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Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court, after days of deliberation, decided that Plessey v. Ferguson was unconstitutional. Black and white schools would be desegregated under the 14th Amendment. It was a major step for equality in schools and it took some of the burden off of the kids. -
Emmett Till's Death
On August 28th, 1955, Emmett Till, a 15 year old African-American boy went into Bryant's Store, in Money, Mississippi, to buy some candy. On his way out of the store, he reportedly said, "Bye baby," to the storeowners wife, who was a white woman. A few days later, Emmett's body was found in the Tallahatchie River. He was severely beaten, an eye was gouged out and he was shot. The media images of his body outraged the entire United States and helped with the push for equal rights. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Following the arrest of Rosa Parks for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man, the entire black community boycotted the public transportation system. Many buses and business were shut down, and it showed how the black community could affect a city. -
The Little Rock Nine
Nine students were set to attend a public school in Little Rock, Arkansas when a mob of angry white protestors wouldn't allow them into the school. Nearly 20 days later, with the help of President Eisenhower and the 101st Airborne Division, the nine students were able to enter the school. It showed just how hard it would be just to gain little victories such as being able to enter a school. -
Sit-Ins
Four black men walked into an F.W. Woolworth company store in Greensboro, North Carolina, sat down at the counter and asked to be served. Since the counter was segregated, they waited all day to be served and never were. They had simple rules, be polite, don't swear if sworn at, and don't strike back if struck. There were many violent acts at other sit-ins, and it showed the determination and how they were literally demanding their rights. -
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders rode buses through the South, all the way into the deep south, where severe white resistance was met. One bus was stoned and the tires were slashed ane eventually fire bombed, and the other was greeted by a mob and the occupants beaten. This showed how truly dedicated the protestors were to the civil rights cause. They were prepared to die and face death. -
March on Washington
200,000 African-American and white people marched on Washington for equal rights. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech was given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in which his dream was illuminated as the United States living by their creed: All men are created equal. This event showed just how many people were behind the fight for equal rights. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act outlawed discrimination by employers, and also added the desegregation of public schools and other public places. This was the milestone that Civil Rights activists had been pushing for. -
Civil Rights Act of 1965
This act made it easier for blacks to vote. It made literacy tests and other things that made it harder for blacks to register illegal. It also made it possible for blacks to participate in government. Black rights were becoming more prominent and more offenses against blacks were becoming illegal. -
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall, who argued the Brown v. Board of Education case to the Supreme Court, was elected as the first African-American justice to the Supreme Court. It was a major step towards the black and white communities being equal, and it showed that all the black communities' sacrifices were not in vain.