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Advanced the "separate but equal" doctrine. It basically established the constitutionality of racial segregation. It prevented constitutional challenges to racial segregation for over half a century. -
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex". Step forward in gender equality. -
Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy who as abducted, tortured, and lynched after being accused of offending a white woman. Treated horribly due to his race, and his treatment and murder made many people extremely upset. -
Political and social protest campaign against racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was one of the foundational events in the civil rights movement. -
First federal civil rights legislation passed by the US congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. It established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and gave power to federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote. -
A group of 9 African Americans attended Little Rock Central High School, a previously all-white school. They were the first group of African Americans to challenge segregation in the public schools of Little Rock, Arkansas. -
A letter that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to his fellow clergymen while he was in jail in Birmingham, following a nonviolent protest against racial segregation. It was the most important written document of the civil rights era, as it was an account of the long road to freedom. -
More than 200,000 demonstrators marched on Washington for jobs and freedom, and successfully pressured president John F. Kennedy to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in congress. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech in which he called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism. -
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax". -
Prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin. Forbade discrimination on the basis of sex and race in hiring, promoting, and firing. -
Hundreds of people gathered in Selma, Alabama to march to the capital city of Montgomery to ensure that African Americans could exercise their constitutional right to vote, even when so many people were against it and fought to make it impossible for them. -
Outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in multiple southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. -
Martin Luther King Jr. was standing on a balcony outside of his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel when he was shot dead at 6:05 pm. His death was extremely devastating as he was a huge and significant figure in the Civil Rights movement and the fight for equality. -
Sandra Day O'Connor was the first ever woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. She was the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court, and the first woman nominated and subsequently the first woman confirmed. -
The U.S. supreme court ruled that racial segregation in schools violated the 14th amendment. It decided that schools would no longer be segregated.