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Plessy v Ferguson
In 1892, Homer Plessy refused to sit in the black train car. The Separate but Equal Doctrine made trains have separate cars for black and white people but naturally they were not so decidedly equal in quality. This is a significant case because the Supreme Court decided that separate train cars was a social issue rather than a legal one and therefore there was nothing they could legally do about it. This case didn't help the movement because it only encouraged unfair treatment and segregation. -
Brown v Board of Education
In the early 1950s, black parents became sick of sending their kids to schools all the way across town when there were public schools right in their neighborhood. But, those schools were all white schools. This Supreme Court case is significant because it overruled the Plessy v Ferguson decision that established the "separate but equal" doctrine. This helped the movement because it was one of the first instances in which segregation was deemed unconstitutional. -
Rosa Parks' Stand Against Bus Segregation
Black people were required to sit in the back of buses. They were occasionally able to sit in the front but had to give up their seat to a white person if they came. Parks decided she had had enough and refused to give up her seat for a white person. It is significant because after Parks was arrested for her actions, many other protests were created against segregation. This helped because it popularized exercise of the people's 1st Amendment right to assembly and protest for the cause. -
Equal Pay Act of 1963
During WW2, a lot of women had to take men's jobs while they were fighting overseas. This fact is significant because women were always paid less than men and once they came back from war, women did not want to lose those jobs. After many protests, President JFK signed the Equal Pay Act which supported equal pay between genders. This was helpful then because it was the first law to address salarial gender discrimination but also not because there is still a significant wage gap between genders. -
Stonewall Riots
In Greenwich Village, police raided the Stonewall Inn which was a gay club. This incited riots of the bar patrons in opposition to the raid. The riots lasted 6 days and were increasingly violent between protestors and police. This is significant because it is treated as the catalyst to the gay rights movement in the US and the world. This helped the movement because it showed the world that these people have been denied the right to live their lives and that there is real need to accept them. -
Roe v Wade
In 1965, the Griswold v Connecticut case set the precedent of the right to privacy in medical procedures. Roe v Wade only reinforced that decision and made women's rights to abortion legal. This is significant because although it was not the first abortion law to be passed, it is the one that has stayed the most relevant up to today. This helps the women's rights movement because although people with religious beliefs try to stop women from having these rights, the government upholds the law. -
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)
Disabled people have been excluded from having normal lives for decades. This Act granted people with disabilities federal protection and the chance to participate in and benefit from public programs and activities. This is significant because it is practically the first federal law or rule that prevents exclusion based on disability. This helps in the fight for disability equality because it says that government recognizes something is wrong and that is a stride, no matter how small. -
Obergefell v Hodges
This case originated when Jim Obergefell married his partner in Maryland, where it was legal. This marriage was not, however, recognized by officials in his home state of Ohio. The case is significant because the Supreme Court decided to legalize gay marriage in this case. This was a great step forward in the LGBTQ+ rights movement because it was one of the first times that gay people were recognized as having a federal right to do what straight people have been able to do for a milllenia. -
Women's March
The day after former President Trump's inauguration, hundreds of thousands of women took to the DC streets and marched to promote women's rights and gender equality. This is significant because Donald Trump was a known suspect of sexual harrassment and opponent to their reproductive health and civil rights. This march helped the women's rights movement because it showed women everywhere that coming together and standing up for themselves is possible in a world that seems to be against it. -
Inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris
In 2020, a presidential term was ending. Like every other 4 years in the US, that means a presidential election. In November, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had won the 2020 Presidential Election and were inaugurated in 2021. This is significant because Kamala Harris is the first woman and POC to be elected Vice President of the United States. This helps the women's rights and POC movement because it showed everyone that women and people of color can achieve such a position in the US government.