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Civil Rights Progression
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CORE is Founded
-civil rights "rights that protect an individual's freedom against those in power." The Congress of Racial Equality is founded in Chicago by James L. Farmer and George Houser. This group worked to raise awareness and increase popularity for non-violent protests throughout America. They organized one of the first sit-ins at a coffee shop in Chicago. -
Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier
-color line "the line that separated blacks from whites, created on the basis of economic, social, and legal disparities between races." Jackie Robinson is hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black man to play Major League Baseball. He started his career in the spring of 1947, playing shortstop and later, second base. -
Executive Order 9981 is Passed
-segregation "separation of peoples based on race, gender, or other traits." President Harry Truman passes an order outlawing racial segregation in the United States military. A major catalyst for its passing was the savage beating of a black veteran, Isaac Woodard. The assault was so severe that Woodard was permanently blinded as a result. -
Malcolm X is Released From Prison
-Nation of Islam, Malcolm X "a black Nationalist movement that blamed the evil of whites on the misfortune of blacks through history. Malcolm X was a NOI member who later turned to a more humanist point of view, believing all people could be united under religion." Upon being released from jail, Malcolm X was an advocate for the NOI, accepting violent opposition when needed. After a pilgrimage to Mecca however, he saw muslims of all races. This swayed him to advocate for unity across all races. -
Brown v. Board ended Segregation in Schools
-Thurgood Marshall "an NAACP attorney who argued the case against the Board of Education for desegregation in schools." After black children were denied enrollment in Topeka Kansas public schools, the parents of the children took the Board of Education to court. Local courts ruled in favor of the schools, upon which the NAACP took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. There, a newly appointed justice, named Earl Warren, convinced the rest of the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the NAACP. -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts Start
-Boycott & Rosa Parks "a willful lack of participation in an activity or service to try and force change. A woman who refused to give up a bus seat to a white man and was arrested for it." After the arrest of Rosa Parks, blacks in Montgomery stopped taking public transportation. This caused the city to lose money as they still ran the bus routes. After a year of boycotts, busses were desegregated and blacks resumed transportation alongside whites. -
Central High School is Desegregated
-Little Rock Nine "a group of nine black students who were set to be integrated into Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas." The two-thousand strong student body of Central High was entirely white, until nine black students were selected to be added to the number. The Arkansas Nation Guard was called upon to prevent the students from entering the school. President Eisenhower took control of the Guard, and eventually had each member of the nine accompanied by an armed guard to thwart hate crimes. -
The First Organized Sit-In Takes Place
-Jim Crow Laws & Sit-In "laws that segregated blacks from whites throughout many states in America, establishing separate spaces and services and sometimes outlawing blacks from places entirely. Sit-ins were a form of protest, where activists would sit in segregated areas. This would continue until they were served or the establishment closed." Four black university students ordered food at a South Carolina Woolworth's, when they were refused service, they remained in the store until close. -
The Freedom Rides into the Deep South Take Place
-Civil Disobedience & SNCC "a protest tactic employed by civil rights activists, where they would purposely and explicitly break unjust laws en masse. The SNCC was a student based group that organized sit-ins and other non-violent protests."activists headed into the Deep South, to protest the widespread racism there. As they reached Anniston, Alabama, a white mob surrounded the bus and threw a firebomb inside, forcing passengers to escape. The escapees were then brutalized by those outside. -
MLK Writes Open Letter From Birmingham Jail
-SCLC "an organization formed by Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders to organize and spread popularity for non-violent protests." MLK wrote an open letter advocating for non-violent opposition to racism, imploring readers to break unjust laws without causing violence. Many believe that this advocacy was hugely important to the success of the movement. -
Civil Rights Leaders Head the March on Washington
-NAACP "a group formed to work towards equal treatment of blacks, and other people of color." A massive march through the nation's capital takes place with a quarter million participants. MLK, as well as other civil rights leaders and prominent black figures led the march trying to sway lawmakers in favor of passing civil rights legislation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964 is Passed
-Plessy v. Ferguson "a case of the US Supreme Court which took place in 1896, upholding segregative laws in public places across America." After the March on Washington, lawmakers received constant pressure from civil rights advocates to finally introduce full equality. The Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination based on race, sex, and religion, as well as removing laws mandating race based voting rights. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965 is Passed
-disenfranchise "to deprive someone of a right or power." This act outlawed literacy tests to register voters. These tests were thought to indirectly disqualify uneducated blacks from voting. -
The Watts Riots Ravage LA
-Kerner Commission & ghettoes "The NACCD that concluded that white racism had caused the Watts Riots. Neighborhoods that are populated almost entirely by one demographic, either by choice or social bottle-necking." The Watts riots in LA, sparked by police brutality, resulted in millions of dollars in damages and 34 deaths. -
The Black Panther Party is Founded
-Black Power "pride in being black, and the history of blacks. This mantra was often employed by the Black Panthers, and other black liberation movements." Founded in Oakland, California, the Black Panther Party was prepared to take violent action for equal rights. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is Passed
-discrimination "making decisions or distinctions based on the traits and characteristics of others." Following the assassination of MLK, public outrage pushed congress to complete one of King's longtime goals. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 outlawed racial discrimination in housing. -
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Works for Balanced Schooling
-desegregation "reversing segregation and the laws that enforce it." This case involved the way children were selected for school bus routes, with some believing that black children were discriminated against by living outside of predominately white school bus routes. The Supreme Court decided that altering the way that bus routes were selected to ensure that black children were a larger part, was a necessary step to ending segregation in public schools. -
California v. Bakke Shuts Down Racial Quotas
-Affirmative Action "a policy which forces employers and service providers to include a certain amount of each race and gender in the makeup of those they employ or service." In this court case, Allan Bakke was rejected by UC Davis Medical because they were required to admit a certain amount of black students, even if they did not meet the same minimum requirements for admission as whites. He then took the State of California to court on the basis that he was not admitted due to his skin color.
