-
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson essentially established the constitutionality of racial segregation. As a controlling legal precedent, it prevented constitutional challenges to racial segregation for more than half a century until it was finally overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown. -
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 Integration of Major League Baseball
Baseball led the way on integration, as Jackie Robinson became a key symbol of equality during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s -
The Integration of the Armed Forces
It signaled the end of racial discrimination in the U.S. defense industry, the armed forces generally hewed to a policy of segregation throughout the duration of World War II. -
The Supreme Court Decision of Sweatt v. Painter
Heman Marion Sweatt, a black man, applied for admission to the University of Texas Law School, but because of his race, he was rejected. The Supreme Court held that Texas failed to provide separate but equal education, prefiguring the future opinion in Brown that "separate but equal is inherently unequal." -
The Supreme Court Decision of Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. -
The Death of Emmitt Till
African Americans across the country had begun the struggle for justice. Emmett Till's murder was a spark in the upsurge of activism and resistance that became known as the Civil Rights movement. The sight of his brutalized body pushed many who had been content to stay on the sidelines directly into the fight. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks invigorated the struggle for racial equality when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Her actions helped raise international awareness of racism in the United States. -
The Integration of Little Rock High School
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine Black students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School. On the first day of classes at Central High, Governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas National Guard to block the Black students’ entry into the high school. Their attendance was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional -
The Civil Right Act of 1957
The new act established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and empowered federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote. -
The 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 others to take up the cause of integration in the South, furthering the cause of equal rights in the United States. -
The Freedom Rides by Freedom Riders of 1961
The Freedom Riders rode interstate buses across the South and drew national attention to their cause because of the violence that often erupted against them. -
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
The 24th Amendment gave the right of all U.S. citizens to freely cast their votes to be secured. -
The Integration of the University of Mississippi
James Meredith became one of the heroic figures in the American Civil Rights Movement, succeeding against every legal, political and bureaucratic obstacle that blocked his path to becoming the university’s first African-American student. He opened the door for thousands of African-Americans who followed and set an example for every student, of every background, about what even one individual can accomplish. -
The Integration of the University of Alabama
Two black students were admitted to the University of Alabama. This occurred after an unsuccessful attempt by Governor George Wallace to block their admission. President Kennedy ordered the national guard federalized to insure their admittance, and gave an impassioned speech to the nation on the subject. -
The March on Washington & "I Have a Dream" Speech by MLK
The March on Washington and King's speech are widely considered turning points in the Civil Rights Movement, shifting the demand and demonstrations for racial equality that had mostly occurred in the South to a national stage. -
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas,Texas
His death prompted the United States Secret Service to protect presidential candidates. Vice President Hubert Humphrey was also a presidential candidate; he went on to win the Democratic nomination but ultimately lost the election to Republican candidate Richard Nixon. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Johnson
It ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, it is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement -
The Assassination of Malcom X
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. His charisma and oratory skills helped him achieve national prominence in the Nation of Islam, a belief system that merged Islam with Black nationalism -
The Selma to Montgomery March: "Bloody Sunday"
As many as 25,000 people participated in the roughly 50-mile march. Together, these events became a landmark in the American civil rights movement and directly led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
It 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. -
The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis,Tennessee
The assassinations triggered active unrest in communities that were already discontented. It led to an outpouring of anger among Black Americans, as well as a period of national mourning that helped speed the way for an equal housing bill that would be the last significant legislative achievement of the civil rights era. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1968
It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace, and by facilities that served the general public.
