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Plessy v. Ferguson
The Plessy v. Ferguson decision upheld the principle of racial segregation over the next half-century. The ruling provided legal justification for segregation on trains and buses, and in public facilities such as hotels, theaters, and schools. The act violated the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited slavery, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which granted full and equal rights of citizenship to African Americans. -
The Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen fought a two front war, one against the Axis powers and one against racial discrimination. By proving black men could fly and serve courageously in combat, the Tuskegee Airmen set the stage for the integration of the US military in 1948 and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. -
The Integration of Major League Baseball
Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play in the major leagues, breaking the color barrier that had surrounded baseball for over a half century and symbolizing the racial integration of American society. -
The Integration of the Armed Forces
Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which declared “that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.” It was an end to racial segregation in the military, a political act unmatched since the days of Reconstruction after the Civil War. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Sweatt v. Painter was a U.S. Supreme Court case in 1950 that successfully challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation established by the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson. The case was influential in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education four years later. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court case decision partially overruled its 1896 decision Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring that the "separate but equal" notion was unconstitutional for American public schools and educational facilities. -
Death of Emmitt Till
The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 brought nationwide attention to the racial violence and injustice prevalent in Mississippi. The newspaper coverage and murder trial galvanized a generation of young African Americans to join the Civil Rights Movement out of fear that such an incident could happen to friends, family, or even themselves. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks helped initiate the civil rights movement in the United States when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Her actions inspired the leaders of the local Black community to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott lasted more than a year and ended only when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional. -
Integration of Little Rock High School
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. The Little Rock Nine became an integral part of the fight for equal opportunity in American education when they dared to challenge public school segregation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. -
Greensboro Four Lunch Counter Sit-In
The Greensboro Sit-In was a critical turning point in Black history and American history, bringing the fight for civil rights to the national stage. Its use of nonviolence inspired the Freedom Riders and others to take up the cause of integration in the South, furthering the cause of equal rights in the United States. -
Freedom Riders of 1961
The 1961 Freedom Rides sought to test a 1960 decision by the Supreme Court in Boynton v. Virginia that segregation of interstate transportation facilities, including bus terminals, was unconstitutional. The Freedom Rides raised consciousness of racial discrimination. -
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
The 24th amendment, passed by President Johnson, was important to the Civil Rights Movement as it ended mandatory poll taxes that prevented many African Americans. Poll taxes effectively prevented African Americans from having any sort of political power. -
Integration of the University of Mississippi
Riots erupted on the campus of the University of Mississippi where many had gathered to protest the enrollment of James Meredith, who was attempting to integrate the all-white school. Before Ole Miss integration was over, federal troops were called in, hundreds were injured, and two had died, all so he could go to class. This was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights struggle. It showed the lengths the federal government would go to see that civil rights were honored. -
Integration of the University of Alabama
On June 11, 1963, black students Vivian Malone and James A. Hood showed up at the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa to attend class. In what is often referred to as the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door," the governor literally stood in the doorway as federal authorities tried to allow the students to enter. When Wallace refused to budge, President John F. Kennedy called for 100 troops to assist federal officials. Wallace chose to step down rather than incite violence. -
March on Washington & "I Have a Dream" Speech by MLK
The March on Washington was held in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. At the march, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in which he called for an end to racism. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in a presidential motorcade. Shortly after the shooting, Lee Harvey Oswald was apprehended and charged with the president's murder. Kennedy's assassination threatened to slow the growing momentum of the Civil Rights movement. President Kennedy publicly committed his administration to the cause of racial equality. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed by President Johnson, hastened the end of legal Jim Crow. It secured African Americans equal access to restaurants, transportation, and other public facilities. It enabled blacks, women, and other minorities to break down barriers in the workplace. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X was an African American leader in the civil rights movement, minister and supporter of Black nationalism. He urged his fellow Black Americans to protect themselves against white aggression “by any means necessary,” a stance that often put him at odds with the nonviolent teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X was later assassinated by Thomas Hagen in New York. -
Selma to Montgomery March : "Bloody Sunday"
On March 7, 1965, hundreds of people gathered in Selma, Alabama to march to the capital city of Montgomery. They marched to ensure that African Americans could exercise their constitutional right to vote, even in the face of a segregationist system that wanted to make it impossible. As many as 25,000 people participated in the roughly 50-mile march. Together, this event became a landmark in the American civil rights movement. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. -
Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Marting Luther King Jr.'s assassination led to an outpouring of anger among Black Americans, as well as a period of national mourning. In response to King’s death, more than 100 American inner cities exploded in rioting, looting, and violence. James Earl Ray pled guilty to the shooting and received a 99-year prison sentence. He quickly recanted his plea and spent the rest of his life claiming that he had been framed by a conspiracy that was really responsible for King’s assassination. -
Voting Rights Act of 1968
The Voting Rights Act of 1968 expanded on previous acts and prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, and since 1974, sex. Since 1988, the act protects people with disabilities and families with children.