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Nation of Islam Created
The NOI, lead by Elijah Muhammad, taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic, and social success. Among other goals, the NOI fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. Malcolm X spent time studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. https://goo.gl/OsVFsJ
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Executive order 9981 Signed (Desegregation of the Military)
"It is hereby 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." Pres. Truman was determined to end segregation in the military but felt uncomfortable with doing so until the DNC announced that they wished to pass certain liberal civil rights, among those being desegregation. https://goo.gl/EsZDZs
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Brown v. Board of Education Court Case
This court case declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional (overruled Plessy v. Ferguson's "separate but equal"). Inspired many education reforms for minorities, especially African Americans, and challenged segregation in all aspects of society. https://goo.gl/QXklbM
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Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat
Rosa Parks does not give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This act of resistance spurred the passing of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped launch other efforts of desegregation and equality. https://goo.gl/jZUjM3
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MLK Elected to Led the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is elected by the Montgomery Improvement Association as the president to lead the boycott. The Montgomery Improvement Association, or MIA, was created in response to the arrest of NAACP official, Rosa Parks. Through this association, MLK created a name for himself as a powerful and eminent spokesperson that greatly increase the influentially of the MIA. https://goo.gl/xS02Rt
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The Montgomery Bus Boycott Begins
This boycott was a protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. African Americans in the city of Montgomery refused to use the city's buses to show their resistance to the segregation of public transportation. This was the first large-scale demonstration against segregation, which eventually led to the court ordering the integration of its bus system. https://goo.gl/P6jPn0
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Bombing of 4 African-American Churches
Angry over the desegregation of the public transit system, whites bombed multiple house and churches. 4 churches were destroyed/damaged along with the homes of civil rights leaders: E.D. Nixon and Martin Luther King, Jr. https://goo.gl/UXr8Qu
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Autherine Lucy is Prevented From Attending University
Lucy and her friend were accepted into the University of Alabama due to a court order and became the first African-American students to enroll. But they were unable to attend as the university manages to finds legal ways of preventing their attendance. https://goo.gl/qfzxAb
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Browder v. Gayle Court Case
The court case established that bus segregation was unconstitutional. It refused to hear city and state appeals, and issued an order to Montgomery Alabama to integrate its buses. The next day, after 381 days, the Montgomery bus boycott ended. MLK announced that ‘‘the year-old protest against city buses is officially called off, and the Negro citizens of Montgomery are urged to return to the busses tomorrow morning on a non-segregated basis" https://goo.gl/sY6BDq
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The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is Created
After the successful protest of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, many were inspired by the possibilities of further expanding civil rights. This led to the creation of the SCLC with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the first president of the association. The organization united the activities and power of the African American churches in the area to promote civil rights and equality. https://goo.gl/uhM4aO
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"Little Rock Nine"
In Little Rock, Arkansas, nine black students are blocked from entering the segregated school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower sends federal troops and the National Guard to intervene on behalf of the students and allow their enrollment. This is believed to be one of the most impactful events in the civil rights movement. https://goo.gl/0c4U2j
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Cooper v. Aaron Court Case
The case stated that official resistance and community violence could not justify delays in implementing desegregation efforts. The Supreme Court ruled that the state of Arkansas could not pass legislation undermining the Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education https://goo.gl/UOWpa0
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Temple Bombing in Georgia
In Atlanta, Georgia, fifty sticks of dynamite exploded in a recessed entranceway at the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation, Atlanta's oldest and most prominent synagogue, more commonly known as "the Temple." Though no one was killed or hurt, the city suffer a major confidence loss. https://goo.gl/w9OnQA
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Sit-ins at Atlanta, Georgia
Sit-ins Atlanta, GA Students representing Atlanta's six historically black colleges organized a series of sit-ins at area lunch counters to protest the city's legally sanctioned segregation. https://goo.gl/UHNjop
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Bailey v. Patterson Court Case
The Court recognized as settled law that a state may not segregate interstate and intrastate transportation facilities. https://goo.gl/RZOjTP
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James Meredith Enrolls at the University of Mississippi
James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violence and riots surrounding the incident caused President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops. https://goo.gl/gW7RDx
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Creation of the "Freedom Vote"
Several civil rights organizations, under the collective title Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), launch the "Freedom Vote" mock election to give black citizens, many who had never voted, practice in casting a ballot. https://goo.gl/oCeJF6
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"Letter from Birmingham Jail"
A letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. after he had been arrested when he took part in a nonviolent march against segregation. The letter explained the civil rights movement to critics. He was disappointed more Christians didn't speak out against racism. https://goo.gl/ApA4Kn
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Medgar Evers is Shot
Head of Mississippi NAACP, Medgar Evers, is shot outside his home on the same night that President Kennedy addresses the nation on race, asking "Are we to say to the world...that this is a land of the free except for Negroes" https://goo.gl/yBMF6q
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March on Washington/ "I Have a Dream Speech"
More than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a political rally for Jobs and freedom. Organized by a number of civil rights and religious groups, the event was designed to shed light on the political and social challenges African Americans continued to face across the country. King's made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. https://goo.gl/it25YQ
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A Church Bombing in Birmingham, Alabama
The Ku Klux Klan bombs the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls attending Sunday school. Only one suspect is tried: Klansman Thomas Blanton Jr. is convicted for the crime in 2001, 38 years after the murder. This was a catalyst for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 https://goo.gl/70dC2M
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John F. Kennedy's Assassination
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in a presidential motorcade. Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy. Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States shortly after the assassination. https://goo.gl/Y4NUat
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The 24th Amendment ratified
The 24th Amendment abolished the poll tax, which had originally been instituted in 11 southern states. The poll tax made it difficult for blacks to vote. "The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election [...] shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax." https://goo.gl/bn1MAL
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Malcolm X leaves the Nation of Islam
Malcolm X leaves the Nation of Islam due to conflict with the group's leader, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X created his own religious organization, the Muslim Mosque, Inc. https://goo.gl/2JKstq
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Mississippi Freedom Democrats Founded
Mississippi Freedom Democrats founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. The MFDP was a voter registration project for African Americans in the state. Both whites and blacks were allowed to cast votes to run several candidates for the Senate and Congress. https://goo.gl/w6506M
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"Great Society"
President Johnson announces the "Great Society" with "abundance and liberty for all", and declares a "War on Poverty." It was an attempt to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. https://goo.gl/vldMfe
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Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer, or the Mississippi Summer Project, begins in Ohio. The first wave of "Freedom Summer" recruits, primarily black activists, but also many white volunteers, board buses headed for Mississippi. The goal of these rides was to register as many African American voters as possible in Mississippi https://goo.gl/rQ1vZq
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Three "Freedom Summer" Volunteers Disappear
Three "Freedom Summer" volunteers—James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner—disappeared while working in Mississippi. https://goo.gl/Hg4My6
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New York Race Riots
These riots were the first in a series of devastating race-related riots that ripped through American cities. The riots began in Harlem, New York following the shooting of fifteen year-old James Powell by a white off-duty police officer. Charging that the incident was an act of police brutality, an estimated eight thousand Harlem residents took to streets and launched a large-scale riot. https://goo.gl/T03Oo9
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Jimmie Lee Jackson Killed
Jimmie Lee Jackson, an unarmed black man shot by white supremacists, leads to a series of civil rights protests in Selma, Alabama. https://goo.gl/sVJISa
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Malcomb X Assassinated
Malcomb X was assassinated in Washington Heights, New York City. https://goo.gl/P06C82
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress passes Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act was an aim to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. https://goo.gl/RRYn3E
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SNCC Announces its Opposition to the Vietnam War
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee members would feel increasing sympathy for the Vietnamese, comparing the indiscriminate bombing of Vietnam to racial violence in the United States. https://goo.gl/5g6YnI
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Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court Case
The Supreme Court ruled that prohibiting interracial marriage was unconstitutional. Sixteen states that still banned interracial marriage at the time were forced to revise their laws.This decision was followed by an increase in interracial marriages. https://goo.gl/gU32X9
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Martin Luther King Assassinated
James Earl Ray assassinates Martin Luther King, while he is standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. https://goo.gl/JgKvCA
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Civil Rights Act of 1968
The Civil Rights Act of 1968, or the Fair Housing Act, prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of approximately 80 percent of the housing in the U.S. Prohibited state governments and Native-American tribal governments from violating the constitutional rights of Native Americans. https://goo.gl/MtF92P
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James Earl Ray Sentenced to Prison
James Earl Ray pleaded guilty for the crime of MLK's assassination and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. https://goo.gl/DZho64
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Civil Rights Restoration Act
Overriding President Ronald Reagan's veto, Congress passed the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which expanded the reach of nondiscrimination laws within private institutions receiving federal funds. https://goo.gl/XcPrVB
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Klansman Thomas Blanton Jr. is Convicted
Klansman Thomas Blanton Jr. is convicted for the crime in 2001, 38 years after the murder of four young girls in an Alabama church bombing. https://goo.gl/TwQgHs
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