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Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education declared the concept of segregated schools which violated the Constitution. This case reversed the earlier "separate but equal" ruling of the Supreme Court in 1954. -
Emmett Till
Emmett Till, a fourteen year old African American boy, was captured, beaten, and murdered while his body was thrown in the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi. J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant were the convicts in this case. Till's funeral had consisted of an open casket so all could see the inhumanity. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was a result of Rosa Parks refusing to forfeit her seat to a white passanger. Some 90 percent of African American riders stayed off the bus that day. This response persuaded the community leaders to continue the boycott. -
Little Rock Nine
Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students who attempted to attend Central High School in Arkansas but was stopped by the Arkansas National Guard. The situation was soon settled with the intervention of President Eisenhower. He announced on TV that he was sending federal troops to end the stand-off. -
Sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina
Four college students began a sit-in at a lunch counter and refused to leave until the store closed. The next day, they came with more protesters. The sit-ins succeeded in getting the local businesses to change their policies. -
Protest in Birmingham
Martin Luther King began his effort with sit-ins and marches. He was quickly arrested by the police. When he was released a few days later, he found that the adult African Americans were unwilling to lose their jobs thus the SCLC leader urged King to use children instead. More than 900 children were arrested and jailed. -
Medgar Evers' Murder
Medgar Evers, the head of the Mississippi NAACP, was murdered in his home by a Ku Klux Klan Byron de la Beckwith. Beckwith went free for the first two trials. Thirty years after roaming free, Beckwith was retried and found guilty for the murder of Medgar Evers. He was convicted and sentenced. -
"I Have a Dream" Speech
Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech "I Have a Dream" at the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. Many civil rights organiziations joined toghether due to the public images and videos captured from the protest in Birmingham. This march was known as the March on Washington. -
Twenty Fourth Amendment
The Twenty Fourth Amendment banned poll taxing on citizens so that they would be able to vote regardless of color. The poll taxes prevented the African Americans from voting thus when this amendment was ratified, many African Americans were able to vote. -
Crisis in Mississippi
Three college students went missing after volunteering for Freedom Summer. They were later found dead, killed by the members of the Ku Klux Klan for their participation in the civil rights movement. Despite the violence, Freedom Summer was still considered a success in allowing the African Americans to vote and be educated. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was project conducted by protesters in an effort to help educate African Americans and teach them how to vote at the same time. The SNCC was largely responsible for this as well as other organizations that supported the Civil Rights movement. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights of 1964 banned discrimination in employment and in public accommodations. Many opposed the Act but President Lyndon Johnson persisted and eventually had it signed. -
Malcolm X Murdered
Malcolm X was murdered with many shots to his body. It is beleived that he was murdered by members of the Black Muslim faith, whom he had left in order to help support the Civil Rights movement and convert to Orthodox Islam. He was the leader of the Afro-American Unity and a black nationalist, as well. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965, which effectrively allowed Southern blacks to vote. Efforts to stop blacks from voting were made illegal, which included but were not limited to: literacy tests, poll taxes, and other requirements that were created to discriminate against them. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK Jr. was assassinated in his hotel on April 4th, 1968. He was shot as he stood on the balcony of the hotel by James Earl Ray. Ray was later caught and convited of the murder, but found innocent. King's family later retried the case and won one-hundred dollars.
