Civil Rights Movement

Brown v. Board of Education

Dec 9, 1952

Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional

Malcolm X and the Civil Rights Movement

1954

Malcolm X was an African American leader in the civil rights movement, minister and supporter of Black nationalism He urged his fellow Black Americans to protect themselves against white aggression “by any means necessary,”

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dec 5, 1955

The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and a social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama

Little Rock 9 and the Desegregation of Schools

1957

The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faustus, the Governor of Arkansas.

The Sit-In Movement

Feb 1, 1960

The sit-in movement, sit-in campaign or student sit-in movement, were a wave of sit-ins that followed the Greensboro sit-ins on February 1, 1960 in North Carolina. The sit-in movement employed the tactic of nonviolent direct action and was a pivotal event during the Civil Rights Movement.

Freedom Riders

May 4, 1961

Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia

James Meredith and the Desegregation of Southern Universities

1962

In 1962, a federal appeals court ordered the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, an African-American student. Upon his arrival, a mob of more than 2,000 white people rioted; two people were killed

The March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington was held in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans.

Voter Registration Among Minorities

1965

It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. This “act to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution” was signed into law 95 years after the amendment was ratified.

Urban Problems and the Black Panthers

1966

The Black Panthers, also known as the Black Panther Party, was a political organization founded in 1966 Black Panthers organized armed citizen patrols of Oakland and other U.S. cities