Major Civil Rights Protests

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which allowed state-sponsored segregation.
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    Montgomery Bus Boycott
    Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many historically significant figures of the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott, including Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and others.
  • Woolworth's sit-ins

    Woolworth's sit-ins
    Woolworth's sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests which led to the Woolworth's department store chain reversing its policy of racial segregation in the Southern United States.
  • Freedom Rides

    Freedom Rides
    Freedom Riders were civil rights activists that rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia.
  • Birmingham Children's March and boycott

    Birmingham Children's March and boycott
    was the name bestowed upon a march by hundreds of school Birmingham Children's March and boycott students in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 2, May 3, and May 4, 1963, during the American Civil Rights Movement's Birmingham Campaign. Initiated and organized by Rev. James Bevel, the purpose of the march was to walk downtown to talk to the mayor about segregation in their city.
  • March on Washington

    March on Washington
    March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a large political rally in support of civil and economic rights for African Americans that took place in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial during the march.
  • Selma to Montgomery marches

    Selma to Montgomery marches
    The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL).