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Brown v Board of Education
A major Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws supporting public school segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The ruling overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson judgment, which had allowed for state-sponsored segregation. -
The Murder of Emmett Till
He was a 14-year-old African-American child who was murdered in a racial attack that shocked the country and sparked the civil rights movement. When he was accused of harassing a local white woman and ultimately brutally murdered by her husband, he was visiting family in Mississippi from Chigaco. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycotts
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation. African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as a prominent leader of the American civil rights movement. -
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine Black students who enrolled at an all-white high school. It was a test of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. The case drew national attention to the civil rights movement. -
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Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were civil rights campaigners who were both white and black. They took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides, which were bus travels across the American South to protest segregated bus terminals. Police officers and protestors confronted the organizations, but they also brought attention to the civil rights movement. -
Equal Pay Act
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. It was one of the earliest regulations targeted at reducing workplace gender discrimination. Equal pay for equal labor is mandated by the law, which prohibits companies from paying unequal wages or benefits for positions that demand the same abilities and responsibilities. -
March on Washington
The August 1963 March on Washington was a protest march that took place in Washington, D.C. Its goal was to bring attention to the ongoing issues and disadvantages that African Americans experience. The march drew a crowd of 250,000 people in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. -
Birmingham Church Bombing
A bomb exploded on September 15, 1963, at a church in Birmingham, Alabama, with a mostly Black congregation and a meeting site for civil rights leaders. Many people were injured, including four young girls. The outrage over the incident drew national attention to the civil rights struggle. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is often regarded as one of the civil rights movement's greatest legislative successes. President John F. Kennedy suggested it, and it overcame stiff resistance from southern members of Congress. In the years that followed, Congress expanded the act and passed other civil rights legislation. -
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March of Selma
The Selma to Montgomery march was one of many civil rights demonstrations. Black voters in the South were confronted with fatal violence in March 1965. The march brought attention to the challenges that black voters face and the necessity for a voting rights act. Martin Luther King Jr. was among those who took part in the march. -
The Founding of NOW (National Organization for Women)
The National Organization for Women was founded in 1966. It is the largest feminist group in the United States, with some 500,000 members. Betty Friedan was one of its founders. NOW has a presence in all 50 states and its headquarters are in Washington, D.C. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tennessee. King spearheaded the civil rights struggle as a Baptist clergyman and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). His assassination sparked a wave of rage among African-Americans, as well as a period of national sorrow. -
Fair Housing Act
The Fair Housing Act, often known as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, is a United States federal law that prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, financing, or advertising of housing. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, family status, or national origin is prohibited by the Fair Housing Act, as revised in 1988. -
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Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall Riots began in 1969, when police raided a gay bar in New York City. The raid erupted into a fight among bar clients and locals. The raid was followed by six days of protests and skirmishes with law officers. The riots sparked the homosexual rights movement in the United States and throughout the world. -
Title IX (Nine)
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that was enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972 in the United States of America. It makes sex-based discrimination illegal in any federally funded school or educational program.