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The Greensboro sit-in was a pivotal civil rights protest with a group of young African American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch. They reused to leave after being denied service. The protest quickly spread to college towns across the South. A lot of people were arrested for trespassing or disturbing the peace. -
The Supreme Court said that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional.
This ruling stemmed from Linda Brown being denied just because she was African American. This made them decide the end of legalized segregation in U.S. schools. -
The 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till brought national attention to the racial violence.
While visiting relatives in Mississippi, Till went to the Bryant store with his cousins and allegedly whistled at Carolyn Bryant. She told her husband, Roy Bryant, and his brother-in-law and they abducted and brutally killed Till, dropping his body in the Tallahatchie River. -
The boycott was sparked in Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus. Local laws required African American to sit at the back of the bus, and if the white section was full, they had to stand up and give their seat to them. When Parks refused to move, she was arrested, but was later bailed out by a local civil rights leader. -
The SCLC was an organization connected to black churches, with 60 black ministers in Atlanta, Georgia playing a crucial role in organizing civil rights activism. Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen as its president. The organization focused its nonviolent approach on issues like citizenship, education, and efforts to desegregate cities. It was instrumental in the
1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Voting Rights Campaign and March to Montgomery. -
The Little Rock Nine were a group of African American high school students who confronted racial segregation in the public schools of Little Rock, Arkansas. Their actions became a pivotal moment in the fight to desegregate public schools across the United States, mostly in the South. After their enrollment at Little Rock central high school, sparked a heated national debate on racial segregation and civil rights. -
When Ruby was in kindergarten, she moved to New Orleans and was selected to take a test to see if she could attend a previously all-white school. Ruby was one of six students to pass the test, and her parents chose to send her to an all-white elementary school in hopes of giving her a better education. Ruby's courage helped pave the way for other African American children. -
In Washington, D.C., six of the Freedom Riders boarded a Greyhound bus and seven others took a Trailways bus, with the goal of traveling to New Orleans. The riders were aware that they would encounter racial hostility, violence, and potentially even death. They hoped to summon the courage to face these challenges nonviolently in their struggle for equality. -
This event brought over 200,000 people to Washington, DC, to call for equal rights for all races. During this gathering that Martin Luther King Jr. said his iconic 'I Have a Dream" speech. The peaceful protest played a crucial role in raising the importance of civil rights legislation in the mid 1960s. -
Signed by President Johnson at the White House, the act banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It made it illegal for employers to discriminate on the grounds of race or sex in hiring, promotion, and termination. The act also prohibited discrimination in public places and federally funded programs, while strengthening the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools. -
Malcolm X, was an influential African American activist and leader of the Nation of Islam. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965, while delivering a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of his murder. His assassination marked a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, as his advocacy for racial justice and self-determination left a lasting impact. -
The protests in 1965 were a series of marches aimed at securing voting rights for African Americans in the South. On "Bloody Sunday" March 7, the state troopers and local police violently assaulted peaceful demonstrators on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The attack fueled greater support for the movement, leading to the passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a law that prohibited denying individuals the right to vote based on their race. It ended discriminatory voting practices especially in the South. The law empowered more African Americans to vote and played a bad role in combating racism and advancing equal rights. -
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. As a key leader in the civil rights movement, he was renowned for his nonviolent protests against racism and injustice.
His death sent plenty of shocks around the world, but his legacy for equality and peace continues to inspire people to this day.