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This amendment ruled slavery and involuntary servitude unconstitutional. Afterward, servitude was only legal as punishment for a crime. -
This amendment expanded the freedoms of formerly enslaved people. It ensured naturalization and protected natural rights and due process for all people. -
This amendment prevented the Federal government from discriminating based on race when it comes to voting. However, state governments still found ways (via literacy tests and poll taxes) to prevent freed slaves from voting. -
This Supreme Court case involved a 1/8 Black man who was denied a seat on the white section of a train, despite being mostly white. It ruled that segregation was Constitutional as long as as everyone had equal accommodations. -
The only successful coup d'etat in the United States history. A white mob overthrew the majority Black government in Wilmington, killing as many as 300 people. -
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is an organization created for the purpose of advancing the rights of non-white Americans and eliminating racism. It is America's oldest and largest civil rights organization. -
Executive order 9981, signed by President Harry Truman, mandated the desegregation of the military. This order also prevented discrimination in the federal government. -
This Supreme Court case ruled that separate schools for Black and white children were unconstitutional. It overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson "separate but equal" decision, and was the first step toward the elimination of segregation. -
Emmett Till, a 14 year old Black boy visiting his cousins in Mississippi, was tortured and killed by two white men after allegedly harassing a white woman. The allegations were later proven to be false, and Till's death sparked a national outrage. -
A group of nine Black students who were the first to integrate into the all-white Little Rock Central High School. The students faced much violence and harassment, and the army was ordered to defend them by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed legislation to protect voting rights for Black people. This act also created the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department. -
Four Black college students sat at a segregated lunch counter at Woolworth's and refused to move when denied service. Their peaceful protest sparked similar ones nationwide. -
A series of bus trips throughout the segregated South to protest against segregation. Black protesters attempted to use white-only establishments along the way, and faced widespread violence. -
Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This sparked a year long boycott to protests against the segregated bus system, which was eventually abolished. -
20,000 people marched on the National Mall in Washington D.C. to advocate for jobs and racial equality. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his most famous and influential speech, "I Have a Dream." -
This act outlawed discrimination in public places based on race, gender, religion, or origin. It also banned discriminatory practices in employment. -
Thousands of protesters gathered to participate in a nonviolent march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery. They were protesting the obstructions that Black people faced when registering to vote, and they were met with police brutality. -
This act protected the right to vote for non-white Americans. It outlawed literacy tests. -
Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed while standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. His death sparked nationwide outbreaks of racial violence, causing over 40 deaths. -
This case allowed the Federal government to mandate busing as a means to desegregate schools. It also permitted the use of racial quotes. -
As Black Americans gained more rights and freedoms from the US Government, the goals of the Civil Rights movement changed. For example, in the mid-1860s, the main goal was to abolish slavery. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution freed all slaves. Then, the focus turned toward citizenship and voting rights. The 14th and 15th Amendments granted the naturalization and the rights to voting and due process, respectively.
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After slavery, however, came segregation, which was the next big focus of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of the big events of the Movement from 1950-1965 were focused on ending segregation, but the Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Board of Education was one of the biggest, as it ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Another issue the Black community faced was discrimination and persecution in voting.
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The passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed literacy tests, which were used to prevent non-white Americans from voting.