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Plessy vs Ferguson
in 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court case upheld the constitutionality of segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. It came from an 1892 incident in which African-American passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a Jim Crow car of a train, breaking a Louisiana law. -
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
The Congress of Racial Equality was founded in 1942.The group was a leading activist during the civil rights movement.They helped organize movements such as the Freedom Rides which were test to see if the south followed up on desegregating public buildings.CORE helped spark the initial fire of the civil rights movement.They held a pacifist view to use love as their only weapon against the opposition.Then they used their power to move into politics. -
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson was born in 1919 and became the first African American to play in the Major League Baseball.He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and helped break the color barrier.Despite his success as a baseball player Jackie was constantly criticized and insulted because of his race.The way he responded to the critics is why we remember him.His graceful and peaceful approach helped inspire civil rights movement activist across the country. -
Sweatt v Painter
Sweatt v Painter was a court case that got taken all the way to the supreme court. Heman Sweatt was denied access to the University of Texas by the President at the time Theophilus Painter.The lower court denied Sweatt. When this happened Sweatt and the NAACP went to the federal courts and ultimately to the supreme courts.The supreme court then overruled and reversed the lower courts decision.This was an early and decisive victory for the civil rights movement. -
Brown v Board of Education
Was a supreme court case between Oliver Brown and the Board of Education of Topeka.The supreme court decided(9-0 votes) that segregation of educational facilities was unequal.It was in violation of the fourteenth amendment. The case was a big victory for the civil rights movement and court cases that were to come. Ultimately the courts decision did not give a method or a time for schools to desegregate. -
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Montgomery bus boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was sparked by Rosa parks when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. Rosa Parks court hearing took 380 days and finally ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system.To organize the boycott they selected a prominent reverend named Martin Luther King Jr. to facilitate the boycott. He made the boycott last until their demands were met. This was a tremendous victory for the civil rights movement. -
The Southern Manifesto
The Southern Manifesto was a document written by congress and signed by southern democrats. The Southern Manifesto denounced the racial integration of public places. The document accused the supreme court of abusing their power. It stated that the tenth amendment should limit the supreme court rulings.They wrote the southern manifesto in direct opposition to the Brown v Board of Education. It ended up that states were bound to the previous ruling. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference which was led by Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. played a large role in the civil rights movement. Their objective was to end all forms of segregation. They took to the streets and advocated boycotts. It was a controversial way of doing it. They faced fierce retaliations from the police and Ku Klux Klan.In the end their peaceful ways of doing things gave them victory in the civil rights movement. -
Little Rock - Central High School
Little Rock Central High School is famous for being one of the first schools to test the desegregation of schools. The "Little Rock Nine" were the African American students that were to attend the school. On the first day of class the Governor of Arkansas Orval Faubus ordered the National Guard to not allow the African American students to enter the school.President Dwight D. Howard was forced to act and had troops escort the Little Rock Nine to their first successful day on September 25. -
Greensboro Sit-In
Through 1960 segregation was still being practiced. At a Greensboro diner in North Carolina African American students decided to form a sit-in. This started a wildfire of sit-ins around the region. Most of the peaceful activist were still arrested for trespassing or disorderly conduct. Their actions showed that they were not willing to give in. It forced most segregated places to change their policies and was another victory for the civil rights movement. -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was helped made by Ella Baker to help give young African Americans a voice throughout the civil rights movement. They were a more radical branch but were successful in their attempts to end segregation. They played a large role in the freedom rides and the black voter registration protests in the south. They gave birth to the term "black power" and relied more on violence which Dr. Martin Luther King opposed. -
Freedom Rides
The Freedom Rides were a serious of bus trips by African American and White civil rights activists through the deep south. They left Washington D.C. and tried to integrate bus terminals along their journey and use white only restrooms. The group was met with lots of violent and harmful acts. One of the buses was eventually burned but in the end the Interstate Commerce Commission abolished segregated bus and train stations. -
James Meredith
James Meredith who was a civil rights activist was the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi in 1962. At first when he applied he was accepted into the university but then denied when they found out he was African American. James then filed a law suit for discrimination. The lower courts were against him but when the case made it to the supreme court they ruled in favor of James Meredith. -
Letter From Birmingham Jail
The famous "Letter From Birmingham Jail" was written by Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. openly defending the nonviolent strategy he implemented at the beginning. The letter was later published and became popular among civil rights activists.On April 12, 1963 after King organized a boycott he was arrested and met with unusual cruelty. The next day he wrote the letter with a theme of exposing the injustices in the city. -
Medger Evers
Medger Evers a civil rights activist helped many efforts in the civil rights movement such as voter registration efforts, demonstrations, and boycotting companies that practiced discrimination. He joined the NAACP in an effort to end segregated schools.His actions made his opposition act against him. he and his family were constantly threatened and at one point his house was firebombed. In the end Evers was assassinated in his driveway on June 12, 1963. -
March on Washington
Organized by civil rights activist and religious groups more than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington D.C. for the march. Led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. he exposed the political and social challenges faced by African Americans. King gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech which preached about racial equality and justice. The march was a great success with many whites and african americans turning out for the event. This display was a tremendous victory for the civil rights movement. -
Bombing of Birmingham Church
As tension rose to an all time high during the civil rights movement, the race relations in the south were marked by violence and inequality. On September 15, 1963 a bomb exploded in a baptist church in Birmingham. 4 young African American girls were killed and many were injured. Violence among protesters and police ensued.It drew National attention to the struggle that African Americans have gone through for civil right. -
Twenty-fourth Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -
Mississippi Freedom Summer
The Mississippi Freedom Summer formed by civil rights organizations was an organized push for voter registration It wanted increase the voter participation in Mississippi. All the activist faced abuse from the police and Ku Klux Klan and a system of violent crimes against them including:arson, beating, false arrest, and the murder of at least three civil rights activist. The project further separated ideas on how to achieve their goal.peaceful or violent. -
Civil Rights Act passed
The Civil Rights Act which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin is exactly what the civil rights movement wanted. JFK had tried to push it during his presidency but was finally pushed through by the next president in line Lyndon B Johnson. This was the greatest accomplishment through the entire civil rights movement. -
Malcolm X Assasinated
Malcolm Little was assassinated on February 21, 1965 by members of a black Islamic group while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity in Washington Heights, New York. When Malcolm returned from his pilgrimage to mecca he founded the Afro-American Unity organization. It was another civil rights movement group that helped see it to the end.He gained followers fast and appealed to nonviolent young African Americans. -
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Selma to Montgomery march
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized a march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama in late march. The goal of the march was to register voters in the south. Throughout the entire march King and his members were met with violent resistance from state and local authorities. The protesters under the security of the National Guard finally got to Montgomery after 3 days of walking. The movement greatly increased awareness of African American hardships. -
Voting Rights Act approved
Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965, The Voting Rights Act broke state and local barriers that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This is considered one of the most far-reaching act of legislation for United States in history. This is one of the civil rights movement proudest moments because they fought for this the hardest. -
Black Panthers
The Black Panther party was formed in 1966 in Oakland California. The groups original intentions were to keep African American communities safe.They eventually formed a militia type group the called for the arming of African Americans.The party was formed in the wake of Malcolm Xs assassination by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.They believed the nonviolent ways of protesting had failed and they were resorting to violence.Though short the Black Panthers played a key role in the rights movement -
King Assassinated
On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot standing on his balcony in Memphis Tennessee by James Earl Ray. He was in Memphis at the time supporting a sanitation workers' strike He was only 39 years old. Ray had a definite motive in assassinating King: hatred. According to his family and friends, he was an outspoken racist who informed them of his intent to kill Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.