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U.S. Civil Rights Trivia

U.S. Civil Rights Trivia Quizzes

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9 quizzes and 95 trivia questions.
1.
  Difficult The Murder of Emmett Till Trivia   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
The brutal 1955 murder of 14 year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi after allegedly flirting with a white woman shocked the world and galvanized the American civil rights movement. How much do you know about this American tragedy?
Difficult, 15 Qns, jouen58, Dec 11 06
Difficult
jouen58
3920 plays
2.
  The Struggle for Black Civil Rights: 2   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
These quizzes look at the events and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in Black America.
Average, 10 Qns, doublemm, Dec 22 17
Average
doublemm gold member
2541 plays
3.
  Standing Up: Civil Rights Heroes   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement fought to secure equality for black Americans. Test your knowledge of ten American heroes who helped make it happen.
Average, 10 Qns, CellarDoor, Feb 24 13
Average
CellarDoor gold member
1158 plays
4.
  American Civil Rights Movement   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is a chronological quiz of some major events of the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century.
Average, 10 Qns, meramsey, Dec 01 08
Average
meramsey
3194 plays
5.
  Seneca Falls 1848: Women Demand their Rights   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The convention held at Seneca Falls, NY June 19-20, 1848 was often claimed to be the beginning of the modern women's rights movement in America. Here's a quiz, with some helpful hints.
Average, 10 Qns, littlepup, Dec 02 16
Average
littlepup
270 plays
6.
  The Struggle for Black Civil Rights: 3   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The third in a series of quizzes looking at the events and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in Black America.
Tough, 10 Qns, doublemm, Jul 18 13
Tough
doublemm gold member
826 plays
7.
  Notorious Civil Rights Crimes in Mississippi   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The Civil Rights Movement and the state of Mississippi will forever be linked together, as some of the most pivotal events of the Civil Rights Movement are tied to Mississippi in some way.
Tough, 10 Qns, BlueCheer, Dec 02 08
Tough
BlueCheer
733 plays
8.
  Test yourself! The Murder of Emmett Till Quiz    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I created this quiz as a tribute to Emmett Till. I hope you like it.
Average, 10 Qns, nmerr, Apr 13 13
Average
nmerr gold member
738 plays
9.
  What It Feels Like For a Girl    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Dana and Erica are female citizens of the United States. They are going to show you what women's rights are like in America. Good luck!
Tough, 10 Qns, Oidioid32123, Apr 22 14
Tough
Oidioid32123
585 plays
trivia question Quick Question
1957: The "Little Rock Nine" who were being integrated into an all-white school were stopped by the orders of which Arkansas governor?

From Quiz "American Civil Rights Movement"




Related Topics
  African-Americans Famous People [People] (9 quizzes)


U.S. Civil Rights Trivia Questions

1. Elizabeth Cady Stanton helped organize the 1848 Seneca Falls convention, but she was the only organizer not a member of a particular religion. What was this religion so concerned with women's rights? They cared about slavery, too.

From Quiz
Seneca Falls 1848: Women Demand their Rights

Answer: Quakers

Lucretia Mott of Philadelphia, a Quaker, was planning to be in Seneca Falls, and the meeting was planned around her visit, because she was known as a good orator -- something unusual for a woman in those days. The most radical Quakers, the Progressive Friends, gave women an equal voice with men, and even the less radical branches of the religion accepted women's influence more than most others.

2. Dana is pregnant with her first child! On a federal level, how much paid maternity leave would she be entitled to get in the US?

From Quiz What It Feels Like For a Girl

Answer: 0 weeks

She is legally allowed twelve weeks of unpaid maternity leave; however, the decision as to whether or not to give paid maternity leave is up to her employer. Some states choose to give women paid maternity leave, but that is strictly on a state level and not a federal law. For instance, in California, you are allowed six weeks partially paid maternity leave.

3. Emmett Till was a young African American boy who was murdered. How old was he when he died?

From Quiz The Murder of Emmett Till

Answer: 14

It is believed that Emmett whistled at a white woman and this action contributed to his murder. Whether or not he said anything to the woman is still uncertain.

4. Seen to be tackling the issues of both economic and social equality, schools were often targeted as places of demonstrations. Which city in Arkansas saw 9 Black families enroll their children in an "all-White" school in 1957?

From Quiz The Struggle for Black Civil Rights: 2

Answer: Little Rock

This action was suggested to the families by the NAACP, who were frustrated by the lack of enforcement of desegregation following the Brown ruling of 1954. White hostility stemmed from the Governor of Arkansas, Orville Faubus. He used the National Guard to physically prevent the Black children's entry to the school. Ten days later, President Eisenhower took action, demanding Faubus remove the guard. This was of course done. However, the Black students were now exposed to the hostile white students. With mobs described as "uncontrollable", Eisenhower was once again forced to take action, dispatching 1000 paratroopers who were to guard what became known in the US media as the "Little Rock Nine". The significance of this demonstration was exactly that - media coverage. This allowed sympathisers in the North to see how Blacks were treated in the South.

5. On the night of June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers, head of the Mississippi NAACP, pulled his car into his driveway. After emerging from his car, Evers was shot in the back and died from his injuries. Who was ultimately found to be the assailant?

From Quiz Notorious Civil Rights Crimes in Mississippi

Answer: Byron De La Beckwith

After Medgar Evers was murdered, there was much speculation about who his killer was. In 1964, Byron De La Beckwith, a self-confessed member of the Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizens' Council, was arrested for the assassination of Medgar Evers. After two subsequent trials, the juries (both of which consisted entirely of white males) were deadlocked on a verdict. The verdicts sent an uproar through not just the African-American community, but through America as a whole. Finally, in 1994, lawyer Bobby DeLaughter decided to reopen the Medgar Evers case, based on new information he had collected. After a heated trial, the jury convicted the elderly Beckwith of the murder, and he was sentenced life imprisonment. After several unsuccessful appeals, Beckwith died in prison in January 2001. If you ever get the chance, watch the movie about the 1994 trial, "Ghosts of Mississippi" starring Alec Baldwin as Bobby DeLaughter, Whoopi Goldberg as Mrs. Evers, and James Woods as Byron De La Beckwith. I highly reccomend it.

6. 1954: Who was the attorney for the NAACP in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, that established equal access to education?

From Quiz American Civil Rights Movement

Answer: Thurgood Marshall

Marshall later went on to become the first black Supreme Court justice. He was appointed in 1964 by Lyndon B. Johnson.

7. Emmett Till was born on July 25, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. At the time of the murder, he was a healthy fourteen year-old with a stocky build, but as a child he had suffered from a serious and debilitating illness; what was it?

From Quiz The Murder of Emmett Till

Answer: Polio

Emmett recovered completely from his childhood bout of polio, but it left him with a persistent stutter. His mother, Mamie, taught him to overcome this by taking a deep breath and whistling when he began to stutter in order to steady his breathing. Many believe that he may actually have been using this trick when he supposedly gave a "wolf whistle" to white store owner Carolyn Bryant.

8. Who was the only African-American person attending the 1848 Seneca Falls women's rights convention? Seems he was into everything, publishing a newspaper, writing an autobiography, speaking ...

From Quiz Seneca Falls 1848: Women Demand their Rights

Answer: Frederick Douglass

Douglass helped publicize the convention in his "North Star" newspaper, and was friends with many of the women, having been in anti-slavery societies or attended anti-slavery meetings with them. He especially encouraged women to enter the political sphere.

9. Erica is being discriminated against in the workplace. The Fair Pay Act, signed by President Obama in 2009, expands the right to equal pay in the workplace. After whom is it named?

From Quiz What It Feels Like For a Girl

Answer: Lilly Ledbetter

Lilly Ledbetter worked for Goodyear Tire when, in 1997, she noticed she was getting paid in excess of $500 a month less than the male workers in her area. She filed a discrimination lawsuit, and congress named the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act after her, lengthening the amount of time you are allowed to file a discrimination lawsuit from 180 days after your first unfair paycheck to 180 days after your last unfair paycheck.

10. The murder took place in which Southern state?

From Quiz The Murder of Emmett Till

Answer: Mississippi

Emmett had been visiting with relatives and was unaware of the social taboos and the rising racial tension in the South.

11. On June 26, 1964, three civil rights workers (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner) were lynched and murdered. But, in which Mississippi county did these heinous murders occur?

From Quiz Notorious Civil Rights Crimes in Mississippi

Answer: Neshoba County

On June 26, 1964, Cheney, Goodman, and Schwerner came to investigate the burning of the Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Neshoba County. The church had been a meeting-place for civil rights groups, and Neshoba County was notorious for being extremely intolerant and violent. That afternoon, the group was arrested by Deputy Cecil Price (a member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan) because Chaney was allegedly driving 35 miles over the speed limit. Deputy Price also took Goodman and Schwerner in "for investigation". The three men were held in the Neshoba County jail, and they were deprived of their phone call privileges. When members of COFO (an organization to which the men belonged) contacted the jail, the secretary was instructed to lie and say that the men were not at the jail. While the men were waiting to be released from jail, the Klan set up an ambush on the road to the town of Meridian. After the men were released, they were ordered to leave Neshoba County. Deputy Price followed the men until they reached the edge of town, and held them until the Klan arrived. The men were subsequently beaten and shot, and their bodies were buried in an earthen dam.

12. 1955: J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant, two white men, were tried and acquitted by an all white jury for the murder of whom?

From Quiz American Civil Rights Movement

Answer: Emmett Till

Emmett Till was a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago who was brutally beaten, shot, and dumped into the Tallahatchie River. Even though the two men were acquitted, they still confessed and bragged about the killing to "Look" magazine.

13. Dana would like to abort her child. During what Chief Supreme Court Justice's tenure was Roe vs. Wade passed, legalizing abortion in the country?

From Quiz What It Feels Like For a Girl

Answer: Warren Burger

Warren Burger was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1969 upon Earl Warren's retirement. Although he was conservative he presided over many landmark decisions such as Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, which banned school bus segregation, United States v. U.S. District Court, which forced police to get a warrant before searching someone's house, and the aforementioned Roe v. Wade.

14. Although it has been speculated that others contributed to the murder, which two individuals were actually tried for the murder of Emmett?

From Quiz The Murder of Emmett Till

Answer: Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam

The defendants were found not guilty by a jury of all-white males. It took them only an hour to reach their verdict.

15. Stokely Carmichael was the new, radical, charismatic leader of the SNCC. However, which other man, leader of CORE from 1966, became one of the great advocators of "Black Power" alongside Carmichael?

From Quiz The Struggle for Black Civil Rights: 3

Answer: Floyd McKissick

It is ironic that the SNCC became a great advocate of Black violence as their name stood for the Student Non-Violent Co-ordinating Committee. McKissick became the leader of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) in 1966.

16. 1957: The "Little Rock Nine" who were being integrated into an all-white school were stopped by the orders of which Arkansas governor?

From Quiz American Civil Rights Movement

Answer: Orval Faubus

President Eisenhower brought in the National Guard and other federal troops. The school was succesfully integrated.

17. Erica is proud that she is allowed to vote. What U.S state, aptly known as the "Equality State", was the first state to grant women the right to vote?

From Quiz What It Feels Like For a Girl

Answer: Wyoming

Many western states, as well as some eastern states such as New York and Michigan, granted womens suffrage (the right to vote) in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Other states gave women the right to vote in some cities or in some elections. In 1920, the 19th amendment was passed, granting womens suffrage in any state, and the ability to vote for anything - not just the President.

18. Did Emmett have any brothers and/or sisters at the time of his murder?

From Quiz The Murder of Emmett Till

Answer: No, he was an only child

Emmett Till was the only child of Mamie Till Bradley.

19. 1960: Four students from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College perform the first sit-in at a segregated lunch counter. These four boys later became known as the "___________ Four."

From Quiz American Civil Rights Movement

Answer: Greensboro

The sit-in phenomenon became extraordinarily popular throughout the South. Although the boys were initially refused service, they were given service just six months after the first sit-in.

20. The Declaration of Sentiments presented at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention included a list of grievances that the signers felt were forced on women by men. What was an example of one?

From Quiz Seneca Falls 1848: Women Demand their Rights

Answer: women were prevented from following certain careers

Two of the grievances noted in the declaration applied to the subject of work and careers: "He [mankind in general] has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she [womankind] is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration," and the following one, "He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and distinction, which he considers most honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not known." Amelia Bloomer was at the convention and she along with some of the other women would indeed show their disdain for traditional female clothing by creating the more practical reform dress or "Bloomer costume" as it came to be known, but none of that was in the Declaration of Sentiments.

21. Dana wants to have contraception for the future. Which US President can she thank for the right to have contraception in her health care plan?

From Quiz What It Feels Like For a Girl

Answer: Barack Obama

This was part of President Obama's complete healthcare overhaul - the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Obama's health care revamp also required every American to apply for government healthcare at some point, and did things such as expanding medicaid and allowing children to stay with their parents' health care plan until they turn 26. His law met lots of opposition, passing without any republican votes in favour of it. His contraception mandate also received criticism from Catholic communities who were opposed to the use of contraception.

22. The murder of Emmett Till took place during a time of great racial tension in America. In what year was he murdered?

From Quiz The Murder of Emmett Till

Answer: 1955

The year Emmett Till was murdered was significant for another incident that gave rise to the Civil Rights Movement and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks, a 42-year old African American woman, refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

23. 1963: Martin Luther King, Jr. writes his postulate that you have the moral obligation to disobey unjust laws in his "Letter from __________ Jail."

From Quiz American Civil Rights Movement

Answer: Birmingham

This was just three and a half months before the monumental "March on Washington" where he delivered his landmark "I Have a Dream" speech.

24. Emmett was abducted from the home where he was staying early in the morning of August 28, 1955 by Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Miliam. Which family member answered the door, spoke to the two men, and later identified them in court?

From Quiz The Murder of Emmett Till

Answer: Moses Wright

At about 3:00 on the morning of the 28th, Miliam and Bryant banged loudly on the door of Wright's home. When Wright answered, the two men demanded to see "the boy from Chicago" who had "done that talk at Money". Wright noted that Miliam had a gun and a flashlight. He went to fetch Emmett, who was asleep in a rear bedroom he was sharing with his cousin, Curtis. The two men ordered Emmett to get dressed and ordered his frightened grandmother, who rose to protect him, to return to bed. In desperation, Wright's wife Elizabeth offered to pay the men whatever she could if they would leave Emmett alone. One of the men promised to return Emmett if it turned out he wasn't the right boy, but Wright knew he wouldn't likely see Emmett alive again. At the trial the following month, Wright took the stand and described in detail the events of the morning when Emmett was kidnapped. When the District Attorney Gerald Chatam asked him to identify the man with the gun, Wright stood with great dignity, pointed to Miliam, and stated "Thar he!" In a later interview, Wright stated "It was the first time in my life that I had the courage to accuse a white man of a crime. I wasn't exactly brave, and I wasn't scared. I just wanted to see justice done."

25. The Declaration of Sentiments presented at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention included specific grievances that the writers felt men forced on women. What was another example of one of the grievances?

From Quiz Seneca Falls 1848: Women Demand their Rights

Answer: men could get away with immoral behavior while condemning women for the same thing

The declaration included: "He [mankind] has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies which exclude women from society, are not only tolerated but deemed of little account in man." The underlying implication seemed to be that men could have mistresses on the side, but it's unclear if women wanted the right to have mistresses too or if they wanted the men to stop doing it. Either way, the point was clear: men should behave the same as women and be treated the same, for better or worse, not claiming that "boys will be boys" to justify their actions, while shaming women for the same thing. And of course other things applied, too: a man could go out for a night of drinking and gambling and be considered a jolly fellow, while a woman doing the same thing would be considered dissipated and shocking.

26. Emmett was not familiar with the culture of the Southern people. In what large Midwest city did he live before he was murdered?

From Quiz The Murder of Emmett Till

Answer: Chicago

Emmett had no way of knowing that whistling at a white woman in the small town of Money, MS was not something any African American male would do at any time. He learned this in the worst way possible.

27. Malcolm X is arguably one of the most famous leaders of the civil rights movement and his influence was great in life and death. After his bitter split from the Nation of Islam, which organisation did Malcolm X establish?

From Quiz The Struggle for Black Civil Rights: 3

Answer: The OAAU

This stood for the Organisation of Afro-American Unity. It aimed to stimulate Black economy and Black Nationalism. X now rejected racism and toured African countries in an attempt to gain support from their leaders. On his return he claimed he would work with leaders such as King, who he previously denounced as an "Uncle Tom". The bitterness of X's split from the Nation of Islam was shown in his assassination in 1965, carried out by two members of the organisation.

28. On the night of January 10, 1966, an attack was made upon Ferdinand Dahmer Sr. (leader of the Forest County chapter of the Mississippi NAACP) and his family. What type of attack was made upon the Dahmer family?

From Quiz Notorious Civil Rights Crimes in Mississippi

Answer: Their home was firebombed while they were sleeping

Ferdinand Dahmer was a wealthy and affluent member of the NAACP. Dahmer used his wealth to help out causes such as paying off the mandatory poll tax which prevented many African-Americans from being able to vote. Dahmer's personal motto was: "If you don't vote, you don't count." On the night of January 10, 1966, Dahmer's home was firebombed. Dahmer helped bring his family escape from the buring building, but he suffered traumatic burns to his entire body. Dahmer's young daughter, Bettie, also suffered severe burns. Dahmer died in the hospital the next day, due to the effects of his severe burns. The citizens of Dahmer's hometown of Hattiesburg were shocked by this event. Many organizations offered unpaid labor to rebuild the Dahmer house. Fourteen men were indicted for the attack on the Dahmer family, most of them with connections to the Ku Klux Klan or other white supermacist organizations. Thirteen men were brought to trial, on various charges, ranging from arson to murder to conspiracy to intimidate the Dahmer family. Four men were convicted of the crimes. However, Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers, who was thought to be the mastermind behind the crime was tried four times, but each of his trials ended in a mistrial. Much like the Medgar Evers case, the Dahmer case was reopened years later, and due to new evidence, Sam Bowers was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1998.

29. 1964: The "Freedom Summer" was a massive voting push to register black voters in which southern state?

From Quiz American Civil Rights Movement

Answer: Mississippi

The Mississippi Freedom Summer was key in educating poor and uneducated blacks on how to vote and officially protest against Mississippi's all-white regime.

30. Dana is going out West. If she wanted to visit the US state that elected the first woman to Congress, which state would she visit?

From Quiz What It Feels Like For a Girl

Answer: Montana

Jeannette Rankin was elected to the House of Representatives in Montana in 1916 and 1940, both times for only one term. She was strongly opposed to the United States getting involved in either World War. A congresswoman during times of crisis, she voted against joining either war, being one of only a few people to do so.

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