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Emmett Till Murder
Emmett Till was a fourteen year old African American boy who was visiting family in Money, Mississippi when he was killed. He was known to prank people for fun but he took one too far and preformed a dare to flirt with a white woman. Four days later the woman's husband and brother kidnapped Emmett. They beat him nearly to death then while he was unconscious they threw him into the Tallahatchie River -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was where African Americans refused to ride the buses in Montgomery, Alabama. It started on December 5, 1955, and finally ended on December 20, 1956. They were protesting segregated seating. Four days before they started the boycott, Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for refusing to give her seat up to a white male. -
Little Rock Nine
There was a group of black students who were called the Little Rock Nine. They all enrolled in Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas which was an all white school. When the kids tried to come to school Governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas National Guard to block them off. The students were Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls. -
Freedom Riders Oppose Segregation
There was a group of white and African American civil rights activists which were called freedom riders. They would ride through southern states protesting segregated bus terminals. They would use whites only and try to sit at counters of restaurants. This resulted in arrest and brutality against them. It showed attention to large amounts of people. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington is when Martin Luther King Jr. spoke his “I Have a Dream” speech. 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. for this event. They were fighting for jobs and to be equal. Over 3000 members of press attended the event. -
Birmingham Bombing (Sixteenth Street Baptist Church)
The Birmingham Bombing killed four young girls and many others were injured. The church was an all blacks church and also a meeting place for civil rights leaders. The bomb was set off before the Sunday morning services. The KKK had threatened to let off bombs during meetings or services to disrupt them. This bombing was the third in 11 days. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This ended all separation by someone's race, color, religion, sex or national origin. You could no longer refuse someone a job because of any of those reasons. It also ended any segregation in public places there was for those people. John F Kennedy was the first one to bring this law up. It was signed into action by Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Nobel Prize
At age 35, Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the youngest to ever receive this award. He got this award for his nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in America. -
Race Riots in Detroit and Newark
Within five days, 43 people were dead, 342 injured, nearly 1,400 buildings had been burned and some 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops had been called into service. This was called the Race Riots. It was known as one of the most violent riots in the civil rights movement. -
Dr. King's Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by escaped convict James Earl Ray. He used a Remington .30-06 hunting rifle. Dr.King was standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee when a bullet struck his jaw and severed his spinal cord. At age 39 Dr.King had died which was announced at arrival at a Memphis hospital.
