This key facts covers Key Events — Learn These! within Direct Action for GCSE History. Revise Direct Action in America 1920-1973 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 4 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 4 of 14 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 4 of 14
Practice
10 questions
Recall
4 flashcards
📅 Key Events — Learn These!
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)
What: Rosa Parks refused to give up seat → 381-day boycott of buses
Leader: Martin Luther King Jr emerged as leader
Result: Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional
Significance: First major Civil Rights victory; showed power of collective action
Sit-ins (1960 onwards)
What: Students sat at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave
Greensboro: 4 students started movement; spread to 54 cities in weeks
Nashville: 3,000 students trained in non-violence; successful desegregation
Significance: Young people drove the movement; showed non-violence worked
Freedom Rides (1961)
What: Integrated buses challenged segregation across the South
Violence: Bus burned in Anniston; riders beaten in Birmingham
Result: JFK forced to act; ICC banned segregation in interstate travel
Significance: Federal government forced to enforce desegregation