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CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: 1954-1968
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Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court unanimously hands down decesion which overturns "separate but equal" policy. Schools across America begin to desegregate -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This event sparks a successful year-long boycott by African-Americans of city buses. -
Supreme Court Desegregates The Buses
Supreme Court handes down decesion which forces Montgomery, Alabama to desegregate the bus system. -
SCLC Founded
Martin Luther King Jr. helps create that Southern Christain Leadership Conference, with the aim of working to obtaining equality for African-Americans. -
Little Rock Nine
Nine African-American students are admitted into Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas. President Eisenhower sends the 101st Airborne Divsion to escort and protect the nine students. -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
Four African-American college students peacefully sit-in at a white only diner where they are refused service. The sit-in gains media attention, and there are several similar sit-ins across the nation. Many sit-ins are successful in desegregating resturants in the South. -
Freedom Rides Begin
The Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE), begins freedom ride into the Deep South. The goal was to challenge segregated bus policies in the South. These white and black Freedom Riders were met with violence from white mobs. Thes acts of violence against the Freedom Riders drew national attention. -
Malcolm X Named National Minister of the Nation Of Islam
Malcolm X was rising in popularity as an alternate to Martin Luther King Jr's nonviolent resistence. Self-defense and black separatism were key facets of Malcolm X's beliefs. -
"I Have A Dream Speech"
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous "I Have A Dream" speech on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.. The march on Washington demonstrated the large support for the Civil Rights movement and also placed pressure on the Kennedy administration to accelerate Civil Rights legislation -
Freedom Summer
Several Civil Rights organization travel to Mississippi in an effort to register black voters in the state. These students and organizers are met with violence. By 1967 the number of black voters in Mississippi had risen by 60 percent. -
Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Signed
President Johnson worked with several coalitions in Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act outlawed several forms of discrimination against minorities. Also included in the act were provisions to end unfair voter registration standards, as well as segregation in schools and in the workplace. -
Malcolm X Assassinated
After distancing himself from the Nation Of Islam, Malcolm X is assassinated while delivering a speech. -
Voter Rights Act Signed
After the violence of the Selma March, President Johnson signed into law the Voter Rights Act. The bill strengthened powers established under the Civil Rights Act, which prevented states from establishing unfair voter registration and voting regulations. -
Watts Riots
Race riots erupt in the Watts section of Los Angeles, California. Thirty-four people are killed and thousands of others are injured. Watts was the first of many race riots that occured during the 1960's. -
Black Panthers Formed
The Black Panthers were formed by Booby Seale and Huey Newton in Oakland, California. Compared to other Civil Rights groups, the Black Panthers were more militant. The group promoted strengthening the Black community as well as some socialist ideals. -
Thurgood Marshall joins Supreme Court
Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. Prior to his appointment, Marshall worked as a lawyer who argued the Brown v. Board case in front of the Supreme Court. -
Martin Luther King Jr Assassinated
While in Memphis to support Black sanitation workers who were on strike, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Race riots across the nation occurred when news of the assassination spread. The Civil Rights movement lost its most influential leader when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.
