Civil Rights Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Which event was the immediate catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
The integration of Central High School
The murder of Medgar Evers
The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
Rosa Parks's arrest after she refused to surrender her bus seat
2. How did Brown v. Board of Education change the precedent associated with Plessy v. Ferguson in the context of public schools?
It rejected the use of “separate but equal” to justify racially segregated public schools
It extended “separate but equal” from transportation to public schools
It allowed each school district to decide whether equality required integration
It ruled that segregation was valid whenever facilities received equal funding
3. Which achievement is most directly associated with the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Eliminating poll taxes in federal elections
Prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations and employment on grounds such as race
Creating federal supervision of voter registration in selected jurisdictions
Lowering the voting age to 18
4. A real estate company refuses to sell a home to a family because of race. Which landmark federal law enacted in 1968 most directly addresses this conduct?
The Voting Rights Act
The National Labor Relations Act
The Fair Housing Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
5. Why were federal troops sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957?
To protect Freedom Riders arriving at an interstate bus station
To supervise voting after passage of the Voting Rights Act
To enforce the desegregation of Central High School and protect the Little Rock Nine
To safeguard marchers traveling from Selma to Montgomery
6. What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954?
States could maintain segregated schools if funding was equal
Racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional
School segregation was solely a matter for Congress
Only universities were required to desegregate
7. Which comparison between two major civil rights organizations is most accurate?
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund focused on armed patrols, while the SCLC concentrated on election campaigns
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund organized the Freedom Rides, while the SCLC argued Brown v. Board of Education
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund pursued landmark court challenges, while the SCLC coordinated mass nonviolent campaigns
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund mainly organized labor strikes, while the SCLC focused on housing construction
8. A state requires citizens to pay a tax before voting in a federal election. Which constitutional amendment most directly prohibits that requirement?
The Fifteenth Amendment
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
9. Participants in the Selma-to-Montgomery marches were primarily pressing for stronger protection of which right?
The right to integrated interstate travel
The right to equal access to housing
The right to attend desegregated universities
The right to register and vote without racial discrimination
10. Who delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom?
John Lewis
A. Philip Randolph
Thurgood Marshall
Martin Luther King Jr.
11. In 1965, local officials use literacy tests to block Black citizens from registering to vote. Which federal law was designed most directly to challenge barriers like this?
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Fair Housing Act of 1968
The Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Social Security Act of 1935
12. A volunteer joins Freedom Summer in Mississippi in 1964. Which activity would be most consistent with the project’s central aims?
Supporting Black voter registration and community education
Integrating interstate bus terminals through test rides
Lobbying for a constitutional ban on poll taxes in federal elections
Enforcing a federal court order at Little Rock Central High School
13. What was the main purpose of the 1961 Freedom Rides?
To integrate public schools across the Deep South
To test and challenge segregation in interstate bus travel and terminal facilities
To protest housing discrimination in northern cities
To register voters during Mississippi Freedom Summer
14. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” after being arrested during which campaign?
The Birmingham Campaign
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Chicago Freedom Movement
The Albany Movement
15. Students peacefully occupy seats at a segregated lunch counter and remain after being denied service. Which civil rights tactic are they using?
A freedom school
A court injunction
A sit-in
A voter-registration drive
16. Which constitutional amendment contains the Equal Protection Clause, a central basis for many civil rights cases?
The Thirteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment