Civil Rights Timeline

  • Period: to

    1950's

    The Civil Rights movement in the 1950's sought equal rights and freedoms. It accomplished desegregation in public schools, public transportation, interstate transportation + more! The 1950's for civil rights was an era of bravery and showed citizens that activism did make a difference. This was important as it boosted morale of those that wanted to see change.
  • Sweatt v. Painter

    Sweatt v. Painter

    Categories: achievement, legislation by SCOTUS case,
    A SCOTUS case that overturned the idea of 'separate but equal' as justification for segregation in the public school system. It essentially required that schools be open to admit black students.
  • Emmett Till's Murder

    Emmett Till's Murder

    Categories: Violence by opposition
    14 year old, Emmett Till, was accused of catcalling Carolyn Bryant. Bryant's husband and brother in law kidnapped and lynched Emmett Till, before depositing his body in Tallahatchie River. This was a turning point of and sparked major activism and resistance.
  • Keys v. Carolina Coach

    Keys v. Carolina Coach

    Categories: achievement, protest, legislation by SCOTUS case
    A SCOTUS case that held that segregation on a state bus was unlawful and against the Interstate Commerce Act. Over a case in which 22 year old Sarah keys Evans refused to giver her seat up.
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    Montgomery Bus Boycott

    Categories: achievement, protest, legislation by SCOTUS, no violence
    A protest against segregation on public transportation, that started with the arrest of Rosa Parks, a black woman that refused to give up her seat in a bus for a white person, as a form of protest. The Montgomery bus boycott protests lasted 13 months and ended at the decision of SCOTUS case Browder v. Gayle on the grounds that segregation on public transports systems was unconstitutional.
  • Creation of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

    Creation of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

    Categories: no violence
    The MIA was established as a movement against the segregation of buses in Montgomery, Alabama(the capital.) It was formed very shortly after, and as a response to the arrest of civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
  • Founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

    Founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

    Categories: achievement, protest, no violence
    Founded by prominent people such as Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Shuttleworth, Ralph Abernathy (+ others!,) the SCLC was created to be a regional organization that could better organize civil rights protests in southern states. The first president of this new Conference was Martin Luther King Jr. who was peacefully dedicated to the abolition of segregation.
  • Little Rock Nine Crisis

    Little Rock Nine Crisis

    Categories: achievement, violence by opposition
    In which a group of nine African American students were denied entry(by Orval Faubus, Governor of Arkansas) into the, at the time, segregated Little Rock Central High School. These students faced groups of students harassing them as they walked to the entrance of the school, and were blocked from entering the school by the National Guard. Ultimately, Eisenhower sent troops to escort the students into the school, where they would attend thereafter.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1957

    Civil Rights Act of 1957

    Categories: achievement, legislation passed by SCOTUS, no violence

    The civil rights legislation passed by the 85th US congress and signed by President Eisenhower. The bill created the Civil Rights Section in the Justice Department and established the Civil Rights Commission which was able to prosecute those who violated voting rights of US citizens, among other things.
  • Cooper v. Aaron

    Cooper v. Aaron

    Categories: achievement, protest, legislation by SCOTUS case
    A SCOTUS case that deemed it unlawful for Arkansas to undermine the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education. Essentially held that segregation in public schools goes against the constitution.
  • Period: to

    1960's

    The Civil Rights movement in the 1960s was characterized by peaceful protests(at least on the side of the protesters) . Events such as the Greensboro sit-ins, the Montgomery bus boycott, the Birmingham campaign and the March from Selma to Montgomery characterize this.
  • Greensboro Sit-In

    Greensboro Sit-In

    Categories: achievement, protest, no violence
    Civil rights protest in which African American students sat at a segregated lunch counter at Woolworth's, in Greensboro North Carolina. The lunch counter would deny them service, but they refused to leave. This sit-in inspired many alike it, and eventually forced Woolworth's and other places alike to change the policies regarding segregation.
  • Freedom Riders

    Freedom Riders

    Categories: achievement, protest, legislation by SCOTUS case, violence by opposition
    Civil rights activists who challenged the lack of enforcement of the outcomes of Morgan v. Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia by riding into the southern US states on interstate buses. Through their determination, they caught the attention of the Kennedy Administration and inspired the banning of segregation of interstate bus travel by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
  • Albany Campaign

    Albany Campaign

    Categories: protest, no violence
    Also known as the Albany Movement, was a coalition in Albany Georgia, formed to fight against segregation and to promote voters' rights. This was the first large movement of the current civil rights era to attempt to desegregate a whole community. Partially considered a fail as it did not achieve many of the goals put forth by the coalition.
  • Integration of the University of Mississippi

    Integration of the University of Mississippi

    Categories: achievement, violence by opposition
    Local Mississippians and other pro-segregation people gathered to protest and riot on the University of Mississippi's campus in response to the enrollment of James Meredith, the first Black student at the school. This was the first integration of any public school in Mississippi and was considered a turning point in the civil rights movement.
  • Birmingham Campaign

    Birmingham Campaign

    Categories: protest, violence by opposition
    A movement organized by the Southern Christian leadership Conference (SCLC,) and led by Dr Martin Luther Kind Jr, which's purpose was to give credit and bring attention to the efforts made by African American leaders in Birmingham, Alabama to desegregate public places. At the time of the protests, jails were already full with other civil rights protesters, so to disperse the movement, police sent in police dogs and fire hoses.
  • Assassination of Medgar Evers

    Assassination of Medgar Evers

    Categories: Legislation by SCOTUS case, violence by opposition
    Medgar Evers was a field secretary of the NAACP and influential civil rights activist. He was shot dead in front of his home. His legacy was not forgotten as this was a call for the Kennedy association to push for a more straight forward civil rights bill.
  • March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

    March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

    Categories: achievement, protest, legislation by SCOTUS case, no violence
    A march of more than 200,000 protesters, in Washington DC, to advocate for the equality and rights of African American citizens in regards to civil and economic rights. These demonstrators sought to gain the passing of a civil rights act, raise minimum wage and a new federal jobs program. Best known for Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs. 'I Have a Dream' speech which was given at the march.
  • Mississippi Freedom Summer

    Mississippi Freedom Summer

    Categories: achievement, no violence
    A volunteer campaign that sought to register as many African American voters as they could, inspired by the fact that only 5.3% of African American Mississippians were registered to vote in 1962. They also intended to establish free schools and community facilities throughout Mississippi. they ultimately gained more African American registered voters, helped to establish a new political party and spread awareness of history and politics in new free schools.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Categories: achievement, legislation by SCOTUS case, no violence
    A law passed by congress in 1964 that outlawed discrimination on the ground of race, sex, religious, nationality and color. This was put into place, specifically targeting places of work as well as public areas. It banned hiring, firing and promotion on the basis of sex and or race, and desegregated all public facilities.
  • Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States

    Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States

    Categories: achievement, legislation by SCOTUS case
    A SCOTUS case that allowed the regulation of private businesses in the case that they affected commerce. This both upheld the Civil Rights Act(1964) and undermined the Jim Crow system.
  • Assassination of Malcolm X

    Assassination of Malcolm X

    Categories: violence by opposition
    Malcolm X, civil rights activist and Muslim minister, was shot and killed at the Audubon Ballroom by members of the Nation of Islam, due to conflicts and growing tensions between himself and the organization. As an influential leader of the civil rights movement, his death was impact, and his legacy lives on.
  • The March from Selma to Montgomery

    The March from Selma to Montgomery

    Categories: achievement, protest, violence by opposition
    A march of hundreds of peaceful protesters, from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama,(54 MILES!!) to enforce their constitutional right, as African American citizens, to vote. This march was led by John Lewis and Reverend Hosea Williams.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Categories: achievements, legislation by SCOTUS case
    Prohibited any discriminatory voting practices and overrode any legal barriers that prevented African American citizens from practicing their 15th amendment right. This act targeted southern states and practices that they had adopted post-civil war such as literacy tests, which were negatively aimed at the African American population.
  • James Meredith's March Against Fear

    James Meredith's March Against Fear

    Categories: Protest, Violence by opposition
    James Meredith was the first African American student to enroll into the University of Mississippi. He began a demonstration march with the goal to walk from Memphis Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. He did this to protest unconstitutional voter discrimination in the Southern states. He was shot in his walk, but survived.
  • Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

    Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

    Categories: violence by protesters, violence by opposition
    Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist and Baptist minister, was shot on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. King's assassination sparked violent outbreaks and riots resulting in over 40 deaths and widespread property damage.
  • Fair Housing Act of 1968

    Fair Housing Act of 1968

    Categories: achievement, protest, legislation by SCOTUS case
    Outlawed discrimination in the selling, renting and financing of houses on the grounds of sex, race, religion and nationality. Though, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 failed to guarantee black house buyers a mortgage.
  • Period: to

    1970s

    The Civil Rights movement in the 1970s was characterized by empowerment of black people, rather than just accomplishment and bare minimum equality. While the early Civil Rights movement was extremely imperative for its achievements, Civil Rights movement achievements in the 1970s such as the first African American female presidential candidate, the first keynote address given by an African American woman and Hank Aaron's home run record (among others) characterized this time period.
  • Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education

    Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education

    Categories: achievement, protest, legislation by SCOTUS case
    A SCOTUS case over the increasing of integration in public schools by means of public school busses. It was ruled that public school buses were an appropriate solution to the issue of demo-graphical imbalance regarding primarily race in public schools.
  • Shirley Chisholm's Presidential Campaign

    Shirley Chisholm's Presidential Campaign

    Categories:
    Black woman Shirley Chisholm ran for president, as a Democratic candidate. Though she did not enter the final round of elections, she gained support through her campaign, whose slogan-"Unbought and unbossed"- was iconic.
  • Hank Aaron's Home Run Record

    Hank Aaron's Home Run Record

    Categories: achievement, no violence
    Black Atlanta Braves MLB player, Hank Aaron, broke the record for most career home runs at 755, surpassing Babe Ruth himself, the previous record holder at 714. He achieved his 715th home run on April 8th, 1974. Aaron is now commemorated by his statue in Adams Park.
  • Barbara Jordan's Address at the Democratic National Convention

    Barbara Jordan's Address at the Democratic National Convention

    Categories: achievement, no violence
    Texan congresswoman, Barbara Jordan delivered a keynote address to the Democratic National Convention as the first ever African American woman to do so. In her address she called for the creation of a "national community" that fought for the "common good", rather than a divided country fighting against themselves.
  • University of California Regents v. Bakkee

    University of California Regents v. Bakkee

    Categories: achievement, legislation by SCOTUS case
    A SCOTUS case over the acceptability of racial quotas during university admissions. It was ruled that it was, in fact unconstitutional, as it violated the 14th amendment.