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"Separate but Equal" and Plessy vs. Ferguson
“By 1885, most southern states had laws requiring separate schools for Black and white students. By 1900, “persons of color” were required by law to be separated from white people in railroad cars and depots, hotels, theaters, restaurants, barber shops and other establishments. By asserting that the equal protection clause was not violated as long as reasonably equal conditions were provided to both groups, the Court established the “separate but equal” doctrine (history.com)." -
The death of Emmett Till
14-year-old Emmett Till was at a grocery store in Money, Mississippi, when he was accused of whistling and making flirtatious remarks at a white woman. This accusation would lead to one of the most brutal and disturbing murders to this day. What’s even worse? The shocking resemblance in Till’s case and the case of George Floyd (2020): Emmett Till vs. George Floyd:(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMGyY1oL40Y) -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 1, 1955, an African American woman named Rosa Parks was riding a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama when the driver told her to give up her seat to a white man. Parks refused and was arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation ordinances, which mandated that Black passengers sit in the back of public buses and give up their seats for white riders if the front seats were full. Parks' actions would lead to a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. -
'I Have a Dream'
‘I Have a Dream’(1963): On August 28, 1953, over 250,000 gathered for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The crowd gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial where they were addressed by several civil right activists. The last to appear was Martin Luther King Jr., where he gave a compelling speech as a call to action: ['I Have A Dream' - Martin Luther King Jr.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4iY1TtS3s0 -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
In 1960, the Civil Rights Movement was in full force. John F. Kennedy made civil rights a huge part of his presidential platform, and won more than 70% “At its most basic level, the act gave the federal government more power to protect citizens against discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex or national origin. It mandated the desegregation of most public accommodations, including lunch counters, bus depots, parks and swimming pools" (history.com). -
Los Angeles Riots
In March of 1991, the California Highway Patrol pulled over Rodney King for speeding. King was on probation and had been drinking, causing him to flee, and resulting in a high-speed chase. After King threatened the officers and resisted arrest, the officers beat him. The beating was caught on video and broadcast around the world” (history.com). The officers were brought to trial for their excessive force...but not charged with any crimes. This ruling sparked violent riots across Los Angeles. -
The Election of the First Black President.
After winning the election in 2008, On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, where he would serve as the first Black president for 8 years. -
The Black Lives Matter Movement 2013-Present
A series of deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police officers continued to spark outrage and protests, including Eric Garner in New York City, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Tamir Rice in Cleveland Ohio and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter first appeared on Twitter on July 13, 2013 and spread widely as high-profile cases involving the deaths of Black civilians provoked renewed outrage” (history.com). -
The murder of Ahmaud Arbery
Ahmaud Arbery was chased down and killed by two white men while on a run in Brunswick, GA. Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, were charged on May 7,2020 with murder and aggravated assault of Mr. Arbery(nytimes.com). Mr. Arbery’s murder was the start of a swell in the Black Lives Matter Movement, that would continue through the summer of 2020.
Ahmaud Arbery:A timeline of the shooting -
The shooting of Breonna Taylor
Breonna Taylor was fatally shot in her Louisville, KY apartment on March 13, 2020, when police raided her apartment in search of her boyfriend. Ms. Taylor was struck 5 times by bullets fired by Brett Hankinson, who was accompanied by two other officers. Hankinson was terminated from the police force, but the other officers were not charged, and no officer was deemed responsible for her death, sparking riots and outrage from the entire nation. -
The murder of George Floyd
“On May 26, 2020, the day after Floyd’s shooting, protestors in Minneapolis took to the streets to protest Floyd’s killing. Police cars were set on fire and officers released tear gas to disperse crowds. After months of quarantine and isolation during a global pandemic, protests mounted, spreading across the country in the following days” (history.com). Who was George Floyd?
