Describe their role during the Civil Rights Movement
1. Malcolm X
2. Thurgood Marshall
3. Rosa Parks
4. Diane Nash
5. Bull Connor
6. Orval Faubus
1. Malcolm X was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, advocating for black empowerment and self-defense. He was a key leader in the Nation of Islam and later founded his own organization, the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm X promoted black nationalism and condemned nonviolence as a tactic for achieving civil rights.
2. Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer and the first African American Supreme Court Justice. He played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement as the lead attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, successfully arguing cases like Brown v. Board of Education, which led to the desegregation of schools. Marshall worked to dismantle segregation and fought for equality under the law for all Americans.
3. Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist known for her role in sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus, leading to her arrest and igniting a citywide protest against segregation. Her act of defiance became a symbol of resistance and helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement.
4. Diane Nash was a key organizer and strategist in the Civil Rights Movement, particularly in the Nashville Student Movement. Nash played a significant role in coordinating and leading nonviolent protests, sit-ins, and marches to challenge segregation and discrimination. She was instrumental in the success of the Freedom Rides and the Selma Voting Rights Movement.
5. Bull Connor was a notorious segregationist and public safety commissioner in Birmingham, Alabama, known for his brutal tactics against civil rights activists. Connor authorized the use of police dogs, fire hoses, and violence to suppress protests and demonstrations by African Americans, earning widespread condemnation and fueling national outrage against segregation and racism.
6. Orval Faubus was the Governor of Arkansas during the Little Rock Crisis, where he used the Arkansas National Guard to block the integration of Central High School. Despite federal orders to desegregate, Faubus resisted and employed tactics to prevent the enrollment of nine African American students, leading to a showdown between state and federal authorities and highlighting the struggle for civil rights in the South.