civil rights era

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

Feb 28, 1954

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court rules unanimously against school segregation, overturning its 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.

Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat

Mar 1, 1955

Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white person, triggering a successful, year-long African American boycott of the bus system

Musician Chuck Berry begins recording; his music will help shape rock-and-roll.

Mar 2, 1955

Musician Chuck Berry begins recording; his music will help shape rock-and-roll.

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the segregation of Montgomery, Ala., buses is unconstitutional

Mar 3, 1956

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the segregation of Montgomery, Ala., buses is unconstitutional

Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Mar 4, 1957

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., helps found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to work for full equality for African Americans.

nine African American students

Mar 7, 1957

For the first time since Reconstruction, the federal government uses the military to uphold African Americans' civil rights, as soldiers escort nine African American students to desegregate a school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Daisy Bates, an NAACP leader, advised and assisted the students and eventually had a state holiday dedicated to her.

Althea Gibson

Mar 9, 1957

Althea Gibson becomes the first African American tennis player to win a major title by winning both the women's singles and doubles championships at Wimbledon

Alvin Ailey

Mar 9, 1957

African American ballet dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey founds the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, now world-renowned.

Lorraine Hansberry's

Mar 10, 1959

Lorraine Hansberry's "Raisin in the Sun" is the first play by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway.