-
Founded in New York City by an interracial group including W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B.
Wells, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed to fight for civil rights and end racial violence, particularly lynching. -
A white mob attacked the prosperous "Black Wall Street" in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is one of the deadliest incidents of racial violence in U.S. history, with an estimated 300 deaths and 35 square blocks destroyed. -
Nine Black teenagers were falsely accused of raping two white women on a train in Alabama. Their subsequent trials and near-executions became a national symbol of injustice and led to key Supreme Court rulings on the right to counsel and jury diversification. -
Robinson made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first Black player in modern Major League Baseball. His success challenged segregation in professional sports and inspired future integration efforts. -
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessv v. Ferauson. -
The 14-year-old was brutally murdered in Mississippi after allegedly whistling at a white woman. His mother's decision to hold an open-casket funeral galvanized the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement. -
Sparked by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat, this 381-day protest ended when the Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional. It brought Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence. -
Nine Black students attempted to integrate Central High School in Arkansas. President Eisenhower eventually sent federal troops to escort them into the school after they were blocked by the National Guard and white mobs. -
At age six, Ruby Bridges became the first Black student to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, escorted daily by federal marshals due to violent protests. -
While imprisoned for leading nonviolent protests in Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this influential essay defending the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. -
Over 250,000 people gathered for "Jobs and Freedom," where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, urging the passage of civil rights legislation. -
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this landmark law, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public accommodations and employment. -
The influential Black nationalist and former Nation of Islam leader was shot and killed while addressing the Organization of Afro-American Unity in New York City.
-
This legislation aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th
Amendment. -
Founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense focused on armed citizen patrols to monitor police and provide community social programs. -
After decades as the NAACP's chief counsel and a major figure in the Brown v. Board victory, Marshall was sworn in as the first African American Associate Justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court. -
The civil rights leader was shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, leading to nationwide grief and riots.