Civil Rights Timeline

  • 13th Amendment

    13th Amendment

    Abolishes slavery
  • 14th Amendment

    14th Amendment

    Rights of citizenship, due process of law, and equalprotection of the law
  • 15th Amendment

    15th Amendment

    Right to vote should not be denied on account of raceor color (African American males right to vote)
  • Tuskegee Institute created

    Tuskegee Institute created

    Founded by Booker T. Washington, “established a normal school for colored teachers”. Provided students with academic and vocational training.
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson

    Establishes “Separate but equal”
  • NAACP created

    NAACP created

    Key founder: W.E.B. Du Bois. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Civil Rights organization to help fight for African American rights.
  • 19th Amendment

    19th Amendment

    Right to vote should not be denied on the account of sex (Women get the right to vote)
  • Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) proposed

    Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) proposed

    Proposed by the National Women's political party, it was to provide for the legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discriminationon the basis of sex. Defeated in 1972.
  • Executive Order 9981

    Executive Order 9981

    President Truman abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the military(integrated units)
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education

    Integrated public schools. Overturns Plessy v. Ferguson.
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    Montgomery Bus Boycott

    Civil Rights protest in which African Americans refused to ride city buses protesting segregated seating. Key person: RosaParks
  • Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) formed

    Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) formed

    Advance civil rights in a non-violent manner. Key member: MLK
  • Little Rock 9

    Little Rock 9

    Governor Orval Faubus prevented 9 African American students from entering the high school. President Eisenhower uses National Guard to protect students entry into the school.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1957

    Civil Rights Act of 1957

    President Eisenhower established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and empowered federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote.
  • Greensboro, NC Sit-ins

    Greensboro, NC Sit-ins

    Four African American students sat at a whites only lunch counter and refused to leave after being denied service. Protesting racial segregation.
  • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) formed

    Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) formed

    Student political organization civil rights movement group. Used nonviolent tactics.
  • Chicano Movement (Mural Movement)

    Chicano Movement (Mural Movement)

    Mexican-American civil rights movement.Artists began using the walls of city buildings, housing projects, schools, and churches to depict Mexican-American culture.
  • Freedom Riders

    Freedom Riders

    Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern U.S. Challenged and protested local laws that ignored integration.
  • Cesar Chavez

    Cesar Chavez

    In 1962 co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later called the United Farm Workers Union). Was a Latino American civil rights activists.
  • Dr. King’s: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

    Dr. King’s: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

    He defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism
  • March on Washington: “I have a dream”speech

    March on Washington: “I have a dream”speech

    He called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the U.S.
  • 24th Amendment

    24th Amendment

    Prohibits the poll tax in elections
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Civil Rights Act of 1964

    LBJ outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, and racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations.
  • March from Selma, Alabama

    March from Selma, Alabama

    MLK led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to Montgomery, Alabama where local African Americans had been campaigning for voting rights.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Voting Rights Act of 1965

    LBJ outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War
  • Black Panthers

    Black Panthers

    Political organization founded to challenge police brutality against the African American community.
  • Thurgood Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court

    Thurgood Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court

    Lawyer for the NAACP that argued for Brown v. Board of Ed. Appointed by LBJ. First African American to serve on the Supreme Court.
  • MLK assassinated

    MLK assassinated

    James Earl Ray assassinated Dr. King in Memphis, TN outside his hotel room.
  • American Indian Movement (AIM)

    American Indian Movement (AIM)

    Initially formed to address Native American affirmation, treaty issues, spirituality, and leadership while also addressing incidents of police harassment and racism against Natives. Their paramount objective is to create "real economic independence for the Indians”.
  • Sandra Day O’Connor appointed to the Supreme Court

    Sandra Day O’Connor appointed to the Supreme Court

    Appointed by Reagan. First female to serve on the court.
  • Sonia Sotomayor appointed to the Supreme Court

    Sonia Sotomayor appointed to the Supreme Court

    Appointed by Obama. First Hispanic and Latina to serve on the court.