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The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The act of one woman on a bus and the subquent bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, brought civil rights out of the legal arena and turned into a struggle in which ordinary Americans realized that they could make a difference. Rosa Park's refusal to give up her seat on the bus to a white man showed that even small acts of defiance could empower people to create change. -
The Little Rock 9
The school board in Little Rock, Arkansas, won a court order requiring that nine African American students be admitted to Central High, a school with 2,000 white students. The govenor of Arkansas determined to win reelection and began to campaign as a defender of white supremacy. He ordered troops to prevent the nine students from entering the school. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights of 1957 was intended to protect the right of African Americans to vote. Eisenhower believed firmly in the right to vote, and he viewed it as his responsibility to protect voting rights. He aslo knew that if he sent civil rights bill to Congress, conservative Soutern Democrats would try to block the legislation. -
The Sit-In Movement
Four friends entered the Woolworth's then purchased school supplies and then sat at the lunch counter and ordered coffee. They then refused sevice, but the boys stayed at the counter until it closed. They announced that they would sit at the counter every day until they were given the same service as white customers. -
The Freedom Riders
In early May, the first Freedom Riders boarded several southbound interstate buses. When the buses arrived in Anniston, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Alabama, angry white mobs attacked them. The mobs slit the bus tires and threw rocks at the windows. In Birmingham the riders emerged from a bus to face a gang of young men that were armed but the gang beat the riders viciously. -
James Meredith
As the Freedom Riders were trying to desegregate interstate bus lines, efforts continued to intergrate Southern schools. However, the University of Mississippi had avoided complying with the Supreme Court ruling ending segregated education. -
Protests in Bimingham
King decided to launch demonstrations in Birmingham Alabama, knowing they would provke a viloent response. He believed it was the only way to get President Kennedy to actively support civil rights. In king letter, King explained that although the protestors were breaking the law, they were following a higher moral law based on divine justice. After King was released, the protesters began to grow again. Kennedy then ordered his aides to prepare a new civil rights bill. -
The March on Washington
Dr.King realized that JFK would have a difficult time getting the civil rights act act through congress. About 200,000 demonstates of all races marched on nations capital to hear the "I have a deam". King's speech built momentum for the civil rights bill. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
It gave the federal gov't broad power to precent racial discrimination in a number of areas. The law made segregation illegal in most places of public accommodation, and it gave citizens of all races and nationalities equal access to public facilities. -
The Selma March
500 protesters were led toward U.S. Highway 80, the route that marchers haad planned to follow to Montgomery. As protesters approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which led out of Selm, Sheriff Clark ordered them to disperse. While the marchers kneeled in prayer, more than 200 state troopers and deputized citizens rushed the demonstrators. Many were beaten in full view of television cameras. It left 70 African Americans hospitalized and many more injured. -
Voting Rights of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 authorized the U.S. attorney general to send federal examiners to register qualified voters, bypassing local officials who often refused to register African Americans. The law also suspened discriminatory devices, such as literacy tests, in countries where less than half of all adults had been registered to vote. -
Assassination of Martin Lurther King Jr.
As Dr.King stood on his hotel balcony in Memphis, he was assassinated by a sniper. Dr.King's death touched off both national mourning and riotsin more than 100 cites, including Washington D.C. The Reverend led the Poor People's Campaigns in King's absemce. The demonstration did not achieve any of the mayor objectives that either King or the SCLC had hoped it would.
