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On August 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C. Organized by civil rights and labor leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and John Lewis.The event aimed to advocate for civil rights, economic justice, and an end to racial segregation in the United States. It was during this march that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, calling for racial equality and justice. -
Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. The case, led by Oliver Brown, challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which allowed segregation as long as facilities were equal. This ruling overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and marked a major victory for the civil rights movement, paving the way for desegregation and greater racial equality in education. -
The murder of Emmett Till is one of the most significant and tragic events in the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman. His brutal killing and the subsequent trial of the two white men involved brought national attention to the racial violence and injustice faced by Black Americans in the South. -
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus. At the time, Montgomery's bus system, like many public facilities in the South, was segregated. Martin Luther King Jr., organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott on December 5, 1955. The boycott was a call for Black residents of Montgomery to refuse to ride the segregated buses in protest of Parks' arrest and the unfair treatment of Black passengers. -
The SCLC was an organization linked to the black churches. 60 black ministers were pivotal in organizing civil right activism. Martin Luther King Jr was elected President. They focused its non violent strategy on citizenship, schools and efforts to desegregate individual cities. It played key roles in the March on Washington in 1963 and the Selma Voting Rights Campaign and March to Montgomery in 1965 -
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. When the students attempted to enter the school on September 4, 1957, they were met with violent protests and blocked by the Arkansas National Guard. In response, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops from the 101st Airborne Division to escort the students into the school, ensuring their safety and enforcing desegregation. -
The Greensboro Sit-in was a nonviolent protest against racial segregation at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960. Four African American college students from North Carolina AT State University—Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond sat at the "whites-only" counter and refused to leave when denied service. The movement gained national attention and increased pressure on businesses to desegregate. -
Ruby Bridges was the first African American child to integrate an all-white elementary school. On November 14, 1960, at just six years old, she walked into William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ruby faced daily harassment and isolation. Only one teacher, Barbara Henry, agreed to teach her. Ruby showed remarkable courage and resilience, becoming a powerful symbol of school desegregation and the civil rights movement. -
The Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States. The first Freedom Ride, began on May 4, 1961, with a group of Black and white activists traveling from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans. Along the way, they faced brutal violence, including beatings and bus burnings, especially in Alabama. Despite the attacks, the rides continued, with support from groups like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). -
One of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
It outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in employment, voting, public accommodations, and education.
It led to the establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to handle complaints of discrimination. -
Malcolm X, a prominent African American leader and activist, was assassinated on February 21, 1965, in New York City. He was shot while preparing to address a crowd at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. The assassination marked a tragic moment in the Civil Rights Movement and had a profound impact on both the movement and the broader struggle for racial justice in the United States. -
Bloody Sunday" refers to a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement that occurred on March 7, 1965, during a march for voting rights in Selma, Alabama. The march was organized by civil rights activists, including John Lewis, Hosea Williams, and others, as part of a campaign to demand the right to vote for African Americans. -
The Voting Rights Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, is one of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. Its primary purpose was to eliminate barriers to voting for African Americans and other marginalized groups, particularly in the Southern states where discriminatory practices had long been used to disenfranchise Black voters. -
The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most tragic and pivotal events in U.S. history, marking a profound moment in the Civil Rights Movement. King was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.