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Brown v. Board of Education
The landmark Supreme Court decision in 1954 declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, challenging the "separate but equal" doctrine and setting a precedent for desegregation in other areas of American life. -
Emmett Till murder
The brutal killing of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement, sparking national outrage and galvanizing efforts to end racial violence and discrimination. -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts
The year-long boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, initiated by Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger, marked a significant victory in the fight against segregation and propelled Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence as a civil rights leader. -
Little Rock 9
In 1957, nine African American students faced violent opposition and federal intervention as they attempted to desegregate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, highlighting the resistance to school integration in the Deep South. -
4 Lunch Counter sit-ins
Four black college students initiated a nonviolent protest at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, sparking a wave of sit-ins across the South and highlighting the power of civil disobedience in the struggle for racial equality. -
Freedom Bus Rides
Civil rights activists organized bus rides through the South in 1961 to challenge segregation on interstate buses and terminals, facing violent opposition but drawing attention to the continued need for federal intervention in enforcing civil rights laws. -
Birmingham protests
Birmingham, Alabama, became a focal point of the civil rights struggle in 1963, as nonviolent demonstrators, including children, faced police brutality and arrest while demanding an end to segregation and racial injustice. -
March on Washington
The historic 1963 march brought together over 250,000 people in the nation's capital, culminating in Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech and exerting pressure on Congress to pass comprehensive civil rights legislation. -
Freedom (Mississippi) Summer
In 1964, hundreds of volunteers, mostly college students, descended upon Mississippi to register African American voters, facing harassment, violence, and even murder in their quest to challenge the state's entrenched system of white supremacy. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Signed into law on July 2, 1964, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, this landmark legislation outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, representing a significant victory for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Selma Marches
The series of marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965, aimed to demand voting rights for African Americans, with the first march, "Bloody Sunday," met with brutal police violence, galvanizing support for the Voting Rights Act. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, this legislation aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote, marking a significant victory in the struggle for civil rights.