 60s that aimed to end segregation and discrimination against blacks, as well as affirm their constitutional rights and improve their status in society.
- Civil Rights: Topic Page
The rights guaranteed by the state to its citizens. - Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution: Topic PageAddition to the U.S. Constitution, adopted 1868. The amendment comprises five sections.
- Jim Crow Laws: Topic PageIn U.S. history, statutes enacted by Southern states and municipalities, beginning in the 1880s, that legalized segregation between blacks and whites.
- Ku Klux Klan: Topic PageDesignation mainly given to two distinct secret societies that played a part in American history, although other less important groups have also used the name.
- Lynching: Topic PageUnlawfully hanging or otherwise killing a person by mob action.
- NAACP: Topic PageOrganization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and segregation.
- Discrimination: Topic PageDiscrimination is negative behavior directed at individuals or at groups of individuals because of their social group membership. Discrimination is based on social categories that individuals do not generally choose to belong to, including gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, stigma, age, and physical appearance.
People
- Martin Delany (1812-1885): Topic PageOne of the first African Americans to enter Harvard Medical School, Delany is better known for his writing, for which he is often called the “father of black nationalism.”
- W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963): Topic PageUS educator and social critic. Du Bois was one of the early leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the editor of its journal Crisis 1909-32.
- Marcus Garvey (1887-1940): Topic PageJamaican Black nationalist leader, active in the U.S. He founded (1914) the Universal Negro Improvement Association and led the Back-to-Africa movement: gaoled for fraud (1925-27).
- Jesse Jackson (1941- ): Topic Page
Civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and presidential candidate, born in Greenville, South Carolina, USA. - Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968): Topic Page
US Baptist minister and civil rights leader. Throughout his life, King remained committed to nonviolent direct action as a means of effecting social change. - Rosa Parks (1913-2005): Topic PageUS civil-rights activist.
- Bayard Rustin (1910-1987): Topic PageInstitute head and civil-rights activist, born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Al Sharpton (1954 - )From Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices
An outspoken African-American Baptist minister and political activist, the Reverend Al Sharpton emerged as a national figure during the 1980s and 1990s for orchestrating militant street protests in New York City in response to hate crimes, police brutality, and other perceived social injustices. - Booker T. Washington (1856-1915): Topic PageAmerican educator. Born into slavery, he acquired an education after emancipation and became the principal of Tuskegee Institute, which flourished under his tutelage (1881-1915).
- Cornel West (1953- ): Topic PageSome say that West is the first leading African-American intellectual to rise to prominence since W. E. B. Du Bois in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Others assert that West says a lot without saying anything.
- Malcolm X (1925-1965): Topic PageOriginal name Malcolm Little. 1925-65, U.S. Black civil-rights leader: assassinated.