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Plessy vs Ferguson
This influential court case was the basis for the constitutional upholding of segregation. By establishing a separate but equal precedent this successfully allowed for schools to segregate an unfair system. This unfair system includes a white state of the art building vs a small colored building - they are both housings for schools right? -
Brown Vs. Board of Education
This case was monumental in establishing an unparalleled victory in the civil rights movement. In this case the separate schools were subject to an unequal ruling. This meant that this case was influential in riding the segregation in public schools. -
Murder of Emett Till
During this time, a 14 year old black boy named Emett Till was lynched. This all started with an accusation of cat call to a white woman, which led to a beating. The spark in the white people that surrounded the murder of the boy led to protests and an increase in Civil Rights support. -
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Undoubtedly one of the most famous events of the Civil Rights movement, Rosa Parks refused to give up a seat for a white man in the colored section. Her imprisonment led to a yearlong boycott of blacks that hurt the Montgomery busses. This led to the seats of segregation being disbanded for blacks. -
Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King
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Little Rock Nine and Central High School
After the unprecedented ruling of Brown vs the Board of Education, 9 black students were going to attend Central High. They were met with violent supporters of the previously segregated school in order to block the entry of the nine students. Eisenhower took action and sent federal troops to escort the students allowing for the first major direct government interaction with desegregation. -
Greensboro Sit-in
Four students attending North Carolina College planed a new type of protest now known as a sit in. These young students, inspired by MLK decided on this type of civil disobedience; they decided to sit on the white side of the counter until they were served. This was effective as televised broadcasts allowed the rudeness of whites to be captured and making the Woolworths become desegregated. -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Freedom Summer
Staying true to the Greensboro Sit-ins, the SNCC was formed to continue the form of Civil Protest, however most of their sit-ins were used in the South. Due to the small percentage of black voters due to the white officials restricting blacks, the Freedom Summer focused on Mississippi. They brought national coverage of black voting and influenced blacks to begin moving. -
Freedom Ride(rs)
The Freedom Riders were a group of whites and black that rode buses together. What made this particularly interesting is that these violated bus rides. The participants endured beating and other such violence as they traveled through the South. -
March on Washington
Led by MLK, the March on Washington was one of the most successful demonstrations in US history. Around 200,000 people gathered on the porch of the white house. The most famous resolution was the "I Have a Dream Speech" by MLK which is remembered and revered today. -
Civil Rights Act
In 1964 the first Civil Rights act was passed which made segregation illegal in all public facilities. This gave way to a tighter grip on equal rights as later the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was passed. Then, in 1965 the Voting Rights Act was passed which removed literacy tests after the 24th Amendment abolished poll taxes. The Civil Rights Act gave way for a more equal economic, social, and political standing for blacks. -
Assassination of Malcom X
During a speech that was about ti be fully delivered to a crowed of 100's, Malcom X took a bullet. After his dissolution with the Nation of Islam, tensions escalated leading to his demise. Many doubt his legacy calling him a demagogue because of his tactics - his legacy forever to be left to controversy. -
Voting Rights Act
After the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. This bill removed the literacy test that had to be taken by colored people in order to vote. This was the first time blacks could vote like this since the Reconstruction Era. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on his porch. After leading peaceful protests everything was gone for MLK as 1968 was a year of turmoil due to other assassinations and the Vietnam War. Although Martin Luther King Jr never saw equality of races, it is now much closer than it has ever been in America.
