Civil Rights Movement

  • 1954 BCE

    Segregation in public schools unconstitutional

    A case on Brown v. Board of Education was decided by the Supreme Court terming segregation in public schools unconstitutional hence ending racial segregation in public schools. However, majority of the schools remained segregated.
  • President Truman orders end of segregation in armed services

    An executive order was issued by President Harry Truman to bring to end segregation in the Armed Services.
  • Bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama

    Bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama
    Rosa Parks, African American activist refused to give up her seat to a white man in Montgomery arrest. Her arrest led to a sustained one year bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama.
  • Civil Rights leaders meet in Atlanta,Georgia

    Leaders of civil rights movements and sixty black pastors from several southern states including Martin Luther King, Jr. met in Atlanta, Georgia so as to coordinate nonviolent protests against racial segregation and discrimination.
  • 9 black American students get harassed

    Nine black American students referred to as “Little Rock Nine,” were blocked entrance at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
  • Civil Rights Act

    Civil Right Act of 1957 was signed into law Eisenhower to assist in protecting the rights of voters. The law allowed the prosecution of those who suppressed the rights of other people to vote.
  • Wallace block Black students

    June 11, 1963: George C. Wallace a Governor stands in the doorway to block two black American students from registering at the University of Alabama. The standoff continues until when a national guard was sent by President J. F. Kennedy to the campus.
  • Bombing of 16th Baptist Church

    September 15, 1963: 4 young girls were killed and several injured before a Sunday service by a bomb at 16th Street Baptist Church.
  • Assassination of Malcolm X

    February 21, 1965: Malcolm X, a Black religious leader is assassinated at a rally by members of the Islamic Nation.
  • Voting rights granted to Black Americans

    August 6, 1965: the voting right act of 1965 is signed by President Johnson in order to avoid using literacy tests as a voting requirement.
  • Assassination of Martin Luther King jr

    Assassination of Martin Luther King jr
    April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in his hotels room balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1969, James Ray is convicted of the murder.