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The 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
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The Civil Rights Act stated that all persons (besides untaxed Indians) born in the US are American Citizens. This means they have equal legal and property rights.
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Martin Luther King Jr. is born to the Reverend Martin Luther King and Alberta Williams King.
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Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers becomes the first African American player in the major leagues.
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President Harry Truman signs Executive Order 9981, banning segregation in the armed forces and establishing equality of treatment and opportunity for people of all races, religions, or national origins.
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Rosa Parks, an African American, is arrested for disobeying an Alabama law requiring black passengers to relinquish seats to white passengers when the bus was full. Her arrest sparks a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system and leads to a 1956 Supreme Court decision banning segregation on public transportation.
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The Supreme Court orders public schools to be integrated “with all deliberate speed.”
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200,000 people participate in a civil rights rally in Washington D.C. calling for passage of a Civil Rights Act. The event’s highlight is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment, public facilities, the application of voting laws, and the use of federal funds, is approved despite an 83-day Senate filibuster.
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 39, is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. He is in Memphis to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city. The evening before he had delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech concluding with "Well, I don't know what will happen now; we've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop."
