Civil Rights Timeline

  • Earl B. Dickerson

    Earl B. Dickerson
    He was a lawyer, businessman, and civil rights leader. He served in national leadership of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
  • A. Philip Randolph

    A. Philip Randolph
    He was a labor organizer for labors ability to counter workforce discrimination and his skill in planning non-violent protests.
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    Consolidation of five cases in one, effectively ending racial segregation in some schools.
  • Rosa Parks

    Rosa Parks
    She refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. Parks was arrested and was launched to the Montgomery Bus Boycott by 17,000 back citizens.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Meeting

    Martin Luther King Jr. Meeting
    Black pastors and civil rights leaders meet in Atlanta, Georgia to coordinate non-violent protests against discrimination.
  • Eisenhower Signs

    Eisenhower Signs
    Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law to protect voter rights. The law allows prosecution of those who suppress another right to vote.
  • North Carolina Sit Down

    North Carolina Sit Down
    African American College students sit at a white only counter without being served. These teens were inspired and it came to be called “sit-ins”.
  • Freedom Rides

    Freedom Rides
    Black activists, known as freedom riders, took bus trips through the South to protest segregation bus terminals.
  • Children’s Crusade

    Children’s Crusade
    Black children march through Birmingham, Alabama in against segregation. The goal was to provoke the cities leader to desegregate.
  • George C. Wallace

    George C. Wallace
    Wallace stands in doorway at the University of Alabama to block two black students from registering.
  • March on Washington

    March on Washington
    Approximately 250,000 people joined the march for job and freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his “I have a dream” speech, stating “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of this creed.”
  • Church Bombing

    Church Bombing
    A bomb at 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, kills four young girls and injures several other people.
  • Senators Vote for Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Senators Vote for Civil Rights Act of 1964
    Map shows the states that did/didnt vote for the civil rights act of 1964
  • 1964 Civil Rights Act has been good for Country

    1964 Civil Rights Act has been good for Country
    what races benefited from the civil rights act of 1964
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Civil Rights Act of 1964
    President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Act into law, preventing employment discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion or national origin.
  • Support for Selma Demonstrates 1965

    Support for Selma Demonstrates 1965
    Showdown in Selma, Alabama over Neogro voting rights
  • Malcom X Assassination

    Malcom X Assassination
    Black religious leader Malcom X was assassinated during rally by members of the Nation of Islam.
  • Bloody Sunday

    Bloody Sunday
    In Selma to Montgomery march, around 600 civil rights marchers walked to Montgomery in protest of black voter suppression. Local police blocked and attacked them.
  • Rosa Parks on her Legacy

    Rosa Parks on her Legacy
    “I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.”
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Voting Rights Act of 1965
    President Johnson signs act to prevent the use of literacy tests as a voting requirement. It also allowed federal examiner to review voter qualifications.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination

    Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
    Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
  • Fair Housing Act

    Fair Housing Act
    President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, providing equal hosing opportunity.
  • Shirley Chisholm

    Shirley Chisholm
    “Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread, and deep-seated, that it is invisible because it is so normal”