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Plessy v. Ferguson
This was a famous court case that allowed segregation under the idea of "seperate but equal". However, this was not the case as African Americans were treated very differently. In the south this lead to the creation of Jim Crow laws to keep inequality alive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoOlEPoc1PE -
Niagara Movement
W.E.B. DuBois demanded immediate equality for African Americans and all other races. This is what lead to the creation of the NAACP in 1909. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This was another landmark court case that was decided on the date of May 17, 1954. Thurgood Marshall was an attorney that represented Linda Brown in this case. Earl Warren ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional so school integration began.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGHLdr-iak -
The death of Emmit Till
Emmit Till was a 14 year old African American boy who was murdered after supposedly flirting with a woman inside of store. Witnesses all had slightly different claims as to what exactly happened, but apparently he whisteled and the woman thought it was towards her. A couple nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother went to Till's uncle's house and kidnapped him. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
This is a mass boycott that was perfromed by the African American community following the arrest of Rosa Parks. They felt as though they were not being treated fairly with all of the bus rules being biased towards white people, with African Americans often being treated as second class citizens. After almost an entire year, they finally got the change they wanted to see when the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for bus segregation to occur.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHFPH7 -
The Arrest of Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an African American woman who was sitting on the bus on a cold December evening. When a white passanger boarded the bus, she was ordered to move off of the seat for the man. She politely refused and the bus driver had her arrested. This sparked a large movement known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Little Rock Highschool Desegregates
This is the date in which it was declared unconstitutional for schools to be segregated. The first 9 Africn American students enrolled in Little Rock, Arkansas. This was not as easy as just saying that the schools would be integrated, there was a lot of retalition from other students and the rest of the community. -
Lunch Counter Protest
This is the date when 4 young African Americans who were enrolled in college in Greensboro, North Carolina decided to peacefully protest segregation in diners. The way this worked is that they would sit down at a lunch counter designated for whites only. When officers showed up at the scene they couldn't arrest the young men because they hadn't done any kind of actual damage. They sat at the diner until it closed and then even more of them returned the next day. -
Freedom Riders Rise
A large group of civil rights activists known as "The Freedom Riders" rode on interstate buses into states where segregation was. The point of this was to challange the enforcement of the Supreme Courts decision to ban segregation on intertate buses. In several areas this was not enforced and the activists were treated unequally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zBY6gkpbTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zBY6gkpbTg -
James Meredith enrolls in University
James Meredith was the first African American male to enroll and attend classes at the University of Mississippi in attempt to exercise his constitutional rights. Kennedy sent 5000 federal troops to allow his registration. This sparked up several riots in the city which caused 2 deaths and approx. 100+ injuries. -
"Letter from Birmingham Jail"
Dr. King was arrested for the African American protests that were occurring. While in jail, he recieved heavy critisism from white ministers. He wrote them in a letter saying that African Americans would continue to peacefully protest against the wrong doings of other Americans. -
Medgar Evers Murdered
Outside of his home in Jackson, Mississippi, Medgar was shot dead in his own drive way. He worked as afield worker for the NAACP, and tried to gather witnesses for the murder case of Emmit Till. He was murdered for the work that he did for the Civil Rights movement. -
The March on Washington
On august 27, 1963, thousands of Americans travelled to Washington D.C. 1 day later they all gathered around the Lincoln Memorial to hear Martin Luther King Jr. give his famous "I have a dream speech". This was a historic call for the end of racism, that is still revered today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wDU-oYQN04 -
14th Amendment passed
Prevents any state from keeping citizens from their rights or priviliges. Was passed to ensure every citizen had basic rights. -
Martin Luther King is killed
Martin Luther King Jr was at a sanitation worker's strike which had an upsurge in violence. James Earl Ray fatally shot him during this time on April 4, 1968. Riots broke out in 125 cities shortly after.
