| Civil Rights | legal rights of Americans |
| Civil Rights movement | struggle for African American rights that were guaranteed in the Constitution. |
| civil disobedience | choosing not to obey an unjust law |
| discrimination | unfair treatment |
| segregation | separating by race |
| integration | mixing races |
| nonviolent resistance | using boycotts, protest marches, sit-ins, speeches and other nonviolent methods to achieve civil rights for African Americans. The leader of nonviolent methods was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| sit-in | used at lunch counters, when African Americans refused to move until they received service at all white restaurants |
| boycott | refuse to buy a product as a means of protest |
| 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. |
| Brown v. Board of Education | Supreme Court ruled that segregationin public schools was unconstitutional (1954) |
| March on Washington | held in 1963 to show support for the Civil Rights Bill in Congress. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I have a dream..." speech. 250,000 people attended the rally |
| 24th Amendment | outlawed poll taxes (taxes on voting kept poor African Americans from voting) |
| race riots | rioting in major US. cities due to frustration of discrimination. In April 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, riots spread to over 100 cities across the country |