civil rights timeline

By RemJim
  • Sweatt vs. Painter

    Sweatt vs. Painter

    The landmark case that led to the end of segregation at the University of Texas Law School and paved the way for the later case of Brown vs. Board of Education
  • Keys vs. Carolina Coach

    Keys vs. Carolina Coach

    The case that outlawed the segregation of black passengers in buses traveling across state lines after Sarah Keys Evans refused to give up her seat
  • Emmett Tills murder

    Emmett Tills murder

    Teenage Emmett Till was accused of catcalling a young white female. When some white men found out about the accusation they abducted, tortured, and murdered the 14-year-old.
  • Creation of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

    Creation of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

    The group was created to fight for the liberties of the civil rights movement but specifically for the desegregation of public transport.
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    Montgomery Bus Boycott

    13-month protest that ended the segregation of public buses. Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional.
  • Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference

    Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference

    Group very closely related to the (MIA) group which successfully staged a 381-day boycott of the segregated bus system.
  • Little Rock Nine Crisis

    Little Rock Nine Crisis

    Nine African American students made their way to Little Rock Highschool, when they arrived they were met by the National Guard and forced to return home.
  • Civil rights act of 1957

    Civil rights act of 1957

    was the first federal civil rights legislation passed since the civil rights act of 1875 with the purpose to increase the number of black voters.
  • Cooper vs. Aaron

    Cooper vs. Aaron

    Case that denied the school of little rock to delay the mandate of desegregation for 30 days.
  • Greensboro Sit-In

    Greensboro Sit-In

    Non-Violent protests led to the Woolworth department store ending its policy of segregation in its stores.
  • Freedom Riders

    Freedom Riders

    protests against the segregation of blacks and whites on public bus transportation.
  • Albany Campaign

    Albany Campaign

    The first mass movement to have its goal set on the desegregation of an entire community.
  • Integration of the University of Mississippi

    Integration of the University of Mississippi

    locals, students, and segregationists gathered and rioted to protest the enrollment of James Meredith for attempting to integrate the all-white school
  • Birmingham Movement

    Birmingham Movement

    led by the Christian Leadership Conference to bring attention to the integration efforts of the African American community in Alabama
  • Assassination of Medgar Evers

    Assassination of Medgar Evers

    While walking outside to his driveway, he was confronted and killed by a white supremacist in Jackson Mississippi.
  • March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

    March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

    the largest gathering of its time to advocate for the civil and economic rights of the African American community.
  • Mississippi Freedom Summer

    Mississippi Freedom Summer

    a volunteer campaign in an attempt to gain as many black voters as possible in Mississippi.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Civil Rights Act of 1964

    outlawed discriminatory voting practices adopting practices literacy tests as prerequisites to voting for African Americans.
  • Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. US

    Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. US

    declared that under the commerce clause, the government could enjoin private business from discrimination.
  • Assassination of Malcolm X

    Assassination of Malcolm X

    During a speech at the Audobon Ballroom in Manhattan, Malcolm was shot and killed as he predicted this would happen after he publicly blamed the Nation of Islam.
  • March From Selma to Montgomery

    March From Selma to Montgomery

    Hundreds gathered to march from Selma to Montgomery. They marched for the effort of African American practicing their constitutional right to vote.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Legislation signed by Lyndon Johnson. Outlawed previous practices of discrimination in southern states like literacy tests.
  • James Meredith's March Against Fear

    James Meredith's March Against Fear

    After initiating a march against fear that planned t start in Tennessee and end in Mississippi, the leader of the march James Meredith was shot and killed by a white gunman.
  • Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr

    Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr

    While standing on his balcony during his stay at Lorraine Hotel, when he was shot by James Earl Ray.
  • Fair Housing Act

    Fair Housing Act

    Enacted rules against discriminatory practices like not permitting a sale or renting property, for any involuntary reason like race or disability.
  • Swann vs Charlotte Mecklenburg schools

    Swann vs Charlotte Mecklenburg schools

    Supreme Court upheld the busing programs which aimed to speed up integration in public schools across America.
  • Shirley Chisolms Presidential Campaign

    Shirley Chisolms Presidential Campaign

    First African American candidate for a major political party and the first woman to run for the Democratic party's nomination.
  • Hank Aaron's Home Run Record

    Hank Aaron's Home Run Record

    African American Atlanta Braves player, Hank Aaron, his 715th home run breaking the revered record previously held by Babe Ruth.
  • Barbara Jordan's Democratic Convention Address

    Barbara Jordan's Democratic Convention Address

    Became the first black woman to deliver a keynote address at a major party convention.
  • University of California Regents vs. Bakke

    University of California Regents vs. Bakke

    The court case that deemed that the use of racial quotas in university admissions was unconstitutional.