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The Supreme Court Decision of Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was important because it essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation. -
The Tuskegee Airmen
Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no African American had ever been a United States military pilot. -
The Integration of Major League Baseball
Baseball led the way on integration, as Jackie Robinson became a key symbol of equality during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s. -
The Integration of the Armed Forces
Truman's Executive Order 9981, which abolished racial segregation in the U.S. military; and Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower's Executive Order 10730, which dispatched federal troops to protect the civil rights of the Little Rock Nine during the integration of Little Rock's Central High School. -
The Supreme Court Decision of Sweatt v. Painter
a unanimous decision, the Court held that the Equal Protection Clause required that Sweatt be admitted to the university. The Court found that the "law school for Negroes," which was to have opened in 1947, would have been grossly unequal to the University of Texas Law School. -
The Supreme Court Decision of Brown v. Board of Education
the supreme court decided to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson, as Separate is inherently unequal -
The Death of Emmitt Till
kidnapped and brutally murdered Till, dumping his body in the Tallahatchie River. The newspaper coverage and murder trial galvanized a generation of young African Americans to join the Civil Rights Movement out of fear that such an incident could happen to friends, family, or even themselves. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Called "the mother of the civil rights movement," Rosa Parks invigorated the struggle for racial equality when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Parks' arrest on December 1, 1955 launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott by 17,000 black citizens. -
The Integration of Little Rock High School
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education that segregated schools are "inherently unequal." In September 1957, as a result of that ruling, nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1957
The new act established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and empowered federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote -
The Greensboro Four Lunch Counter Sit-In
On February 1, 1960, four friends sat down at a lunch counter in Greensboro. That may not sound like a legendary moment, but it was. The four people were African American, and they sat where African Americans weren't allowed to sit. They did this to take a stand against segregation. -
The Freedom Rides by Freedom Riders of 1961
Through their defiance, the Freedom Riders attracted the attention of the Kennedy Administration and as a direct result of their work, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) issued regulations banning segregation in interstate travel that fall. -
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
Amendment Twenty-four to the Constitution was ratified on January 23, 1964. It abolished and forbids the federal and state governments from imposing taxes on voters during federal elections. -
The Integration of the University of Mississippi
With his admission to the University of Mississippi in 1962, James Meredith became one of the heroic figures in the American Civil Rights Movement, succeeding against every legal, political and bureaucratic obstacle that blocked his path to becoming the university's first African-American student. -
The Integration of the University of Alabama
The successful integration of The University of Alabama that began on June 11, 1963, opened doors not only to two Black students, but for decades of progress toward becoming an inclusive campus. -
The March on Washington & “I Have a Dream” Speech by MLK
Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the exalted "I Have a Dream" speech. Originally conceived by renowned labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, the March on Washington evolved into a collaborative effort amongst major civil rights groups and icons of the day. -
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas
Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Johnson
President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law just a few hours after it was passed by Congress on July 2, 1964. The act outlawed segregation in businesses such as theaters, restaurants, and hotels. -
The Assassination of Malcolm X
On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm X was ambushed and fatally shot while delivering a speech. His wife and daughters were in the audience. Three men were convicted of his murder. -
The Selma to Montgomery March: “Bloody Sunday”
The first march took place on March 7, 1965, led by figures including Bevel and Amelia Boynton, but was ended by state troopers and county possemen, who charged on about 600 unarmed protesters with batons and tear gas after they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the direction of Montgomery. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting -
The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee
At 6:05 P.M. on Thursday, 4 April 1968, Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. News of King's assassination prompted major outbreaks of racial violence, resulting in more than 40 deaths nationwide and extensive property ... -
The Voting Rights Act of 1968
1968 Act expanded on previous acts and prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, (and as amended) handicap and family status.