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Truman Signs Executive Order 9981
"It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." -
Supreme Court Rules on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
The Supreme Court unanimously agrees that segregation in schools is unconstitutional. This begins to pave the way for large-scale organisations. -
Emmett Till is Kidnapped and Killed
14-year-old Emmett Till is visiting family in Mississippi when he is kidnapped, beaten, shot and thrown in the Tallahatchie River due to him allegedly whistling at a white woman. Two white men who arrested, however later aquitted. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up seat
Rosa Parks (NAACP member) refused to give up her seat at the front of the "colored section" of a bus to a white passenger. -
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is established
Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele and Fred L. Shuttlesworth establish the Conference, of which King is made the first president. -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee is founded
Founded at Shaw University and provided young blacks with a place in the civil rights movement. -
Freedom Riders attacked
During the spring and summer, the freedom riders were attacked by angry mobs whilst testing out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities. -
James Meredith becomes first black student at Universityof Mississippi
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Martin Luther King arrested
Jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham and argues that people have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws. -
Medgar Evers is murdered
37-year-old Medgar Evers is murdered outside his home. 30 years later his killer Byron De La Beckwith is convicted. -
March of Washington
200,000 people join the March on Washington and Martin Luther King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
Four young girls are killed whilst attending Sunday school as a bomb explodes - this was a popular location for civil rights meetings. -
Abolition of the poll tax
The poll tax was originally instituted in 11 southern states after Reconstruction in order to make it difficult for poor blacks to vote. -
Malcolm X is shot
Founder of the Organisation of Afro-American Unity and black nationalist, Malcolm X, is assassinated. -
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965
This made it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Poll taxes, literacy tests and other requirements that were once used to make voting difficult for blacks had now been made illegal.
