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The 14th Amendment
This amendment was intended to stop the segregation and oppression of African Americans after the abolition of slavery. It states that states may not make any laws that oppress people, but clearly this was never fully followed. -
Plessy v Ferguson
This was the supreme court ruling that stated that separated facilities for different races were allowed, as long as the quality was the same (which it never was). "Separate but equal". -
Truman Executive Order 9981
This executive order, signed by Harry Truman, abolished discrimination on the Armed Forces. It didn't get rid of it obviously, but it did make it known that it wasn't okay, and the government didn't agree with segregation. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
This Supreme Court ruling said that segregated schools were unconstitutional, regardless of quality. This led to the Little Rock Nine and similar things like that. -
Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a 14 year old African American boy. He was lynched in cold blood because he was accused of offending a white woman in a grocery store. It shows how ruthless and deep-seated the racism was -
Rosa Parks
During the time of the civil rights movement, if a white person got on a bus and a black person was in one of the more forward seats, they would have to move. This was obviously not right, and so one day Rosa just stayed in her seat. She ended up being arrested but her stand against segregation fueled the fighting spirit in those fighting for rights. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Everything was segregated at this time, even public transportation. Leaders of the movement decided that the buses would probably do away with segregation if they lost a lot of business, so they encouraged all those wanting to help with their fight to not ride the bus. This continued for a year until they finally caved and desegregated the buses. -
Little Rock Central High School
This was the first integrated school. A group of African American students started attending there in 1957, amid a lot of segregation and bullying from peers and parents. They were willing to stand up for their beliefs and helped in the fight for civil rights greatly. -
First "sit-in" protests
This was a method of protesting where the protesters would go and sit in the places they weren't technically "allowed" as a way of saying that the stuff wasn't right, but without hurting anyone. -
Eugene Connor
He served as Commissioner for Public Safety in Birmingham, Alabama.He was also very discriminatory towards the black community there and every single protest, he would find a way to interrupt it. The also led to MLK being put in jail. -
Letters from a Birmingham Jail
MLK was arrested for protesting in Birmingham, and while he was still in prison, he managed to stay positive and encourage others to keep peacefully protesting. It's a pretty long letter but it has amazing points in it. -
"I Have A Dream" speech
This is probably MLK's most quoted and remembered speech. He delivered this at the March on Washington and is still revered today. It was a very powerful speech. -
Thomas Blanton Church Bombing
Thomas Blanton, a 86-year-old white supremacist and member of the Ku Klux Klan, placed a bomb underneath a church that had primarily black members. The explosion killed four girls and injured 22 other people. It was a terrible act of terrorism. -
24th Amendment
Up until this time, there were poll taxes if you weren't white and you went to vote. This was to try to keep POC from voting and it was definitely not fair. So they made an amendment saying that was no longer legal. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This was part of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution. It outlawed segregation in schools, businesses, and voting, and in general just outlawed discrimination. It was the first big step to equal rights to all citizens of the US. -
Malcolm X Assassinated
Malcolm X was a Muslim minister and civil rights activist. He was killed by rival black Muslims in the middle of his speech about unifying the community. -
Watts Riot
After being pulled over for reckless driving, an argument escalated that resulted in police brutality. This led to five days of rioting, million of dollars in property damage, and 34 deaths. -
MLK Jr. Assassinated
On April 4th, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot while on his hotel balcony by James Earl Ray. He was a leading civil rights activist and had really moved the movement forward. His contribution to the civil rights movement was never forgotten. -
Rodney King Riots
A man named Rodney King was severely beaten by four policemen (three were white). It was obviously race-driven, and of course this was taken to court. The policemen were acquitted, and this sparked riots to go down in Los Angeles due to the racial injustice happening. -
Ferguson, Missouri
A man named Michael Brown was shot by police officers, and that sparked debates, protests, and riots. Most of these circled around the injustice that African Americans still receive in America today, despite laws intended to stop this.
