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Year 11
AQA

Direct action and the Civil Rights Movement

Explain the role and impact of direct action in the Civil Rights Movement.

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New
New
Year 11
AQA

Direct action and the Civil Rights Movement

Explain the role and impact of direct action in the Civil Rights Movement.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Direct action was one of the methods used to challenge segregation.
  2. The Montgomery Bus Boycott challenged segregation on buses.
  3. Sit-ins and the Freedom Rides were organised to challenge segregation in the early 1960s.
  4. Direct action aimed to attract media attention.
  5. Publicity helped increase participation in protests and create more pressure for change.

Common misconception

Civil rights campaigners avoided situations where they might be attacked by opponents.

Attacks by opponents helped generate more publicity and sympathy for civil rights protests so risky situations were not avoided.

Keywords

  • Boycott - when groups of people refuse to use or buy certain products and services

  • Direct action - the use of demonstrations or protests to achieve a goal, rather than negotiation or legal action

  • Publicity - widespread notice or attention given to someone or something by the media

  • Enhance - to improve something

At the end of the lesson, students could be asked to compare factors (i.e. direct action, legal action, media, government intervention) and discuss which was most effective for generating progress for the civil rights movement.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing word. rights are rights which every citizen in a country has.
Correct Answer: Civil, civil
Q2.
What was Elizabeth Eckford part of?
Board of Education of Topeka
federal government
Correct answer: Little Rock Nine
US Supreme Court
Q3.
Who sent troops to support the Little Rock Nine in 1957?
Governor Faubus of Arkansas
Correct answer: President Eisenhower
US Supreme Court
Q4.
Which two organisations consistently campaigned for improved African American civil rights in the early 20th century?
Correct answer: church groups
Correct answer: NAACP
Congress
Supreme Court
Q5.
What ruling was made in the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954?
all segregation was constitutional
all segregation was unconstitutional
school segregation was constitutional
Correct answer: school segregation was unconstitutional
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - The NAACP was founded.
2 - Brown v. Board of Education case
3 - Little Rock Central High School desegregated.
4 - Elizabeth Eckford was confronted by hostile crowds.
5 - International media spread images of the Little Rock Nine.
6 - Eisenhower sent federal troops into Arkansas.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is it called when groups of people refuse to use or buy certain products and services?
Correct Answer: boycott, a boycott, Boycott
Q2.
Identify the examples of direct action which were part of the Civil Rights Movement.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Correct answer: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Correct answer: Greensboro sit-in
Correct answer: Freedom Rides
Q3.
Martin Luther King Jr first became a widely recognised civil rights leader during which protest?
Correct answer: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Greensboro sit-in
Freedom Rides
Q4.
Where did the Freedom Riders travel?
Across the US North
Correct answer: Across the US South
Outside of the USA
Q5.
Identify the benefits of publicity for civil rights campaigners using direct action.
It made opponents realise that they were wrong.
Correct answer: It helped increase participation.
Correct answer: It put pressure on the federal government to act.
It forced the Supreme Court to outlaw more racist laws.
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - Supreme Court ordered for transport facilities to be desegregated.
2 - Freedom Rides were organised.
3 - Freedom Rider bus was firebombed in Alabama.
4 - Many Freedom Riders were jailed.
5 - Outrage in the North and internationally grew.
6 - Federal government acted to force desegregation.

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