Vietnam War & Civil Rights Timeline - Bennett Lappin

  • Ho Chi Minh Declares Independent North Vietnam

    Ho Chi Minh was the communist leader who declared independence for North Vietnam
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    1950s

    The 1950s were mainly just basic protests like refusing to give up seats on buses where they wanted to start small. These events all motivated others to take action and were the precersors to change.
  • Sweatt v. Painter

    The case was a landmark case for desegregatrion. The supreme court ruled that black students must be admitted to any schools that were public graduate or professional institutions if there were not those schools for black students.
  • Keys v. Carolina Coach

    22-year old Sarah Keys Evans refused to give up her seat on a segregated state to state bus. This case resulted in the ruling by the Interstate Commerce Commission making it illegal to segregate buses heading across state lines. It won't let me add a photo.
  • The Battle of Dien Ben Phu

    French troops attacked the Viet Minh communist troops resulting in a key victory to kick off the war for the vietnamese troops.
  • Creation of the Montgomery Improvement Association

    This association was created to drive teh desegregation of schools and specifically buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Following the arrest of Rosa Parks, the association was formed and they were a driving force for change.
  • Emmett Till’s Murder

    Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African American citizen who was bludgeoned by a group of white men in Mississippi. This event brought national awareness to racial injustice and violence.
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    The Vietnam War

  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    This event was the mass boycott of Montgomery, Alabama city buses by black citizens. This event led to the supreme court ruling that the segregation of public city buses is unconstitutional.
  • Founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

    This was a civil rights organizataion that was an offshoot of the Montgomery Improvement Association. They successfully staged a 381 day boycott of the Montgomery bus system.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1957

    This act was the first civil rights act since reconstruction. This act made the civil rights section of the Justice Department and enabled federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against states interferring with any citizen's right to vote.
  • Little Rock Nine Crisis

    This event was caused by 9 black students enrolling at a previously white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. The governor of Arkansas used the National Guard to surround the school and keep them out when Pres. Eisenhower deployed the 101st airborn division to protect the students and let them enter the school.
  • Cooper v. Aaron

    This was a landmark case where the supreme court ruled thet the school district of Little Rock, Arkansas was not allowed to delay integration for 30 months. This case set the standard that delaying integration would not be allowed.
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    1960s

    The 1960s started to see more change. The civil rights movement was in full swing and things like the integration of the University of Mississippi were happening. However, whites were revolting and they wanted to keep their racist ways. Some revolted to the point that black lead activists such as MLK were killed.
  • Greensboro Sit-In

    This event was the protest of black citizens by siting in at segregated lunch counters and refusing to move when told to move. This movement sparked national motivation to end segregation and caused many businesses to de-segregate their lunch counters.
  • Freedom Rides

    The Freedom Rides caused the desegregation of interstate travel facilities. This event was led by Freedom Riders who were black citizens who rode segregated buses in the South and broke the segregation rules in hope to cause action.
  • Albany Campaign

    The Albany Campaign was a desegregation and voters' rights coalition formed by many black citizens. This event was the first movement in the civil rights era who's goal was to desegregate an entire community.
  • Integration of the University of Mississippi

    This event sparked the outbreak of riots and protests. This event was sparked by the enrollment of James Meredith, the first black student at the university who integrated the entire university.
  • Birmingham Movement

    The movement aimed to bring national attention to the efforts of black leaders to desegregate public facilities in Birmingham, Alabama. This movement accomplished its goal and was a major force in desegregation of public facilities around the country.
  • Assassination of Medgar Evars

    Medgar Evars was a very improtant civil rights activist who was the first field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. He was assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi.
  • March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

    This event was the largest gathering of the Civil Rights Movement. This event was the march of over 250,000 peope on Washington D.C. protesting African American civil rights.
  • Mississippi Freedom Summer

    Freedom was an attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in Mississippi. This event was an action that hoped to bring national awareness to the lack of voting rights that African American voters posessed.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    This act was one of the most important civil rights acts in history. This act prevented the discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, or country of origin.
  • Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. US

    This case ruled that hotels did not have the right to discriminate against its patrons based on the color of their skin. Congress wanted to uphold the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • Assassination of Malcolm X

    Malcolm X was onen of the most important civil rights and religious leaders of this era and wa assassinated during a speech at Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, New York. His death brought national uproar.
  • Operation Rolling Thunder

    Operation Rolling Thunder was a US bombing campaign on Vietnam that lasted for 3 years and was aimed to get Ho Chi Minh to abandon his plan to take over South Vietnam.
  • March from Selma to Montgomery

    This event was a march of 100's or people from Selma to Birmingham, Alabama. This march was to ensure the rights of African American citizens to vote.
  • US Troops Land in Vietnam

    About 3,000 US marine troops landed on the beach of Da Nang as the first American troops to set foot in Vietnam during the war.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    This act was the final act allowing African Americans to have complete voting rights, signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. This act ended discriminatory voting practice used often in the South such as literacy tests and poll taxes.
  • James Meredith’s March Against Fear

    James Meredith was the first African American to enroll at The University of Mississippi. He started a walk to protest national racism and continued voter discrimination from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi.
  • The Mai Lai Massacre

    The Mai Lai Massacre was the mass murder of 500 unarmed civilians by US troops in a small village called Mai lai in Vietnam. This massacre was considered a war crime.
  • Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Martin Luthur King was a national civil rights activist who was murdered at Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. His assassination brought national uproar including riots, and many protests.
  • Fair Housing Act

    This act was an effort by the federal to end disciminatory housing. It made it illegal to discriminate in housing because of race, color, religion, sex, etc.
  • Northern Violence over School Integration

    There was widespread resistence in the North to not integrate schools and anger that spread. The federal government ruled over them and forced them to integrate schools.
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    1970s

    The 1970s saw the result of decades of fighting. African Americans were gaining rights with legistaltion being passed, some were stepping up and running for office, giving speeches, and still taking action. African Americans were still oppressed but were making traction.
  • Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

    Charlotte Mecklenburg schools wanted to maintain segregated buses against the previous supreme court ruling. The supreme court ruled unanimously against Charlotte Mecklenburg schools and integrated the buses.
  • Shirley Chisholm’s Presidential Campaign

    Shirley Chisholm was the first black candidate for a major party nomination. She did not win but she opened the door to many other Black women at the time.
  • President Nixon Signs Paris Peace Accords

    President Nixon Signs Paris Peace Accords

    Essentially, representatives from Communist South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the US, all met in Paris and signed a sort of treaty to end the war and have peace.
  • Hank Aaron’s Home Run Record

    Hank Aaron was a revolutionary African American baseball player at the time. He set the MLB home run record with 755 home runs, retiring in 1976.
  • Barbara Jordan’s Address at the Democratic National Convention

    Barbara Jordan was the first black women to ever deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. She told her audience to join a sort of "National Community," the speech was extroardinary.
  • University of California Regents vs. Bakke

    The University of California was accused of basing their admissions criteria using race as a defining factor of acceptance. The supreme court ruled that preferential treatment for minorities reduced educational oppurtunities for whites without violating the constitution.