Starter quiz
- Which of the following activists helped to found the NAACP?
- W.E.B. Du Bois ✓
- Ida B. Wells ✓
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Martin Luther King Jr
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- Match the words with their definitions.
- segregation⇔when different groups of people are forcefully kept separate or apart ✓
- civil rights⇔to have political and social freedom and equality ✓
- lynch⇔to kill someone for an offence without a trial ✓
- Which of the following correctly describes the impact of the Jim Crow laws?
- They resulted in the segregation of schools. ✓
- They had been introduced in every southern state, and some northern states. ✓
- If a Black American was to break these laws, they could be lynched. ✓
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- Who was the President of the USA in both 1954 and 1957?
- Dwight D. Eisenhower ✓
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Herbert Hoover
- Harry S. Truman
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- What did Plessy v Ferguson rule?
- The Jim Crow laws were not legal.
- Segregation was legal if it was ‘separate but equal’. ✓
- Segregation was legal if it was 'separate but unequal'.
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- How did the NAACP challenge segregation?
- They chose to fight racial injustice in the courts. ✓
- They used non-violent direct action.
- They did sit-ins, marches and other forms of protests.
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Exit quiz
- Match the words with their definitions.
- desegregation⇔is when segregation is ended ✓
- unconstitutional⇔breaks the terms of a country’s constitution ✓
- school board⇔a group responsible for making decisions about schools locally ✓
- Which civil rights organisation was involved in Brown v Topeka?
- NAACP ✓
- CORE
- Church organisations
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- Which of the following statements correctly describes the outcome of Brown v Topeka?
- Schools were quick to follow the Supreme Court's order to desegregate.
- Many schools were slow to desegregate. ✓
- Some schools refused to desegregate until they were eventually forced. ✓
- The KKK gained more members as people protested against the ruling. ✓
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- Which student turned up at Little Rock alone?
- Elizabeth Eckford ✓
- Orval Faubus
- Thelma Mothershed
- Daisy Bates
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- Which troops were sent in to escort and protect the Little Rock Nine?
- 'Federal troops' ✓
- Which of the following statements correctly explain the impact of Eisenhower's enforcing of desegregation after the events at Little Rock?
- The Little Rock Nine successfully enrolled on 25th September 1957. ✓
- All four high schools in Little Rock closed rather than desegregate. ✓
- All high schools in Little Rock immediately moved to desegregate.
- Students were educated at home for a year. ✓
- It set a precedent for challenging segregation at a federal level. ✓
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Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- By 1950s, many schools across the US were still segregated, especially in the South.
- As a result of the Brown v. Topeka ruling, schools began to desegregate - although this was slow across the south.
- Some powerful local figures tried to oppose the desegregation of schools, particularly in the south.
- Although Eisenhower was reluctant, the federal government was pressured to enforce desegregation.
Common misconception
When the Supreme Court ordered all schools to desegregate, they were quick to follow this instruction because it came from the Supreme Court.
Although the Supreme Court was the highest court in the USA, many schools were slow to desegregate and some refused to desegregate until they were eventually forced.
Keywords
Federal - a federal government is a system of government where there is one central government that controls a collection of smaller state governments
Desegregation - desegregation is when segregation is ended
Unconstitutional - something is unconstitutional when it breaks the terms of a country's constitution, especially when it violates the rights given to individuals by the constitution
School board - a school board is a group of individuals responsible for making decisions about schools in the local area