Glossary

Little Rock Nine

The first group of African-American students who attended Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Lobby

to seek to influence politicians or public officials on a particular issue

Lottery

A means of raising money by selling tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers drawn at random.

Lucrative

extremely profitable

Lynch Mob

a group of people set on killing an alleged criminal outside the justice system, usually in a public manner, meant to punish and intimidate

Madeira

A fortified wine made in Portugal.

Magna cum laude

denotes a college degree earned with great distinction

Majority Opinion

An opinion joined by a majority of the justices explaining the legal basis for the Court’s decision and regarded as binding precedent in future decisions.

Massive resistance

the widespread opposition of many white Southerners to the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In 1956, two years after Brown, the overwhelming majority of Southern congressmen and senators signed the “Southern Manifesto,” a document that condemned the decision.

Massive resistance

the widespread opposition of many white southerners to the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954).