Unit 4: Selection Vocabulary 1

This list covers Rosa Parks: My Story, "The Story Behind the Bus," "Rosa," and Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
20 words 69 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. comply
    act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes
    The more we gave in and complied, the worse they treated us.
  2. manhandle
    handle roughly
    I could be manhandled or beaten.
  3. warrant
    a judicial writ commanding police to perform specified acts
    After I was seated in the car, they went back to the driver and asked him if he wanted to swear out a warrant.
  4. custody
    holding by the police
    I was only in custody, not legally arrested, until the warrant was signed.
  5. discrimination
    unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice
    Since that was my first arrest, I didn’t know if that was more discrimination because I was black or if it was standard practice. But it seemed to me to be more discrimination.
  6. segregation
    a social system that provides different facilities for minority groups
    When a white man entered the bus, the driver (following the standard practice of segregation) insisted that all four blacks sitting just behind the white section give up their seats so that the man could sit there.
  7. inequity
    injustice by virtue of not conforming with standards
    In cities across the South, segregated bus companies were daily
    reminders of the inequities of American society.
  8. unconstitutional
    not consistent with or according to fundamental laws
    Sparked by Mrs. Parks’ action, the boycott lasted 381 days, into December 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses were integrated.
  9. integrated
    designated as available to all races or groups
    Sparked by Mrs. Parks’ action, the boycott lasted 381 days, into December 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses were integrated.
  10. volatile
    liable to lead to sudden change or violence
    Thus, transportation was one of the most volatile arenas for race relations in the South.
  11. trim
    severely simple in line or design
    That trim name with
    its dream of a bench
    to rest on.
  12. sensible
    showing reason or sound judgment
    Her sensible coat.
  13. carve
    engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface
    Doing nothing was the doing:
    the clean flame of her gaze
    carved by a camera flash.
  14. retrieve
    go for and bring back
    How she stood up
    when they bent down to retrieve
    her purse. That courtesy.
  15. courtesy
    a considerate and respectful manner
    How she stood up
    when they bent down to retrieve
    her purse. That courtesy.
  16. civics
    the study of the duties and rights of citizenship
    She must have been paying attention in her civics classes, for she insisted on applying the lessons she had learned after boarding a city bus on March 2, 1955.
  17. restricted
    subject to an act of limitation
    She knew she wasn’t sitting in the restricted white section.
  18. entitled
    qualified for by right according to law
    She felt that she was far enough back to be entitled to her seat.
  19. policy
    argument rationalizing the course of action of a government
    If no seats were available for blacks to move back to as additional white passengers boarded the bus, then they were not required to give up their seats. That was the official policy.
  20. battery
    an assault in which the assailant makes physical contact
    She was charged not only with violating the segregation laws, but also with assault and battery for resisting arrest.
Created on Thu Apr 22 16:33:53 EDT 2021 (updated Wed Apr 28 14:56:50 EDT 2021)

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