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Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896. This is the first time that segregation was identified as a problem in education and acted as a milestone for reaching out to other fields, continuting to promote equality. -
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CIvil Right on Time
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The Death Of Emmett Till
An African-American boy from Chicago was beaten, tortured, and shot after being accused of flirting with a white women in MIssissippi. When the case was taken to court, the killers Bryant and Milam were set free because the grand jury neglected to indict them. This is a dramatic example of the nessesity for civil rights, contributing to the realization of theinvoulnerability of primariliy white led legislation. -
Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat
In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused follow the bus driver's intrustions to follow James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger. She was arrested and fined. This showed African-Americans that they could make a difference in the battle for desegregation. -
End of Montgomery Bus Boycott
A protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. Ended when Browder v. Gayle took effect and it was declared that segregated buses were unconstitutional. This was one of the first major successes that showed that through these stragegies intergration could become possible. -
Little Rock Nine
Nine African American students were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School, which was followed by the Little Rock Crisis. The students were initially stopped and were not allwoed to enter the school by delare of Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. President Eisenhower then inverviened and called in the 101st Airborne to assist them. This showed that the federal government was willing to enforce the end of segregation. -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
A series of nonviolent protests in Greensboro, North Carolina. Resulted in the Woolworth department store chain changing its policy of racial segregation. This showed that non-violent protests worked in favor of desegregation and would be used in the future. -
Freedom Riders Leave
Civil rights activists who drove buses into the segregated southern United States, challanging the retaliation against the decision on Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia. The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C. This showed the lengths at which the protestors would go to to acheive the rights they deserved and that the movement would not yeild. -
Start of Birmingham campaign
A momement by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to bring attention to the integration efforts of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. The Campain was non-violent and led my Martin Luther King Jr., afterwards led the municipal government to change the city's discrimination laws. This is an example of how media coverage helped gain support for the cause by showing the violence the whites were causing. -
Martin Luther King Jr's 'I Have A Dream' Speech
A speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. in which he pleas for an end to racism in the US. It was delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington beginning with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation and speaks of a dream of black children and white children together in peace. This galvanized the movement and gave motivation to the black community, -
Start of Freedom Summer
A campain to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi, known for excludnig blacks form voting. This campain set up many Freedom Schools, Freedom Houses, and community centers in small towns throughout Mississippi. This grew support for a greater avalibility to vote in other state. -
President Johnson Signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It got rid of the application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, work, and public accomidations. This guarenteed civil rights to all US citizens, including blacks. After this act, there has been a huge expansion of other acts that guarenteed right to people for other causes by the government. -
Malcom X Dies
Malcon X was an African-American Muslim minister and an advocate for the rights of blacks. He was accused of preaching racism and violence. He was preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom when a man rushed forward and shot him in the chest with a shotgun. -
The militant Black Panthers are founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale
The Black Panthers were a black revolutionary socialist organization in the US until 1982. It achieved national and international notoriety through the Black Power movement. It became an icon of 60's counterculture and condemned black nationalism as "black racism." -
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968
The act provided equal housing opportunities regardless of race, creed, or national origin, making it ilegal “by force or by threat of force, injure, intimidate, or interfere with anyone … by reason of their race, color, religion, or national origin.” It was signed shortly after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. This event signified the end of the civil rights movement as we know it today. It is a success at the cost of many lives and years of protest.
