-
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment officially abolished, and continues to prohibit, slavery, and, with limited exceptions, prohibits involuntary servitude. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment was first intended to secure rights for former slaves. It includes the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses among others. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment provides that governments in the United States may not prevent a citizen from voting because of his race, color or previous condition of servitude. -
Plessy vs Ferguson
In 1892, Homer Adolph Plessy--who was seven-eighths Caucasian--took a seat in a "whites only" car of a Louisiana train. He refused to move to the car reserved for blacks and was arrested. -
19th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. -
Executive Order of 1948
One purpose was to declare that it would be the policy of the United States to provide equality of opportunity for members of the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin. The second, more specific purpose was to establish a seven-member advisory committee to study and recommend specific steps that the armed forces could take to implement the desegregation policy. -
Brown vs Board of Education
Linda’s father, Oliver Brown, and thirteen other parents tried to enroll their children in the local "white schools" in the summer of 1950, but were turned down because they were African Americans. They were told they must attend one of the four schools in the city for African American children. These parents filed suit against the Topeka Board of Education for their children. -
Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat
The most often cited account of the beginning of the boycott is when Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger and that her arrest sparked the planning and execution of the boycott. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was an effort by Montgomery, Alabama, blacks to end segregation on city buses by boycotting the vehicles. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was introduced in Eisenhower’s presidency and was the act that kick-started the civil rights legislative program that was to include the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was passed to make poll taxes illegal for federal elections. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The 1964 Civil Rights Act made racial discrimination in public places, such as theaters, restaurants and hotels, illegal. It also required employers to provide equal employment opportunities. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act bans racial discrimination in voting practices by the federal government as well as by state and local governments. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was designed to reduce discrimination in the purchasing, renting, and leasing of housing by members of ethnic and racial minorities.
