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Plessy v Ferguson
Plessy v Ferguson was a case where the US Supreme Court upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine. Once a Black man (Homer Plessy) refused to sit in a car meant only for Black people, he sued the presiding judge (John Ferguson), arguing that the segregation law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court dismissed Plessy's argument about the unconstitutionality of the Separate Car law. -
NAACP Created
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the US, and it was formed in 1909. Its main purpose was to advance justice for African Americans. Their founding group included W.E.B Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey and Ida B. Wells. -
Executive Order 9981
Executive Order 9981 was issued in 1948 by President Truman, and it abolished racial segregation in the U.S. military. This executive order became a major catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. This order put a halt on 170 years of officially legal discrimination in the US military, and also recognized the heroic and patriotic efforts of African Americans in World War II. -
Brown v Board of Education
Brown v Board of Education was a milestone decision in which the US Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It marked the end of legalized racial segregation in US public schools, overruling the "separate but equal" doctrine of the landmark Plessy v Ferguson case 60 years ago. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
This boycott was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. The boycott began after Rosa Parks, a Black woman, was unfairly arrested and fined for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white man by the name of James Blake. -
Civil Rights Act 1957
This act was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the US Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. It allowed federal prosecution of anyone who tried to prevent someone from voting. It also created a commission to investigate voter fraud. -
Little Rock 9
These 9 Black high school students became topic of national discussion and protests after they were denied entry into a school in Little Rock, Arkansas. President Eisenhower sent in the National Guard to ensure the safety of these Black students. Eisenhower said it was his responsibility to send in the troops since by segregating against the Black students, a federal law, recently announced in the Supreme Court case of Brown v Board of Education, was being violated. -
Greensboro Sit-In
Four friends sat down at a lunch counter in Greensboro. That may not sound like a legendary moment, but it was. The four people were African American, and they sat where African Americans weren't allowed to sit. They did this to take a stand against segregation. -
SNCC Created
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed in April 1960 at a conference at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. SNCC sought to coordinate youth-led nonviolent, direct-action campaigns against segregation and other forms of racism. -
Freedom Riders Created
The Freedom Rides brought together civil rights activists who rode interstate buses from DC into the segregated South in 1961 to challenge the non-enforcement of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. -
March on Washington -- "I Have A Dream"
In August 1963, civil rights leaders organized a massive rally in Washington to urge passage of President Kennedy's civil rights bill. The high point came when MLK Jr., gave his "I Have a Dream" speech to more than 200,000 marchers in front of the Lincoln Memorial. -
MLK Letter From Birmingham Jail
The goal of "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" was for Martin Luther King Jr. to respond to a group of white clergy who had criticized his use of nonviolent civil disobedience in Birmingham, Alabama. -
1964 Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. -
March from Selma to Montgomery
In an effort to register Black voters in the South, protesters marching the 54-mile route from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery were confronted with deadly violence from local authorities and white vigilante groups. -
1965 Voting Rights Act
The 1965 Voting Rights Act created a significant change in the status of African Americans throughout the South. The Voting Rights Act prohibited the states from using literacy tests and other methods of excluding African Americans from voting. -
Black Panthers Party Created
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale created this party to challenge police brutality against the African American community. The Black Panthers organized armed citizen patrols of Oakland and other U.S. cities. At its peak in 1968, the Black Panther Party had roughly 2,000 members. -
Thurgood Marshall Appointed as Supreme Court judge
Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to serve as a Supreme Court justice. As a lawyer and judge, he strived to protect the rights of all citizens. His legacy earned him the nickname "Mr. Civil Rights." -
Cesar Chavez Movement Gains Steam
Cesar Chavez is best known for his efforts to gain better working conditions for the thousands of workers who labored on farms for low wages and under severe conditions. Chavez and his United Farm Workers union battled California grape growers by holding nonviolent protests. -
MLK Assassinated
MLK was fatally shot in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 39 years old. In response to King's death, more than 100 American inner cities exploded in rioting, looting, and violence. He was largely responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Equal Rights Amendment (not passed)
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It sought to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. It was passed by Congress but not ratified by all states.
