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Brown Vs. The Board of Education Ruling
The Brown Vs. The Board of Education Ruling was a supreme court case that became a famous civil rights event. Thurogood Marshall was the attorney of Londa Brown,who filed a lawsuit against the board of education for denying her child access to a white school. She argued that the law of "separate but equal" was unconstitutional and the case was eventually moved up to a supreme court case. -
The Pearsall Plan
On this day in 1954, Greensboro became the first city in the South to announce that it would liste to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling which declared racial segregation in the nation’s public schools unconstitutional. The Pearsall Plan gave responsibility from the state to the local boards of education, allowing schools to avoid acting on the supreme court's ruling. -
The Little Rock Nine
Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, Minniejean Brown, Gloria Ray, Thelma Mothershed and Melba Pattillo were all of the students associated with the little rock nine. This was an attempt to integrate schools in America. As a result, most of the schools at that time would start to accept people of all races. -
The Greensboro sit-in
On this day in a woolworths diner in Greensboro, NC, four African-American friends sat down at a segregated lunch booth. Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond were all taking a stand against segregation. As a result of their braverey, all restaurants and diners are now integrated. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans the discrimination of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. This act ended the application of "Jim Crow" laws, which had been upheld by the Supreme Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson case, where the Court held that racial segregation being "separate but equal" was constitutional. This act was eventually expanded by Congress to better enforce of these fundamental civil rights. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
On this day tragedy fell uopn the civil rights supporters and the African-American community. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was hit by a sniper's bullet.King had been standing on the balcony in front of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when, without warning, he was shot. He was rushed to the hospital when he was pronounced dead at 7:05pm that evening. James Earl Ray was the convicted killer and was sentenced to 99 years in prison - a life sentence.