Civil Rights Movement

Brown v. Board of Education

May 17, 1954

In this case Linda Brown, a young African American girl, was turned down for admission to a school in Topeka, Kansas, due to her race. She was told to attend an all-black school. NAACP’s chief counsel of Education, an African American attorney Thurgood Marshall focused his efforts on ending segregation in public schools. The Court ruled in favor of Linda Brown in a majority decision. It did so by overturning Plessy v. Ferguson and rejecting the notion segregation. This case is important in U.S.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

1956

Several African American leaders organized the Montgomery Improvement Association on the afternoon of Rosa Parks' court appearance to oversee the boycott and negotiate with city officials for an end to segregation. Martin Luther King, Jr., was chosen to lead them.People arranged carpools or walked to work instead of taking the bus. The Supreme Court upheld the judgment of a special three-judge panel, Alabama's laws requiring segregation on buses were declared unconstitutional.

The Little Rock 9 and the Desegregation of Schools

1957

The school in Little Rock,Arkansas, won a court order requiring that nine African American students be admitted to Central High,a school with white students.The governor of Arkansas,Orval Faubus, held campaign to defender white supremacy. He ordered troops to prevent the nine students from entering the school.He used armed forces.The violence convinced President Eisenhower to act.He immediately ordered the Army. The nine students arrived to school.Federal authority had been upheld.

The Sit-In Movement

Feb 1, 1960

The fit- in movement was led by a group called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was formed. (SNCC). Four young African Americans—Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, and Franklin McCain—enrolled at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, an African American college in Greensboro were the founder. They were trying to carry forward the civil rights movement. They desired the same services as the white and were ready to fight nonviolently. It was a success.

Freedom Riders

1961

Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who desegregate interstate buses into the segregated Southern U.S. to challenge the enforcement. In Birmingham the riders came from a bus, a gang of men armed with baseball bats and chains arrived there. The gang beat the riders viciously. The Public Safety Commissioner Eugene Connor, told that there were no police at the bus station. FBI evidence later showed that Connor had contacted the Ku Klux Klan and told them to beat the Freedom Riders.

James Meredith and the Desegregation of Southern Universities

1962

James Meredith, an African American air force veteran, applied for a transfer to the University of Mississippi. Meredith had a court order for the university to register him, but Governor Barnett firmly said, "Never!" We will never surrender to tyranny's evil and illegal forces.” President Kennedy, sent federal marshals to accompany Meredith to campus who were attacked by a white mob. This event was significant, James became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi.

The March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

King agreed to a march on Washington when A. Philip Randolph proposed it. More than 200,000 people of all races flocked to the nation's capital on August 28, 1963. As they gathered peacefully near the Lincoln Memorial, the crowd heard speeches and sang hymns. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. then gave a stirring speech detailing his vision of freedom and equality for all Americans.
King’s speech and dignity of the March built momentum for the civil rights bill. It was passed shortly after the march.

Malcolm X and the Civil Rights Movement

1965

Malcolm X was an African-American civil rights activist. He urged black Muslims to educate themselves and become self-sufficient. They instilled in them a sense of community respect and a preference for self-defense over crime. Malcolm X continued to condemn the Nation of Islam after he left the organization. In February 1965, as a result of this, members of the group shot and killed him.

Voter Registration Among Minorities

1965

Voting rights were far from protected even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. When it comes to voting, though, African Americans still face challenges. Members of the SCLC and SNCC were often assaulted and battered as they protested. Dr. King marched from Salem to the state capital of Montgomery to oppose the injustice with the voting rights. In the march many were beaten and killed by state troops. After this the Voting Rights Act was passed in order to provide equal voting rights.

Urban Problems and the Black Panthers

1966

When African Americans migrated to the north, they faced the same prejudice that they had experienced in the south. They were denied the same opportunities and did not receive the same pay as white people. The unemployment rate in African American communities was higher. In 1966 in Oakland, California, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver organized the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers believed that a revolution was necessary. They urged African Americans to fight for equal rights.