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Plessy v. Ferguson
On June 7, 1892, 30-year-old Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the "White" car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy could easily pass for white but under Louisiana law, he was considered black despite his light complexion and therefore required to sit in the "Colored" car. It was importanat because the Supreme Court of the United States heard the case and held the Louisiana segregation statute constitutional -
Brown v. Board of Education
It was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students and denying black children equal educational opportunities unconstitutional. It was significant because black students could go to the same school as white students. -
Emmett Till is murdered
A 14 year old boy from Chicago was then beaten, shot in the head, and then thrown into Tallahatchie River. His body was found three days later. Ostensibly, the murderers killed Till because he whistled at a white woman. This event was important because there was an actual trial, but the court found the two people not guilty. He had an open cascet funeral. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
It was a political and social protest campaign started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. It was important because the government abolished the Bus Segregation Law all over the country. -
Little Rock School desegregation
9 African American children were let to attend white school. People did not like that very much so they started a riot. State Government sends in national guard to prevent the kids from going to school. Eisenhower sends in the army to protect the students. It was important because it was the first time in American history that African Americans were let to attend white school. -
Sit-ins in Greensboro/Nashville
4 Black college students sat, at a restaurant, in sets reserved for white people. More and more people started doing the sit ins. The police arrested the 4 students. Later on though a law was passed and black people could sit all of the seats. It was significant because Nashville was not as segregated as it used to be. -
March on Birmingham
The Birmingham campaign was a strategic movement organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to bring attention to the unequal treatment black Americans endured in Birmingham, Alabama. People were marching for the segregation of the city in Alabama. It lasted three days in which children got arrested. It was important because the city became less segregated and the business leaders move to the protestors. -
March on Washington
It was a large political rally in support of civil and economic rights for African-Americans that took place in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. It was important because it was the last march Martin Luther king hosted before he died. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
It was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against blacks and women, and ended racial segregation in the United States. It was important because it became illegal to discriminate African Americans. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It was a piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S. It was significant because the black people got the right to vote, -
Martin Luther King Assassinated
At 6:01 p.m. on April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was hit by a sniper's bullet. King had been standing on the balcony in front of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when, without warning. He was shot. It was a very important moment in the Civil Rights movement because African Americans finally stood their ground and fought for what they believe in.
