Civil Rights

  • 13th Amendment (African Americans)

    13th Amendment (African Americans)

    Slavery is abolished, allowing for more freedom for African Americans
  • 14th Amendment (African Americans)

    14th Amendment (African Americans)

    Rights of citizenship, due process of law, and equal protection of the law. One of the most used amendments in court regarding equal protection
  • 15th Amendment (African Americans)

    15th Amendment (African Americans)

    15th amendment is passed, making it illegal to deny voting rights to people due to race, color or past servitude
  • Plessy v Ferguson (African Americans)

    Plessy v Ferguson (African Americans)

    Supreme court legalized segregation, stating that it did not violate the constitution as long as facilities were equal in quality, or "separate but equal."
  • 19th Amendment (Women)

    19th Amendment (Women)

    Made it illegal to deny voting based on gender, giving women the right to vote
  • Executive Order 9981 (African Americans)

    Executive Order 9981 (African Americans)

    President Harry S Truman signed the executive order 9981, which desegregated the military, helped forbid discrimination and established the FEPC (Fair Employment Practices Committee)
  • Brown v Board of Education (African Americans)

    Brown v Board of Education (African Americans)

    Plessey v Ferguson is overturned, and segregation is deemed unconstitutional
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott (African Americans)

    Montgomery Bus Boycott (African Americans)

    Rosa Parks is arrested and fined for refusing to give her seat to a white passenger, leading others to boycott buses in Montgomery. Montgomery government ends segregation as a result
  • SCLC is formed (African Americans)

    SCLC is formed (African Americans)

    Established in 1957 and co-founded by Martin Luther King jr. The group worked with Black churches to organize non violent protests
  • Little Rock 9 (African Americans)

    Little Rock 9 (African Americans)

    Group of 9 African American students who enrolled in former all white school
  • Greensboro Sit-ins (African Americans)

    Greensboro Sit-ins (African Americans)

    Staged sit ins by a group of African American students in Greensboro NC. The students refused to give up their seats after they were denied service.
  • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is formed (African Americans)

    Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is formed (African Americans)

    Formed in the aftermath of the sit-ins in Greensboro, the SNCC was formed to organize nonviolent protests to fight for equal rights for African Americans
  • Chicano Mural Movement (Chicanos)

    Chicano Mural Movement (Chicanos)

    Artists used walls in the city to help depict and celebrate Mexican American culture
  • Freedom Riders (African Americans)

    Freedom Riders (African Americans)

    Groups of black and white Americans who rode on interracial buses together to protest segregation
  • March on Washington: “I have a dream” speech (African Americans)

    March on Washington: “I have a dream” speech (African Americans)

    Speech made by MLK to talk about discrimination of African Americans and his dreams for racial harmony
  • March from Selma to Montgomery (African Americans)

    March from Selma to Montgomery (African Americans)

    3 protest marches held to fight for African Americans right to freely express voting rights
  • Thurgood Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court (African Americans)

    Thurgood Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court (African Americans)

    First Black Supreme Court Justice. Helped encourage civil rights in the justice system
  • MLK assassinated (African Americans)

    MLK assassinated (African Americans)

    Civil rights activist Martin Luther King is killed, leaving many Americans to lose faith for a peaceful civil rights movement
  • American Indian Movement (Native Americans)

    American Indian Movement (Native Americans)

    Civil rights organization made to help and protect of Native American rights and reclaim tribal land
  • Sandra Day O’Connor appointed to the Supreme Court (Women)

    Sandra Day O’Connor appointed to the Supreme Court (Women)

    First women to be appointed to the supreme court and challenged gender norms