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Brown vs. Board of Election
In 1954, the Supreme Court agreed on Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Many southern political leaders claimed the desegregation decision violated the rights of states to manage their systems of public education, and they responded with defiance, legal challenges, delays, or token compliance. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted the entire year of 1956, had demonstrated that mass direct action could indeed work. This connects because everyone deserves to sit in a bus where they want, drink from any water fountain, and not get treated like a door mat. -
Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, Washington, D.C.
The Prayer Pilgrimage to Washington for Freedom took place on May 17, 1957, when a crowd of over thirty thousand nonviolent demonstrators, from more than thirty states, gathered at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the third anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling. -
Martin Luther was arrested
By the 1960 presidential campaign, civil rights had emerged as a crucial issue. Just a few weeks before the election, Martin Luther King Jr., was arrested while leading a protest in Atlanta, Georgia. -
President Kennedy takes office
When President Kennedy took office in January 1961, African Americans had high expectations for the new administration. President Kennedy announced that major civil rights legislation would be submitted to congress to guarantee equal right to public facilities, end segregation in education, and provide federal protection of the right to vote. -
Albany Movement
In November 1961, residency of Albany, Georgia, launched ambitious campaign to eliminate segregation in all paths of local life. -
Campaign Launching
In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth launched a campaign of mass protests in Birmingham, Alabama, which King called the most racial city in America. -
March on Washingtom
In August 1963, more than 200,000 Americans of all races celebrated the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation by joining the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. also gave his legendary "I have a Dream" speech. -
Salem- Montgomery March
To protest local resistance to black voter registration in Dallas County, Alabama, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized a mass march from Selma to Montgomery on March 7, 1965. -
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated
On April 4,1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a sniper bullet while standing on the second balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
