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The NAACP was founded on February 12, 1909, in New York City by an interracial group of activists—including W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and Mary White Ovington—to fight racial discrimination, segregation, and lynching. The organization was established in response to the 1908 Springfield race riot and the ongoing, violent oppression of African Americans. -
The Tulsa race massacre was a two-day-long terrorist massacre perpetrated by white supremacists that took place in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, between May 31 and June 1, 1921. -
The Scottsboro Boys were nine Black teenagers falsely accused of raping two white women on a train in Alabama in 1931. Despite evidence of innocence, they were swiftly convicted by all-white juries and sentenced to death. The case became a landmark for civil rights, leading to Supreme Court rulings against jury discrimination and for the right to counsel. -
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color barrier, becoming the first African American to play in Major League Baseball's modern era when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Signed by GM Branch Rickey, Robinson endured intense racist abuse with dignity, winning Rookie of the Year and paving the way for integration in American sports. -
Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The Court unanimously decided that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," effectively overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was brutally lynched in Money, Mississippi, on August 28, 1955, after allegedly flirting with a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. Kidnapped by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, Till was tortured, shot, and thrown into the Tallahatchie River, with his mother holding an open-casket funeral to expose the brutality. An all-white jury acquitted the killers, sparking nationwide outrage and fueling the Civil Rights Movement. -
The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States. -
The Little Rock Nine were nine African American students who, in September 1957, became the first to integrate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, testing the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that desegregated schools. Despite violent opposition, including state-level interference, they entered the school under federal troop protection, marking a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. -
Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, while preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. He was 39 years old. -
On November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. Escorted by federal marshals amid violent protests, she braved daily harassment to attend class, taught alone by Barbara Henry for the entire year -
The "Letter from Birmingham Jail", also known as the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother", is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. -
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, held on August 28, 1963, was a landmark, peaceful protest where over 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans. Led by A. Philip Randolph and other activists, the event highlighted widespread support for anti-discrimination legislation, featuring Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, and was instrumental in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, following a 75-day filibuster in the Senate. It is a landmark, far-reaching law that prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The act ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, to outlaw discriminatory voting practices, such as literacy tests, that were used to suppress Black voters in the South. It was a landmark civil rights achievement, leading to a massive increase in minority voter registration. -
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded in October 1966 in Oakland, California, by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale to combat police brutality and promote Black empowerment. Inspired by the Black Power movement and the symbol of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, they adopted a revolutionary socialist ideology, focusing on armed self-defense, community "survival programs," and liberation for Black communities. -
On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall as the first African American Supreme Court Justice. Confirmed by the Senate on August 30 and sworn in on October 2, 1967, Marshall served 24 years, championing civil rights, individual liberties, and opposing the death penalty before retiring in 1991. -
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at 6:01 p.m. on April 4, 1968, while standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39 years old at the time of his death.
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