civil rights timeline

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    Brown v. Board of education

    A major supreme court case that established segregation of schools that was unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson of 1896. Even though this became a law there was failure to comply at the beginning.
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    Murder of Emmett Till

    Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy who was brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman. He visitedhis family in the Mississippi when the husband of the woman he flirted with kidnapped him and beat him to death, and throwing his body in the river. His murder case was brought to trial, but her husband was let go with no charges.
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    Montgomery Bus Boycott

    Montgomery Bus was segregated with whites sitting in the front and blacks in the back. Rosa Parks was arrested for sitting in the white section which was the beginning on the boycott. Martin Luther King and a large group of supporters boycott the bus company, eventually allowing blacks to sit anywhere on the bus.
  • SCLC and Martin Luther King

    The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was a gathering of sixty black ministers and civil rights leaders in Atlanta, Georgia. In December 1961, the SCLC initiated its first direct action campaign in Albany, Georgia. After King's death the SCLC continued fighting for equal rights.
  • Little Rock Nine & Central High School

    Little Rock Nine & Central High School
    Black students attempt to enter an all white school. Federal troops block their way in the beginning. White protesters gather around and begin taunting them.
  • Greensboro Sit-in

    Young African-American students staged a sit-in at segregated Woolworth's lunch counter on the white section. The students asked to be served and refused to give up their seat. Eventually an angry white mob entered the shop and begin the physically harass the students
  • Freedom Riders

    Groups of whites and blacks who rode on bus trips through the South to protest against segregated bus terminals. This drew the attention of angry police officers as well as horrific violence from white protestors.
  • March on Washington

    March on Washington
    This protest was aimed to draw attention to continuing challenged and inequalities faced by blacks in American. Here is were Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech. Which was one of his most popular and well known marches
  • Freedom summer

    Freedom summer
    Also known as the Mississippi Summer Project, was a 1964 voter registration drive sponsored by civil rights organizations. Some of these organizations were Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), and SNCC. This was aimed at increasing black voter registration in Mississippi. This event only lasted for about a month
  • Civil rights Act

    Civil rights Act
    The Civil Rights act ended segregation in public areas and banned employment discrimination. It was first proposed by JFK, then signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. Congress expanded the act and passed additional civil rights legislation.
  • Assassination of Malcolm X

    Assassination of Malcolm X
    Malcolm X was assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing his organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. Before his assassination his home was firebombed. Then he was shot by his former religion the Nation of Islam the shooter is still unidentified today
  • Voting rights Act

    Voting rights Act
    This was signed into law by president Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers that prevented blacks from exercising their right to vote. The Voting Rights Act is considered the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. Tension in the South further increase which resulted in more violence.
  • Assassination of Martin Luther king

    Assassination of Martin Luther king
    On the day that Martin Luther King was fatally shot in Memphis, Tennessee by assassination. His assassination led to an outpour of anger among blacks, and national mourning. His murderer was a man named James Earl Ray who manage to escape authorities for over 2 months.