African Americans continue to fight for full and equal rights. These worksheets explore the Civil Rights struggle.

This collection of worksheets examines the important incidents, leaders, and legal precedents of the African American fight for equal civil rights in the United States. Your students will learn about key figures, occurrences, and milestones along the long march for equality, mostly taking place in the century between the 1860s and the 1960s (Note: the Civil War is an entirely separate section on this site). Activities consist of short reading passages with accompanying questionnaires. Answer keys have been provided for instructors.

Not so fun fact: Though the slave trade in the United States was legally abolished in 1808, the practice of slavery was not eradicated until 57 years later.

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Print Civil Rights Worksheets

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Sit-ins and Protests - Reading Worksheet

Reasonably priced domestic items have long been provided at department stores such as Kress and Woolworth.

Congress of Racial Equality

Following the sit-ins at several departments stores such as Woolworth and Kress, the CORE became an important group in the Civil Rights Movement, joining such other leading groups as NAACP and Dr. Martin Luther King’s SCLC.

Freedom Riders

Freedom Riders were the interracial groups who deliberately rode buses throughout the southern states.

March on Washington

Leaders wanted to move ahead and take advantage of this growing force and move Congress to pass a civil rights bill proposed by President John F. Kennedy.

We Shall Overcome

The song and term "We Shall Overcome" became an unofficial anthem during the Civil Rights Movement. O

Protests

What started as a peaceful march in May of 1963, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. turned into a violent event.

1964

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and CORE spent time recruiting and organizing close to one thousand volunteers to go to Mississippi during the summer of 1964.

1965 - Reading Worksheet

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. arrived in Selma in 1965 in attempts at gaining support through the media and pressuring local officials to respond to the voter registration crisis.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

The Voting Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965.

1968

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was standing on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel while visiting Memphis, Tennessee in April 1968. Suddenly, an assassin's bullet struck and killed him.

Origins of Civil Rights

Results of this event left the South conquered and all those enslaved emancipated.

Segregation

Discrimination and division were also perpetuated through laws stating African American individuals were to attend separate places such as schools, hospitals, hotels, and streetcars.

Promise

Newly imposed laws continued to suppress basic civil rights of African American individuals.

The Movement

Following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Movement began to grow stronger. M

Struggle for What's Right

The topic brings to the table uncomfortable topics and historical events.

13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

Each of these was designed to grant and ensure equal rights to all citizens.

Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow Laws became a term used to describe the laws that supported segregation.

Jackie Robinson

This was a monumental step, as Robinson became the first African American to play major league baseball in the twentieth century.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Negotiations in 1953 about social services and segregation with Montgomery, Alabama officials were seemingly fruitless.

Freedom Riders

On paper, these issues were addressed and resolve. In reality, however, segregation policies remained in effect throughout the south.

The Dred Scott Decision

Dred Scott was a slave who decided to sue for his freedom. The Supreme Court, in one of the most notorious cases in American history, ruled 7-2 that African Americans were not citizens.

Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan is a group who advocate white supremacy (a belief that white is the superior race).

Martin Luther King Jr. - Reading Worksheet

Martin Luther King is one person who will always stand out in American history. He was the main leader in the Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Luther King Jr. Questions

This accompanies the passage that you can print above.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist in a time period where segregation was at its highest.

Harriet Tubman

She was a runaway slave who became known as "The Moses of her People". Harriet Tubman is a well-known abolitionist, a person who works to end slavery.