Student History FAQ: What Caused the US Civil… | RevisionDojo

What Caused the US Civil Rights Movement and What Methods Did It Use (Martin Luther King Jr.; Malcolm X)?

Causes of the movement

Cause	How it encouraged activism
Jim Crow segregation	State and local laws separated public facilities and reinforced racial inequality, especially in the South.
Disenfranchisement	Poll taxes, literacy tests and intimidation prevented many African Americans from voting and changing policy democratically.
Racial violence	Lynchings, Ku Klux Klan activity and police brutality demonstrated that constitutional rights were not being protected.
Legal and political opportunity	The Brown v. Board of Education decision (1954) ruled school segregation unconstitutional, encouraging further challenges.
Post-war change	African American military service, migration to northern cities and growing media coverage increased expectations of equality and exposed contradictions in US democracy.

Methods used

Leader or group	Principal methods
NAACP	Court cases and legal challenges, including the campaign against segregated education.
Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC	Non-violent direct action, including boycotts, marches and civil disobedience. Protesters exposed injustice by maintaining discipline when confronted by violence.
SNCC and other grassroots activists	Sit-ins, Freedom Rides, voter-registration campaigns and community organization.
Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam	Black pride, economic independence, Black nationalism and self-defence rather than King's integrationist non-violence. After leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, Malcolm X became more willing to cooperate with other civil rights activists.