Civil Rights Movement Timeline

Brown v. Board of Education

May 17, 1954

Brown v. Board of Education was a court case between Linda Brown, who was an African American girl, and her school in Topeka. Brown was denied access to the school due to her race. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously saying that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This case threatened the segregation ruling and Earl Warren established that separate but equal was not equal. This fueled the Civil Rights Movement and led to Civil Rights Acts and Voting Rights Acts.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dec 5, 1955

After Rosa Park's scenario, a group of African Americans created the Montgomery Improvement Association to boycott. This group refused to ride buses to protest against segregated seating. The group would set up carpools, or even walked. In November 1956 after years of protesting buses, the Supreme Court declared segregation on buses unconstitutional. The success of this boycott led to more boycotts around the country, such as SCLC.
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Little Rock 9 & the Desegregation of Schools

Sep 2, 1957

A court order was sent out that 9 African Americans were to be transferred to an all-white school. Orval Faubus sent out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the 9 students from entering. This was a test of the Brown v. Board Education court case. After some time and protesting, Eisenhower finally realized this was wrong, and sent out another group of troops to escort the Little Rock 9 into the school. This was only the first step to integrating schools in Little Rock.

The Sit-In Movement

Feb 1, 1960

The Sit-In Movement was when 4 college African-Americans (Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, and Franklin McCain) organized a sit-in at the Woolworth's Store. This store was a whites-only store, and the four men were then refused service. The success of the sit-in spread rapidly, and more and more African Americans continued to join the sit in. This started many new organizations (SNCC) in 9 states and 100 cities.
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Freedom Riders

May 4, 1961

The Freedom Riders was a team of African American and white volunteers that travel into the South to draw attention to its refusal to integrate bus terminals. When entering the first bus, a white mob assaulted the team and the buses. People would send threats out to different mobs, including the Ku Klux Klan, to attacked the team. After seeing the harassment after just entering office, President Kennedy knew he needed to do something.
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James Meredith & Desegregation of Southern Universities

1962

James Meredith was an African American air force veteran, who was trying to transfer to the University of Mississippi. However, the governor denied his access to the school. President Kennedy responded with 500 federal marshals to escort Meredith. The fight continued with white mobs fighting against the marshals, but in the end Meredith was able to attend class under federal guard.
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The March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

A. Philip Randolph suggested to Martin Luther King Jr. a March on Washington, due to the difficulty of passing a Civil Rights Bill. Over 200,000 civilians went to the capital and fought for rights. This is where MLK stated his most famous "I Have A Dream" speech. This march consisted of dancing, other speeches, and songs of people fighting for freedom. Although this march did push harder at the civil rights bill, Congress was not budging.
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Voter Registration Among Minorities

1964

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee wanted to make a change to the voting registration. Although the Civil Rights Act allowed African Americans to vote, they still dealt with obstacles in order to do so. While trying to make a change, these organizations were bombed, exploited, and attacked. MLK decided to act once again and started a new protest called the Selma March.

Malcolm X & the Civil Rights Movement

1965

Malcolm X (Malcolm Little) was a huge symbol in the movement. After entering prison, Malcolm educated himself and became a part of the Nation of Islam led by Elijah Muhammad. He preached black nationalism, and the group wanted to govern themselves. Eventually, Malcolm left the group and began to bash their ways. Due to this, they shot and killed him in February 1965. His powerful actions led to many more activists joining the movement.
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Urban Problems and the Black Panthers

1966

Even though civil rights laws were passed, African Americans were still struggling in the cities. Many struggled with money, segregation, and jobs. They felt as nothing was changed after moving. In 1966, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver organized the Black Panthers. This was a group of people who believed revolution was necessary. They wanted to end the racial issues and fight against the whites.
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