-
The first march on Washington
was organized by A. Philip
Randolph to protest
discrimination in the defense
industry; it was called off after
FDR pushed through an
executive order that outlawed
discriminations. -
The court heard
Morgan v. Virginia
and ruled that
segregated busing
outlawed the
constitution,
however states
refused listen and
there was no
enforcement. -
The court heard
Brown v. the
Board of
Education and
ruled that school
segregation was
unconstitutional;
separate
facilities were
inherently unequal. This overturned
the 1896 case of Plessy v Ferguson
that separate was legal so long as
facilities were equal.
[https://www.naacpldf.org/brown-vs-board/] -
Claudette Colvin
was arrested for
refusing to give
up her seat to a
white passenger;
she was arrested
and fined. -
Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to
give up her seat to a white passenger in
Montgomery, AL; she was arrested and
fined.
[https://achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/]
[https://youtu.be/v8A9gvb5Fh0] -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
begins on December 4,1955 and
lasts until Dec 20, 1956. African Americans refuse to ride the
city's buses until they
desegregate buses, allow
black people to be drivers, and
improve respect. They
lose thousands of dollars as
over 75% of riders are
black citizens. Leads to
Supreme Court ruling that
segregation laws on city buses
are unconstitutional. White
backlash leads to bombings of
black churches and civil rights
leaders (including Dr. King). -
The Supreme Court heard
Browder v. Gayle and ruled
that busing segregation in
Montgomery and across
US was illegal, it just
wasn't being enforced. -
9 students were to be integrated into the all-white Little
Rock Central HS until Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus
ordered the National Guard to block their entrance.
Known as the "Little Rock Nine," these students faced
violence as the attempts to integrate schools
amped up. A federal court ordered the guard dispersed
but an angry white mob still attempted to prevent
integration; eventually President Eisenhower was forced
to send the military into AR to protect the nine students. -
MLK publishes
personal memoir
on the bus
boycotts and
importance of
nonviolent
resistance with his
Stride Toward
Freedom -
Supreme Court ruled in
Boynton v. Virginia that
segregated busing across
states line was illegal. -
4 African-American college
students from North Carolina A&T
planned to sit at the all-white lunch
counter at Woolworth's and
refused to leave. They would be
nonviolent but would not vacate
their seats. Known as the
Greensboro 4, they inspired
sit-ins across the south. Woolworth's was forced to desegregate the
counters as the white-backlash was bad.
[https://www.tiktok.com/@lokimulholland/video/6997039588371909893?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7111318605656360494] -
13 total riders (6 black, 7 white) planned to ride into
the south from DC to Louisiana and purposely
break segregation laws along the way. One person
would also follow the law to arrange for the release
of those arrested; violence broke out in South
Carolina and throughout the south due to their
attempt to defy segregation law. Known as the
"Freedom Riders", their brave actions urged AG
Robert Kennedy to start enforcing earlier Supreme
Court rulings to end segregation. -
On the 100-year anniversary of
the Emancipation
Proclamation that ended
slavery, another march on
Washington was planned by A.
Philip Randolph and Martin
Luther King, Jr. The goal of
the march was to show how
black people were still so
heavily discriminated against
even 100 years after slavery
ended. Here, King gave his
famous "I Have a Dream"
speech, and the 300k
marchers urged Congress to
pass the Civil Rights and
Voting Rights act in the
coming years.
[https://youtu.be/vP4iY1TtS3s]