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Brown V. Board of education of Topeka, Kansas
Linda Brown was denied access to her neighborhood school in Topeka Kansas because of her skin color. Her parents then sued the board of education with the help of the NAACP. On May 17, 1954 the supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the schools to be segregated. -
Rosa Parks arrest
When a white person ordered Rosa Parks and three other blacks to move so that he could sit. The three other people stood up, but Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. She was then arrested by a police Officer in Montgomery Alabama. She asked what she was being arrested for and the cop responded "I don't know, but the law is the law." Rosa Park's arrest sparked the Montgomrey Bus Boycotts which went on for eleven months in an attempt to get equal rights on buses. -
Montgomery bus Boycotts
The Montgomery Bus Boycotts started soon after Rosa Parks was arrested. Many Cilvil Rights activists refused to ride the bus, and instead walked to work.This went on for eleven months until segregation on interstate busses was ruled illegal. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The same year as the Little Rock crisis congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. This was meant to protect voting rights and gave power to the government to deal with denying voting rights. When the bill was first passed through congress many southern democrats tried to prevent it from passing, but Lyndon Johnson made a compromise that allowed the law to be passed. Unfortunately the power of the bill was not as strong as it was originally it was the first step towards equal rights. -
Little Rock, Arkansas Crisis
After segregation in schools was ruled as unconstitutional nine black students were chosen to attend Central high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. The governor, Orval Faubus, ordered the national guard to surround the school to prevent the nine students from entering the school. At the same time a mob formed. Faubus was ordered to get rid of the national guard, and he complied but left the mob alone. The nine students were then escorted into school by the army for the rest of the year. -
Sit-In Strikes
The sit-in strikes were a very simple, yet effective way for the civil rights activists to help. The sit-in strikes were when a group of blacks would sit at a table or bar in a restaurant and wait to be served. This was so effective because it would disgrace the manager into serving the strikers. Often the strikes resulted in violence, but it was a step forward for the Civil Rights campaign. -
The Freedom Riders
After segregation in buses was ruled illegal segregation still existed in the south. In early May of 1961 CORE leader James Farmer started asking groups of civil rights activists, including whites, to ride the interstate busses. When these buses reached large cities in Alabama such as Montgomery, and Birmingham, the passengers were beaten, and the busses were either bombed or had their tires slit. -
James Meredith in Ole Miss *check info
James Meredith was the first black man to enroll in Ole Miss university. On the day he tried to enroll his path was blocked by --------- He was then escorted by U.S Marshals to register. Rioting soon started, and for the rest of the year James was watched and escorted to class by the Marshals. -
William Lewis Moore assassinated
William Lewis Moore was a white man who was a CORE member who performed lone Civil Rights protests. He was killed on April 23, 1963. Moore was killed by Floyd Simpson who he had argued with earlier in the day. -
Alabama governor blocks students from enrolling into college
On June 11, 1963 governor of Alabama George Wallace personally blocked the entrance to the University of Alabama's admissions office. He did this to try and prevent the enrollment of two blacks. This action gave president Kennedy the opportunity to announce the idea of the civil rights bill. -
Medgar Evers assassination
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist who worked to gain admission for blacks into the university of Mississippi. He was shot by Byron De La Beckwith who was part of the white citizens council. A group that combated desegregation of schools. Evers was killed in his driveway in Jackson, Mississippi -
March on Washington
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. realized that John F Kennedy would have a tough time passing the Civil Rights Bill through Congress so he started thinking of ways to gain support. A. Phillip Randolph suggested the idea for a march on Washington, and King agreed. Over two hundred thousand people came to the capital on August 28, 1963. The crowd sang hymns and listened to many speeches including the famous "I Have A Dream" speech. -
Poll Tax outlawed
The 24th amendment made poll taxes illegal for federal elections. The amendment didn't address state elections though. Man blacks still faced challenges when trying to vote, but many still registered. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Before the bill was passed many southern democrats tried to slow down the time before a vote was required by filibusting. This was when they would take turns debating whether or not to pass the bill. this went on for 87 days. Finally the senate voted for cloture which ends filibusting. The civil Rights act of 1964 gave the attorney general much more power to enforce school desegregation, and made it illegal for public places such as restaurants, and bathrooms to be segregated. -
March to Selma
Selma, Alabama was mainly comprised of blacks, but they only represented three percent of the voting population.Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC lead a march of 2,000 protesters to Selma. Once the protesters arrived at the Edmund Pettus Bridge the police force rushed them and started beating them. The entire event could be clearly seen on television, and by the end 70 protesters were left hospitalized. 8 days later President Johnson proposed a new voting rights law. -
Thurgood Marshall first black Supreme Court Justice
Before Thurgood Marshall became the first black Supreme Court justice he was an attorney that sought out cases that may overturn the ruling of separate but equal. He sought out help from many local attorneys and consulted with many experts of certain cases. Marshall helped with the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. He was nominated for service by President Lyndon Johnson, and on October 2, 1967 he was sworn into service. -
Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968. He was killed in Memphis supporting a strike involving sanitation in black workplaces. Before his death King was going to lead a march on Washington to lobby for the Federal government to spend millions of dollars to end poverty. After he died the march still went on, but had no success.
