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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
It was a court ruling that education buildings were allowed to be segregated. The schools were supposed to be separate but equal but white schools were much nicer than African American schools. “Racial segregation in education varied widely from the 17 states that required racial segregation to the 16 in which it was prohibited” -
Emmett Till murder
The murder of Till was a major national news story. Till was brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white women. Then 2 weeks after Till was buried an all white jury determined that the men who had killed Till was not-guilty. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
This was when african americans in Montgomery, Alabama boycotted the bus system in order to protest on the extreme racism and segregation that was going on in the south. -
Little Rock Central High School, Arkansas desegregation.
This was when 9 african americans tried to attend a mainly white school in Arkansas. they were spit on, teased and bullied at the school and only one of students ended up graduating. Harry truman tried to step in and help the situation but instead of desegregating their school system Arkansas decided to shut it down. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The act was enacted on September 9th, 1957. This was the first civil acts right bill passed in the US since 1875. This act main goal was to make sure all americans had equal rights to vote. This was brought up so more African American could vote. -
New Orleans school integration
This was the desegregation of schools in New Orleans. On November 14th elementary schools were desegregated. Many white students then did not attend school to show that they did not support this. There was many boycotts and African American students faced great harassment. -
March on Washington
This was when a multitude of civil rights groups performed a march around Washington monument and Lincoln memorial. The march was to stand up for meaningful civil rights laws, a massive federal works program, full and fair employment, decent housing, the right to vote, and adequate integrated education for african americans. -
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St. Augustine, Florida
This was when african americans in st, augustine florida took a stand against the ku klux klan and nightriders brutally murdering their people. They started to arm themselves in self defense and said they would “shoot first and ask questions later.” -
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Mississippi freedom summer
This was when, in the summer of 1964, activist in the state of Mississippi formed a new political party, established 30 freedom schools, established 28 community centers, and more than 17000 african americans registered to vote. -
Rise of the 1970’s “New Right” Organizations
The new right organizations let the civil rights movement eide a smoother road to freedom. Groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Business Roundtable, Eagle Forum, Heritage Foundation, and the Moral Majority all had a job in achieving total freedom. -
Singer Pete Seeger
Seeger who is apart of grandmaster flash and the furious five had a big impact on civil rights in the 70’s. He says that he remembers how important music was to the Civil Rights Movement in his 1972 interview. He performed many concerts to raise money for civil rights organizations, and helped spread the song “We Shall Overcome” to civil rights workers at the Highlander Folk School. -
Regan becoming president
In 1980, these groups united to support Ronald Reagan for President. Reagan promised to undo the gains of the 1960s. He even began his campaign with a speech against civil rights in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Reagan was true to his word. While he was President, the government became less concerned about racial discrimination. Reagan made William Rehnquist the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. Rehnquist was a firm opponent of civil rights legislation. -
1990’s school segregation ends
Efforts by other branches of the government to roll back school desegregation plans also took effect. By the late 1990s, some courts even barred school districts from voluntary desegregation efforts.
Today, schools are more segregated than they were in the 1980s. Gary Orfield says that's partly because there's simply a smaller percentage of white children in schools, but it's also partly because of public policy. He says the problem with resegregation is that separate is not equal.
