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Rosa Parks ignites 381-day bus boycott organized by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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After Little Rock school board votes to integrate schools, National Guard troops prevent black children from attending school.
1000 federal paratroopers are needed to escort black students and preserve peace.
Arkansas Gov. Faubus responds by closing schools for 1958-59 school year. -
5000 federal troops are sent by Pres. Kennedy to allow Meredith to register for classes. Riots result in 2 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
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In response to white ministers who urge him to stop causing disturbances, King issues an articulate statement of nonviolent resistance to wrongs of American society.
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Standing in the schoolhouse door and promising segregation "today, tomorrow, and forever," Wallace is forced by Pres. Kennedy to allow blacks to enroll.
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More than 200,000 blacks and whites gather before Lincoln Memorial to hear speeches (including King's "I Have a Dream") and protest racial injustice.
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Overcoming Senate filibuster, Congress passes law forbidding racial discrimination in many areas of life, including hotels, voting, employment, and schools
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Rejecting integration and nonviolence, Malcolm splits off from Elijah Muhammad's Black Muslims and is killed by black opponents.
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After passage, southern black voter registration grows by over 50% and black officials are elected to various positions.
In Mississippi, black voter registration grew from 7% to 67% -
While supporting sanitation workers' strike which had been marred by violence in Memphis, King is shot by James Earl Ray. Riots result in 125 cities.
