Civil Rights Timeline

By kaidence_buss
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    Civil Rights Timeline

  • 13th Amendment ( constitutional laws )

    This amendment abolished slavery in the US, Marking the first step towards racial equality. This had a long term impact on American society, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the fight for civil rights and equality for all.

  • 14th Amendment

    The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the U.S granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to anyone born in the United States or who became a citizen of the country. This included African Americans and slaves who had been freed after the American Civil War.

  • 15th Amendment

    The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This amendment, or addition to the Constitution, allowed African American men, including former slaves, to vote.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson ( supreme court cases )

    This case established the "separate but equal", legalizing segregation and setting back the progress of racial equality for decades! The Supreme Court voted a 7-1 majority opinion, ruled that the state law was constitutional.

  • The NAACP

    The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was formed in 1909 in New York City by an interracial group of activists in response to the Springfield race riot and the ongoing violence against African Americans. Key figures in the founding included W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and Mary White Ovington, along with white progressives like Oswald Garrison Villard and William English Walling.

  • The NAACP

    The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was formed in 1909 in New York City by an interracial group of activists in response to the Springfield race riot and the ongoing violence against African Americans. Key figures in the founding included W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and Mary White Ovington, along with white progressives like Oswald Garrison Villard and William English Walling.

  • Civil Rights Act ( laws)

    This landmark legislation outlawed discrimination based on race,color,religion,sex,national origin. While the civil rights act didn't exactly speak on voting rights, it laid the foundation for the voting rights act of 1965, which further protected the right to vote for all citizens, particularly African Americans.

  • Truman desegregated the US Military

    Truman was honorably discharged from the Army as a captain on May 6, 1919. In 1920, he was appointed a major in the Officers Reserve Corps. He became a lieutenant colonel in 1925 and a colonel in 1932. In the 1920's and 1930's he commanded 1st Battalion, 379th Field Artillery Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division.

  • Brown v Board of Education ( supreme court cases )

    The supreme court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students, as well as indigenous people etc,etc, to be unconstitutional.
    Ensuring equal access to education for all children regardless of race, the ruling contributed to a more equitable society and provided opportunities for advancement.

  • Emmett Till’s Murder

    Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American, was kidnapped, beaten, and murdered in Mississippi. He was visiting family when he was abducted from his home by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam. Bryant and Milam allegedly killed Till after an incident at Bryant's grocery store, where Till was accused of allegedly whistling at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman. Till's body was found in the Tallahatchie River, and his death sparked outrage and became a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement

  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. The boycott took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and is regarded as the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation.

  • Little Rock Nine

    The Little Rock Nine were nine Black students who bravely defied segregation by enrolling at all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. Their attempt to integrate the school, spurred by the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education ruling, sparked a major crisis when they faced resistance from both a white mob and the Arkansas National Guard, who were ordered to block their entry by then-Governor Orval Faubus.

  • Voting Rights Act ( laws )

    This act outlawed discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the civil war, including literacy test and poll taxes.

  • The Greensboro sit-in

    The Greensboro sit-ins, a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, began on February 1, 1960, when four African American students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sat at a whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave when denied service

  • MLK’s I Have a Dream Speech

    Martin Luther King Jr. calls for racial equality and nonviolent resistance, reminding the nation of its founding promise of freedom and justice. He highlights the ongoing struggle of Black Americans to achieve equal rights, contrasting this reality with the ideals enshrined in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

  • The freedom rides

    The Freedom Rides were a series of civil rights protests in 1961 where African Americans and white activists rode buses through the South to challenge segregation in interstate transportation facilities

  • The Civil Rights Act of 1964

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the United States. It aimed to end segregation in public accommodations, public education, and federally assisted programs, and strengthen voting rights enforcement.

  • March from Selma to Montgomery

    The Selma to Montgomery marches were a series of three protest marches in 1965, aimed at advocating for voting rights for African Americans in Selma, Alabama. The marches, led by Martin Luther King Jr. and others, 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital. They were a key part of the civil rights movement and played a significant role in pushing for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

  • Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, while standing on a balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. He was fatally shot by James Earl Ray, who confessed to the crime and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Ray's later recantation of his confession sparked controversy.

  • Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

    Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the Supreme Court affirmed the use of busing as a constitutional means to integrate public schools and remedy past segregation. The Court held that federal courts had the authority to oversee school desegregation and implement remedies like busing, even if it meant students were bussed across traditional attendance zones.

  • Wilmington Coup

    The Wilmington Coup and Massacre of 1898 was a violent event in which white supremacists overthrew the democratically elected, multiracial city government in Wilmington, North Carolina.