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Plessy v. Ferguson
A court case in which Homer Adolph Plessy was arrested because he refused to move to a car reserved for blacks. He claimed that this violated the 14th amendment which gave black people citizenship in America. The court claimed that the sate law was constitutional and everyone was being treated "separate but equal."
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1850-1900/163us537 -
Brown v. Board of Education
Five cases came together to form the Brown v. Board of Education since all cases had a similarity in which schools didn't let black students enter schools meant for the white. The case was then canceled since no one agreed with the choices they were given. When they restarted the case Chief Justice was able to get a unanimous vote to declare that segregation was unconstitutional.
http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment -
Murder of Emmett Till
The murder of 14-year-old Emmett brought nationwide attention to the racial violence in Mississippi. Emmett had been visiting his relatives in Mississippi, when he went to the store with his cousins and got kidnapped by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam. He had whistled to Bryant's wife which was why the man brutally murdered him.
https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/murder-of-emmett-till/ -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks had just gotten out of work and had been very tired so she didn't listen to the bus driver when he told her to move to the back of the bus. She was then arrested which led to Martin Luther King Jr. to create the Montgomery Improvement Association. This group then organized the Boycott of Montgomery's Buses which demanded that the black passengers would be treated the same as the white passengers at all times.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/54b.asp -
Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) & Martin Luther King
One of the founders of SCLC was Martin Luther King Jr. The SCLC was originally founded so that they could better organize civil rights protests across the South. They wanted to advocate for civil rights through non-violence protests which was mainly used because most of leaders of SCLC were ministers such as Martin Luther King Jr. Though the SCLCs main focus was on citizenship schools and to desegregate certain cities around the country.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/civilrights/sclc.htm -
Little Rock Nine & Central High School
A group of black students enrolled in a white school and attended the school. While at the school they were mistreated by those around them and were even threatened to be removed by the National Guard. The president then threatened to send in the military if the governor didn't call off the National Guard. This event was important because it backed up the Brown v. Board of Education case.
http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_little_rock_school_desegregation_1957/ -
Greensboro Sit-In
Four black friends sat in the counter of the white section in Greensboro & were denied service. They left and recruited more students for the cause. They went back & many other students joined them during the sit-in causing a big uproar & the students to get hurt in the process. In the end, the store closed down instead of serving the students. This is important because in the end they still saw the black students as the bad people.
https://www.sitinmovement.org/history/greensboro-chronology.asp -
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee & Freedom Summer
The SNCC was a group which consisted of students. The Freedom Summer and the SNCC joined together so they could have larger numbers since they had similar goals. The both groups registered for voting in Mississippi. It defines that black people do have the right to vote like everyone else.
http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_student_nonviolent_coordinating_committee_sncc/ -
Freedom Ride/ Freedom Riders
A civil rights campaign that rode around on a bus were came to be known as the Freedom Riders. They would ride around the country so they could gain their rights. White people would attack them and beat them up brutally. These rides casued the government to be more aware of the blacks being attacked and caused them to support them.
http://www.core-online.org/History/freedom%20rides.htm -
March on Washington
The march on Washington was created by the civil rights leaders. During this march Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech "I Have a Dream" in front of thousands of people. This event was important because is showed other African Americans that unity between all blacks was happening.
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=96 -
Civil Rights Act
This law prohibited any type of discrimination in public. It also let integration in some places such as public schools and other public facilities. This was important back then because it ended most protests and gave blacks more freedom to interact in public with whites.
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=97 -
Voting Rights Act
This act outlawed discriminatory voting practices such as the literacy test. Blacks had then started to become more politically active throughout this time in history. This changed that black people are now able to participate in political activities such as vote and become governor.
https://ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=100 -
Assassination of Malcom X
Malcolm X was shot to death at a rally in Washington Heights. He was a known leader to the black nationalist movement during his tim alive. He wanted blacks to gain rights through whatever needed to be done even if it meant hurting others. This was big because he had caused blacks to be heard in a short amount of time.
https://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/race/022265race-ra.html -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at Memphis Hotel. He was a huge for the blacks gaining civil rights.
http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_kings_assassination_4_april_1968/
