The Civil Rights Movement (1945-1968)

This topic examines how a coordinated movement of Black-led organizations, churches, and federal allies dismantled de jure segregation in the United States.

Why This Topic Matters on AP AAS

• It is the central case study for analyzing how social movements convert pressure into law.
• It supports causation prompts about the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965).
• It models how the AP CED treats organizing, legal strategy, media, and federal power as interlocking variables.

1) Foundations: Postwar Legal and Political Pressure

• Smith v. Allwright (1944) ended the white primary in Texas.
• Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) made racially restrictive housing covenants unenforceable.
• Truman's Executive Order 9981 (1948) desegregated the military.
• The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, led by Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall, developed a long-term litigation strategy targeting segregated education.

2) Brown and Massive Resistance

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declared "separate but equal" unconstitutional in public schools.
• Brown II (1955) ordered desegregation "with all deliberate speed," allowing extensive Southern delay.
• The Southern Manifesto (1956), signed by 101 members of Congress, pledged resistance.
• Federal troops enforced the integration of Little Rock Central High School (1957).

3) Mass Direct Action

4) Key Organizations

• Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC, 1957): Black church-based, coordinated by MLK.
• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, 1960): student-led, emphasized grassroots organizing in the rural South.
• Congress of Racial Equality (CORE, 1942): pioneered nonviolent direct action and led the Freedom Rides.
• NAACP: anchored the legal strategy.

5) Federal Legislation

• Civil Rights Act of 1964: banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and federally funded programs; created the EEOC.
• Voting Rights Act of 1965: banned literacy tests; authorized federal oversight of registration in covered jurisdictions.
• Fair Housing Act of 1968: banned racial discrimination in housing sales and rentals.

6) Core AP Patterns

7) High-Yield Terms

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
• Montgomery Bus Boycott
• SCLC, SNCC, CORE, NAACP
• "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Voting Rights Act of 1965

8) AP Writing Tips

1. For causation prompts, connect a specific campaign (Birmingham, Selma) to a specific law (CRA, VRA).
2. Distinguish organizational strategies in comparison prompts: SCLC (church-based, charismatic) vs SNCC (decentralized, student-led) vs NAACP (litigation).
3. Cite media and federal response as part of the mechanism, not as a backdrop.

Quick Check

• Why was Brown v. Board of Education insufficient on its own to desegregate schools?
• How did the Birmingham and Selma campaigns produce specific federal legislation?
• What distinguishes SNCC's organizing model from the SCLC's, and why does that matter?