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Plessy v. Ferguson
This Supreme Court decision upheld the racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine "separate but equal". -
NAACP
Formed in 1909, the NAACP is an African American civil rights organization and its mission is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
A Supreme Court case where the court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white male. -
Little Rock School Integration
Nine African American students attempted to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. While entering the school, a white mob of students and adults were blocking the entrence, fearing mob violence, the kids were rushed home soon afterward. -
Thurgood Marshall
Marshall was the lawyer who won a court injunction to prevent the governer from blocking the Little Rock Nine into school. -
The Sit-Ins
Four African American college students walked into a white's only lunch counter in Greensboro, NC and asked for coffee. Service was refused and the students sat patiently to be served on despite the intimidation and threats. -
Gandhi, Thoreau, and Randolph
Gandhi, Thoreau, and Randolph's persuasive methods of civil disobedience influenced leaders of civil rights movements around the world, especially Martin Luther King, Jr., in the United States. -
Freedom Rides
A group of 13 African American and white civil rights activists took a series of bus trips through the South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment outlaws the poll tax as a voting requirement in fedreal elections. -
March on Birmingham, Alabama
MLK joined with Birmingham, Alabama 's local movement for civil rights march targeted at attacking the city's segregation system. -
March on Washington
More than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington D.C. for a political rally for jobs and freedom, led by Martin Luther King Jr. This event was aimed to shed light on political and social challenges for African Americans. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A federal law that authorized federal action against segregation in public accommodations, public facilities, and employment. -
Race Riots
Many race-related riots occured accross the country and ripped through many cities with an urgent need for social and economic reforms. -
De jure vs. De Fact segregation
De jure was when African Americans were prevented from obtaining economic independence and de fact was segregation that had nothing to do with the law, it was a sunordinated one race to another. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
A landmark of federal legislation that prohibits racial discrimmination in voting. -
March from Selma to Montgomery
MLK's SCLC marched from Selma, Alabama to the state's capital of Montgomery through violent resistence from state and local authorities for 3 days. The historic march helped raise awareness of the difficulties black voters faced in the South. -
Malcolm X
As a minister and human rights activist, Malcolm X was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans. -
Black Panther Party
This party was founded for seld-defense and practiced militant self-defense of minority communities against the U.S. government, and fought to establish revolutionary socialism through mass organizing and community based programs.
