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MLK's Letter From Birmingham Jail(1963)
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written in 1963 while he was imprisoned for protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. In the letter, King explained why he was fighting for civil rights, stressing the importance of nonviolent protest and urgency in ending racial injustice. It became a powerful defense of the civil rights movement. -
Brown vs. Board of Education(1954)
Brown v. Board of Education was a 1954 Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The decision overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine, declaring that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal and ordering schools to desegregate. -
Emmett Till Murder(1955)
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago, was brutally murdered in 1955 in Mississippi after being accused of offending a white woman. His killers were acquitted, but the case sparked national outrage and became a key event in the Civil Rights Movement, highlighting the deep racial injustice in the South. -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott(1955)
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The Little Rock Nine and Integration(1957)
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Greensboro Woolworth's Sit-ins(1960)
The Greensboro Woolworth's sit-ins took place in 1960 when four Black college students sat at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. Their peaceful protest inspired similar sit-ins across the country, helping to challenge racial segregation in public places. -
Freedom Rides(1961)
The Freedom Rides of 1961 were protests where interracial groups of activists rode buses through the South to challenge segregation in public transportation. They faced violent opposition but helped bring national attention to the unfair treatment of African Americans and led to greater enforcement of desegregation laws. -
March on Washington(1963)
The March on Washington took place in 1963, where over 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., to demand civil rights and equality for African Americans. It was here that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, calling for an end to racism and injustice. The march was a key event in the Civil Rights Movement. -
Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing(1963)
The Birmingham Baptist Church bombing happened in 1963 at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama. A bomb planted by white supremacists killed four young Black girls. The attack shocked the nation and brought more attention to the civil rights movement and the fight against racism. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment, passed in 1964, made it illegal to charge a poll tax to vote in federal elections. This helped stop unfair rules that kept poor people and many African Americans from voting. -
Civil Rights Act(1964)
The Civil Rights laws eliminated laws that discriminated based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended segregation in public places, such as schools, restaurants, and theaters, and banned employment discrimination.It also strengthened voting rights and gave the federal government more power to enforce civil rights laws. -
Voting Rights Act(1965)
This right prohibited states from making qualifications or practices to deny the right to vote because of race. -
"Bloody Sunday"/Selma to Montgomery March(1965)
The Selma to Montgomery march was for voting rights. As 600 peaceful protesters, led by activists like John Lewis and Hosea Williams, tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, they were violently attacked by state troopers and local police. The brutal images of the assault shocked the nation and drew widespread attention to the fight for civil rights. The event led directly to increased public support and the eventual passage of the Voting Rights Act. -
Loving v. Virginia(1967)
Loving v Virginia was a landmark case that struck states having laws that banned interracial marriages.Mildred and Richard Loving was arrested in Virginia because of violating a anti-missegregation law.The court ruled unanimously that such laws violated the equal protection clause and the due process clause of the 14th amendment.