Civil Rights Movement Project

Brown v. Board of Education

1954

A girl named Linda Brown was denied access to a school in Kansas because of her race. She and her parents sued the school board. The school board ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional and violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This convinced many African Americans to stand up to segregation and even some school districts in bordering states integrated their schools.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

1955

American leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association to run the boycott and negotiate with city leaders to end segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. was picked to lead this boycott. The boycott continuing for a year and instead of riding the bus many African Americans had organized carpools or walked to work. Due to this, the supreme court ruled that Alabama’s laws requiring segregation on buses unconstitutional.

Little Rock 9 and the Desegregation of Schools

1957

The school board in Arkansas won a court case stating that nine African American students would be admitted to a Central High school with over 2,000 white students. Governor Faubus was opposed to this, and he ordered troops from the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the nine students from entering the school. President Eisenhower had met with Faubus and the governor removed the troops but then fled. Eisenhower had federalized the Arkansas National Guard.

The Sit-In Movement

1959

Four young African Americans; Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, and Franklin McCain had sat at a white-only lunch counter and were refused service. They organized a sit-in at the Woolworth’s store and it spread quickly, and by the end of the week, 300 students were participating. Soon they organized a group called Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The SNCC helped in desegregating public facilities in dozens of Southern communities. It also helped to register voters.

Freedom Riders

1961

James Farmer had asked many African Americans and some white volunteers to travel into the South to draw attention to its refusal to integrate bus terminals. They became known as the Freedom Riders. They boarded several southbound interstate buses, but when the buses arrived they were attacked angry white mobs attacked them. To stop the violence, President Kennedy made a deal with Senator James Eastland. Eventually, the actions of ICC ended segregation in interstate bus travel.

James Meredith and the Desegregation of Southern Universities

1962

James Meredith was an African American air force veteran. He applied for a transfer to the University of Mississippi. He tried to register at the university but Ross Barnett, the governor of Mississippi, had gotten in his way. President Kennedy dispatched
500 federal marshals to escort Meredith to the campus. Meredith later on graduated under federal guard.

The March on Washington

Aug 23, 1963

King and more than 200,000 marched to the nation's capital. They all gathered near the Lincoln Memorial and King delivered a speech about his dream of freedom and equality. King's speech and the peacefulness of the march there was momentum built for the civil rights bill. Shortly after the march, the civil rights bill was passed.

Voter Registration Among Minorities

1964

The African American members were often attacked and beaten, and several were murdered. King received a Nobel Peace Prize and soon announced a small speech which led to the arrest of about 2,000 African Americans, including schoolchildren. To keep pressure on the president and Congress to act, King joined with SNCC activists and organized a march. Many of the African Americans were beaten on live television. In 1965 the senate had passed new voting rights, the Voting Rights Act.

Malcolm X and the Civil Rights Movement

1964

In the early 1960s, Malcolm X was the symbol of the black power movement. Unfortunately, he was assassinated but his speeches and ideas with Black Muslims influenced African Americans to take pride in their own culture and to believe in their ability to make their way in the world. Eventually, he influenced the black panthers to form. In 1968 King has been assassinated and this led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act

Urban Problems and the Black Panthers

1966

Life for the African Americans even living in the urban areas they still faced racism. A figure many of them looked up to was Malcolm X, he was a symbol of the black power movement. His ideas influenced Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver to organize the black panthers. They believed that a revolution was needed in the United States, and they urged African Americans to arm themselves and have to force whites to give them equal rights. Their goal was to end racial oppression.