WH Unit 1 - Social Activism Test

Primary Source

an account of an event created by someone who took part in or witnessed the event.
Some examples of primary sources include: Letters, Diaries, Photographs, Interviews, Autobiographies, oral histories, documents, laws, etc.

secondary source

a document or written work created after an event.
Some examples of secondary sources include: documentaries, textbooks, biographies, journal articles, encyclopedias, etc.

Civil Rights Movement

a social movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, in which people organized to demand equal rights for African Americans and other minorities. People worked together to change unfair laws. They gave speeches, marched in the streets, and p

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

group formed by student activists in 1960; They used the sit-ins, marches, and freedom rides as effective methods of protest. Eventually, the group merged into the Student National Coordinating Committee after adopting the Black Panther's political platfo

CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)

Organization founded by pacifists in 1942 to promote racial equality through peaceful means. Founded in Chicago, the movement led efforts in the South to peacefully increase voter registration, and protest segregation laws. They used sit-ins, jail-ins, an

Civil Rights Act of 1964

This act made racial, religious, and sex discrimination by employers illegal and gave the government the power to enforce all laws governing civil rights, including desegregation of schools and public places.

March on Washington (1963)

a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial during the march. Widely credited as helping lead to t

Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Dr. Martin L. King led a boycott of city busses. After 11 months the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal.

Freedom Riders

Group of civil rights workers who took bus trips through southern states in 1961 to protest illegal bus segregation. Faced threats of violence, including fire bombings and beatings throughout their rides.

Sit-ins

protests by black college students, 1960-1961, who took seats at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave until served; in 1960 over 50,000 participated in sit-ins across the South. Their success prompted the formation of the Student Non-Violent

March from Selma to Montgomery

Activist leaders, like John Lewis and MLK, lead the march in an attempt to protest voting rights in Alabama. Demonstrators were blocked by police and beaten while crossing bridge to continue their march to Montgomery. It was a significant event that broug

Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Political leader and spiritual leader of the Indian drive for independence from Great Britain after WWI; he stressed non violent but aggressive protesting and civil disobedience. Martin Luther King, Jr. was heavily inspired by his nonviolent methods of pr

Activism

The practice of pursuing political or other goals through vigorous action, often including protests and demonstrations

Social Movement

A movement that represents the demands of a large segment of the public for political, economic, or social change.

Injustice

an absence of justice that can take form as a violation of rights of a group or individuals.

Civil Disobedience

A form of nonviolent protest. It is a public refusal to obey allegedly unjust laws.

Direct Action

the use of strikes, demonstrations, or other public forms of protest rather than negotiation to achieve one's demands.

Social Change

The way in which society has changed and is changing (and also the possibilities for future change)

Advocate

a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.

Lobbying

A strategy by which organized interests try to influence laws being created by putting pressure pressure on members of the legislature.

Demonstration

A form of activism that usually take the form of a public gathering of people who share the same opinion.

Boycott

A refusal to buy or use goods and services as a form of protest.