in-class #10: Challenging Segregation
Read in the textbook chapter 25, section 2 only ("Challenging Segregation"), pages 858-867 and complete the questions below:
1. What is a "sit-in" and why did the four African-American students begin the sit-in at a Woolworth's counter?
2. Why was non-violent resistance so effective as a form of protest?
3. What were the effects of the sit-in movement?
4. What were the goals of the "Freedom Riders"?
5. Using the chart at the bottom of pages 860-861, how many years were there between the Brown v. Board of Education decision and the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Why was the Civil Rights Act needed, since the Surpeme Court was calling sgregation illegal?
6. Why did President John Kennedy send federal marshals to the University of Mississippi in 1962? What happened as a result?
7. On the top of page 863 is an excerpt from Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" in which he explains why he advocates breaking laws in some instances. According to King, what are the two types of laws and what is the difference between them?
8. What powers did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 give to the the federal government? (see chart on page 866)
9. Why did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 lead to over 250,000 new African-American voters in less than 6 months? (see chart on page 866)
10. Why is the Voting Rights Act considered a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement?