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Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court unanimously agrees that segragation in public schools is unconstitutional. Overturns Plessy v. Ferguson case of1896, a major victory for NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall. -
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Civil Rights
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Rosa Parks
NAACP member Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a public bus. Her arrest sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by a then relatively unkown Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. -
Buses Desegregated
The Montgomery bus boycott is succesful in desegragting public buses in Mongtomery, Alabama. This is the first major victory for Martin Luther King, Jr. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele and Fred L. Shuttlesworth establish the SCLC. The organazation is dedicated to forming a civil rights movement through nonviolent means. -
Little Rock Nine
The Brown v. Board of Education ruling was put to the test when nine black students were enrolled at Little Rock High School. Under protection from the national guard, the nine students entered school, desgregating it for the first time. -
The First Sit In
Four black college students begin the sit-in movement by simply sitting down at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although refused service initially, the tactic eventually proves successful, and is adopted throughout the deep south for desgregating parks, pools, movie theaters, libraries and other public facilities. -
Freedom Riders
Over the spring and summer, student volunteers begin taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities, which includes bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of "freedom riders," as they are called, are attacked by angry mobs along the way. The program, sponsored by The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), involves more than 1,000 volunteers, black and white. Read mor -
Martin Luther King Jailed
Martin Luther King, Jr. is thrown in jail during an anti-segragation protest in Birmingham, Alabama. From jail he writes "Letter from Birmingham Jail", a famous letter arguing for civil rights. -
I Have a Dream
Martin Luther King gives the "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. as part of the march on Washington. 200,000 people join in on the march. -
Free At Last
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation. -
Malcom X
Malcolm X, black nationalist and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, is shot to death. It is believed the assailants are members of the Black Muslim faith, which Malcolm had recently abandoned in favor of orthodox Islam. -
Votes for All
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other such requirements that were used to restrict black voting are made illegal -
Martin Luther King Assassinated
Martin Luther King, at age 39, is shot as he stands on the balcony outside his hotel room. Escaped convict and committed racist James Earl Ray is convicted of the crime. -
Fair Housing
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.