Civil Rights Heroes Quiz

2. Who is the person responsible for launching the Montgomery bus boycott, one of the pivotal events of the civil-rights movement?

• Stokely Carmichael
  Rosa Parks made history in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus for a white passenger. She was arrested, and the Montgomery black community launched a bus boycott that lasted more than a year. As a result, Montgomery's buses were desegregated on Dec. 21, 1956.
• Rosa Parks
  Rosa Parks made history in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus for a white passenger. She was arrested, and the Montgomery black community launched a bus boycott that lasted more than a year. As a result, Montgomery's buses were desegregated on Dec. 21, 1956.
• Shirley Chisholm
  Rosa Parks made history in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus for a white passenger. She was arrested, and the Montgomery black community launched a bus boycott that lasted more than a year. As a result, Montgomery's buses were desegregated on Dec. 21, 1956.

3. Who was the lawyer who won the Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), which made segregation in public schools illegal?

• Roy Wilkins
  Marshall was one of the primary lawyers who successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Marshall went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in American history.
• Ralph Abernathy
  Marshall was one of the primary lawyers who successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Marshall went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in American history.
• Thurgood Marshall
  Marshall was one of the primary lawyers who successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Marshall went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in American history.

4. Woolworth's Department stores in the South used to refuse to serve African Americans at their lunch counters. What was the name of the group of students who held the first sit-ins at Woolworth's to protest the store's segregationist policies?

• The Scottsboro Boys
  On Feb. 1, 1960, four black freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University took seats at the segregated lunch counter of Woolworth's in Greensboro, N.C., and launched a "sit-in." The Greensboro Four inspired similar sit-ins across the state and by the end of February, such protests were taking place across the South. In July, Woolworth's integrated all of its stores. The four students became icons of the civil rights movement.
• The Little Rock Nine
  On Feb. 1, 1960, four black freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University took seats at the segregated lunch counter of Woolworth's in Greensboro, N.C., and launched a "sit-in." The Greensboro Four inspired similar sit-ins across the state and by the end of February, such protests were taking place across the South. In July, Woolworth's integrated all of its stores. The four students became icons of the civil rights movement.
• The Greensboro Four
  On Feb. 1, 1960, four black freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University took seats at the segregated lunch counter of Woolworth's in Greensboro, N.C., and launched a "sit-in." The Greensboro Four inspired similar sit-ins across the state and by the end of February, such protests were taking place across the South. In July, Woolworth's integrated all of its stores. The four students became icons of the civil rights movement.

5. Who was the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi?

• James Meredith
  In 1962, James Meredith became the first black student to successfully enroll at the University of Mississippi. Mississippians rioted in response, causing President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops to restore the peace.
• W.E.B. DuBois
  In 1962, James Meredith became the first black student to successfully enroll at the University of Mississippi. Mississippians rioted in response, causing President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops to restore the peace.
• Jesse Jackson
  In 1962, James Meredith became the first black student to successfully enroll at the University of Mississippi. Mississippians rioted in response, causing President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops to restore the peace.

6. Who was the 14-year-old black boy who was brutally murdered by white racists in Mississippi after he was falsely accused of whistling at a white woman?

• Emmett Till
  Emmett Till's violent murder made the brutality and barbarism of southern racism impossible to ignore, and he became an important symbol for the civil rights movement. The two white men accused of his murder were quickly acquitted by the all-white jury, despite the overwhelming evidence against them. With double-jeopardy protecting them from being retried for the crime, the two killers later boasted about the murder in a magazine interview.
• Crispus Attucks
  Emmett Till's violent murder made the brutality and barbarism of southern racism impossible to ignore, and he became an important symbol for the civil rights movement. The two white men accused of his murder were quickly acquitted by the all-white jury, despite the overwhelming evidence against them. With double-jeopardy protecting them from being retried for the crime, the two killers later boasted about the murder in a magazine interview.
• Dred Scott
  Emmett Till's violent murder made the brutality and barbarism of southern racism impossible to ignore, and he became an important symbol for the civil rights movement. The two white men accused of his murder were quickly acquitted by the all-white jury, despite the overwhelming evidence against them. With double-jeopardy protecting them from being retried for the crime, the two killers later boasted about the murder in a magazine interview.

7. Who became the first African-American player to break Major League baseball's unwritten rule against hiring blacks?

• Satchel Paige
  Jackie Robinson broke Major League baseball's color barrier when he was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946.
• Jackie Robinson
  Jackie Robinson broke Major League baseball's color barrier when he was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946.
• Willie Mays
  Jackie Robinson broke Major League baseball's color barrier when he was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946.

8. Who were the "Freedom Riders?"

• Student groups who rode on buses throughout the South in order to integrate interstate transportation.
  Over the spring and summer of 1961, student volunteers began taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibited segregation in interstate travel facilities, which included bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of "freedom riders," as they were called, were attacked by angry mobs along the way. The rides continued throughout the summer; and about 1,000 volunteers, black and white, participated.
• This was a name for civil rights marchers.
  Over the spring and summer of 1961, student volunteers began taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibited segregation in interstate travel facilities, which included bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of "freedom riders," as they were called, were attacked by angry mobs along the way. The rides continued throughout the summer; and about 1,000 volunteers, black and white, participated.
• Members of the KKK who attack civil rights activists.
  Over the spring and summer of 1961, student volunteers began taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibited segregation in interstate travel facilities, which included bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of "freedom riders," as they were called, were attacked by angry mobs along the way. The rides continued throughout the summer; and about 1,000 volunteers, black and white, participated.

9. Who were the three young civil-rights workers who were murdered in Mississippi while working to register black voters?

• James E. Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner
  On June 21, 1964, the bodies of three civil-rights workers—two white, one black—were found murdered murdered near Philadelphia, in Nashoba County, Mississippi. James E. Chaney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner, 24, had been working to register black voters in Mississippi. The three young men were arrested by the police on trumped-up speeding charges, jailed for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who murdered them. Their murders outraged the country and much of the world, and helped build support for the civil rights movement.
• The Scottsboro Boys
  On June 21, 1964, the bodies of three civil-rights workers—two white, one black—were found murdered murdered near Philadelphia, in Nashoba County, Mississippi. James E. Chaney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner, 24, had been working to register black voters in Mississippi. The three young men were arrested by the police on trumped-up speeding charges, jailed for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who murdered them. Their murders outraged the country and much of the world, and helped build support for the civil rights movement.
• Edgar Ray Killen, James Earl Ray, and Byron De La Beckwith
  On June 21, 1964, the bodies of three civil-rights workers—two white, one black—were found murdered murdered near Philadelphia, in Nashoba County, Mississippi. James E. Chaney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner, 24, had been working to register black voters in Mississippi. The three young men were arrested by the police on trumped-up speeding charges, jailed for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who murdered them. Their murders outraged the country and much of the world, and helped build support for the civil rights movement.

10. The day before he was assassinated, what was Martin Luther King engaged in?

• He was in Montgomery supporting a bus boycott.
  On the eve of a protest march for striking garbage workers in Memphis, Tenn., King gave a darkly prescient speech in which he said "…I've been to the mountaintop. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."
• He was in Memphis supporting black garbage collectors who were on strike.
  On the eve of a protest march for striking garbage workers in Memphis, Tenn., King gave a darkly prescient speech in which he said "…I've been to the mountaintop. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."
• He attended the March on Washington.
  On the eve of a protest march for striking garbage workers in Memphis, Tenn., King gave a darkly prescient speech in which he said "…I've been to the mountaintop. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."