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These 3 amendments were put in place to ensure equal treatment of blacks. However, only the 13th amendment was really effective, as it banned slavery. Although these amendments were put in place during Civil War Reconstruction, blacks would still be segregated until the late 1900's. -
The Tuskegee Institution was the first advanced institution for African Americans. It was founded by Booker T. Washington whose main goal was to advance economic and educational progress among blacks. Although Booker T. Washington received criticism for "devaluing" racism, the Tuskegee Institution paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Plessy vs Ferguson was a crucial court case in that its ruling was a "separate but equal" basis for blacks with whites. This led to the creation of separate bathrooms, schools, etc. for blacks and whites while creating an equal foundation for both parties. The discrimination still continued through the 1900's, leading to Martin Luther King's impact, as well as many other civil rights activists. -
NAACP's goal was to put a stop the prejudice against blacks and to ensure all aspects of equality amongst all citizens. NAACP played a pivotal role during the heat of the Civil Rights Movement (1950's and 1960's). Its main accomplishment was winning the Brown vs Board case, which ultimately outlawed segregation in public schools. -
The 19th amendment essentially gave women the right to vote. Although this wasn't necessarily related to the Civil Rights Movement, it still set the foundation for equality and growth in America. -
Truman’s desegregation of the military abolished discrimination of any kind in the United States armed forces, and led to the end of segregation in the Korean War. At this time, more realizations were being made regarding the evilness of discrimination, especially amongst American leaders. -
The Brown vs Board case was a huge turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, as the jury unanimously decided to outlaw segregation in public schools. It deemed this as unconstitutional, which was a huge advancement in the push for equality. -
Emmitt Till's death was a spark amongst the Civil Rights activists in the urge for activism during the Civil Rights Movement. -
The Montgomery bus boycott was a huge protest lasting a year against the racial segregation in the public transit system in Montgomery, Alabama. It was another turning point in the fight for justice and equality. -
The 1957 Civil Rights Act was essentially put in place to strongly reinforce the 14th and 15th amendments. The act established a commission on Civil Rights to investigate violations while also establishing a Civil Rights Committee/Division within the Department of Justice. -
The Greensboro Sit-ins were a series of peaceful protests against a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. This is similar to the Montgomery Bus protests except that this happened inside of a store on a counter while the bus protests happened on a bus. -
Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was an open letter written by Dr. King expressing his feelings on his dedication to advocating for equality. This letter is very important because it is the only tangible evidence out there depicting the road for such advocacy and freedom. -
This speech may very well be the most well known of them all. The speech not only was a huge turning point, but it woke so many people up to the prejudices against the black community. The passion used in Dr. King's voice itself was powerful and made people more aware of what was going on. With this speech, Dr. King turned so many heads and received praise and recognition for all his hard work. As a result, Dr. King won a Nobel prize and made significant progress towards equality for blacks. -
This amendment discontinued the voting tax in America. Since the blacks were relatively poor as compared to the whites, this removal of the voting tax made it easier for them to vote and be represented in government. -
The 1964 Civil Rights act was another huge turning point as the act outlawed discrimination of any kind completely. It immediately led to the end of the Jim Crow Laws. It provided African Americans with equal access to restaurants, facilities, and transportation. -
There were a series of marches from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, as a form of a civil rights protest. Similar to the bus protest along with the sit-ins, this was a nonviolent protest; it was simply just protesters marching from Selma to Montgomery. -
The 1965 Voting Rights Act outlawed all the preliminary voting practices, including the literacy test. This made it much easier for the blacks to be represented since as an overall group, they were not as educated as whites were. Also, some of the preliminary voting practices were biased towards whites. -
The Little Rock 9 was a group of 9 African American students enrolled in Little Rock High School before being prevented to join the school by Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas. This incited outrage amongst the African American community, further strengthening the advocacy for equality. -
MLK was assassinated in 1968. This was shocking to everyone; however, this made the advocacy stronger as people started to celebrate Dr. King's legacy and how he impacted social and racial change. People were pushing Dr. King's message forward to try and gain more momentum for the push for equality. -
The ERA was proposed by Alice Paul and it stated that men and women should be granted equal rights no matter the circumstance. However, as a result, fewer women wanted to enter the workforce and people feared the amendment because of how vague it was. It was then defeated as a result.