Civil Rights Timeline- Colby Hester

  • Sweatt v. Painter (Supreme Court)

    Sweatt v. Painter (Supreme Court)

    This case changed the "separate but equal" outlook. Law school for African Americans was far worse than the school for white people. This challenged the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case and influenced Brown v. Board of Education. The University of Texas Law School was forced to admit Sweatt to the university. This established that the Equal Protection Clause could not have Texas University reject applicants on race.
  • Period: to

    1950's

    The 1950s was just the start of the civil rights movement. Very many protests started, a brutal murder, and boycotts. This all started sparking a major movement that would change America.
  • Keys v. Carolina Coach (Court case)

    Keys v. Carolina Coach (Court case)

    At 22 years old, Sarah Keys Evans refused to give her seat up on a state-to-state charter bus. The Interstate Commerce Commission banned segregation for African Americans traveling over state lines.
  • Emmett Till's Murder (Violence by Opposition)

    Emmett Till's Murder (Violence by Opposition)

    Emmett Till a 14 year old, African American, boy was visiting family in Mississippi. He was accused of flirting/whistling at a white woman (Carolyn Bryant). The woman's husband (Roy Bryant) and his brother (J.W. Milam) brutally killed Emmett. His mother held an open casket funeral to show what the racist murderers had done in hopes to spotlight the Civil Rights.
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott (Protest)

    Montgomery Bus Boycott (Protest)

    Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for refusing to get up from her bus seat for a white male. A protest where African Americans refused to ride the bus to try and stop segregated seating. A leader in the protest Martin Luther King Jr. became an important leader in the civil rights movement. The boycott lasted from December 05, 1955 to December 20, 1956.
  • Creation of the Montgomery Improvement Association (Protest/ No violence)

    Creation of the Montgomery Improvement Association (Protest/ No violence)

    It was established in Montgomery, Alabama. It was formed to fight for the civil rights of African Americans. A group of local ministers formed the association. This brought a big legal challenge to the segregation laws. Specifically fighting for desegregation of the buses/transportation in Montgomery.
  • Fouding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Protest/ No violence)

    Fouding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Protest/ No violence)

    A civil rights organization founded in Atlanta, Georgia. They wanted a regional organization that could coordinate civil rights protests/activities. Martin Luther King Jr. was the first president of the organization.
  • Civil Right Act of 1957 (Legislation)

    Civil Right Act of 1957 (Legislation)

    The first federal civil rights passed by Congress in 1875. Authorized the prosecution of interference with the right to vote.
  • Little Rock Nine Crisis (Protest)

    Little Rock Nine Crisis (Protest)

    A group of nine African Americans were enrolled at Little Rock Central High School. The Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, refused to let them enter the racially segregated school. On September 4, 1957, they walked through a crowd of people throwing things and shouting curse words at them. When they made it to the front door the National Guard prevented them from getting in. On September 25, 1957, they made it inside the school for their first day.
  • Cooper v. Aaron (Supreme Court)

    Cooper v. Aaron (Supreme Court)

    A landmark decision of the Supreme Court. That contradicted Little Rock, Arkansas from the right to keep segregation for 30 more months.
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    1960's

    The 1960s consisted of many more protests, acts being passed, and organizations being created. Everything was helping to work towards the movement.
  • Greensboro Sit- In (Protest)

    Greensboro Sit- In (Protest)

    African American Students were refused service at segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was caused by a "Whites Only" sign at the lunch counter. Sit-ins spread quickly through the south forcing places like Woolworths to change the segregation policies. The sit-ins lasted from February 01, 1960 to July 25, 1960.
  • Freedom Rides (Protest)

    Freedom Rides (Protest)

    Activists who rode buses into the segregated southern states. The Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations banning segregation on interstate travel.
  • Albany Campain (Protest)

    Albany Campain (Protest)

    The first mass movement with the goal of desegregation. It was a desegregation and voter coalition formed in Albany, Georgia. It was concerned with desegregating transport facilities. Martin Luther King Jr. joined the movement.
  • Integration of the University of Mississippi (Protest/Achievement))

    Integration of the University of Mississippi (Protest/Achievement))

    Many riots happened on the campus of the University of Mississippi protesting the enrollment of James Meredith. Locals, students, and many others gathered against this.
  • Birmingham Movement (Violence by Opposition)

    Birmingham Movement (Violence by Opposition)

    A movement in Birmingham, Alabama formed by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to lead attention to the integration efforts. Police came and sprayed the people with fire hoses and sent their dogs to attack the protesters.
  • Assassination of Medgar Evers (Violence by Opposition)

    Assassination of Medgar Evers (Violence by Opposition)

    On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers was shot and killed. He was murdered in Jackson, Mississippi by Bryon De La Beckwith. Many signs were created saying that he died for them and they needed to join the NAACP for him. He was NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi.
  • March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (Protest)

    March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (Protest)

    The largest gathering of civil rights for the time. Around 250,000 people attended the march. The march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. When Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.
  • Mississippi Freedom Summer (Protest)

    Mississippi Freedom Summer (Protest)

    A campaign to register as many African American voters as they could possible. There were many meetings, protests, schools, housing, libraries, and a big recognition of voting rights.
  • Civil Rigths Act of 1964 (Legislation)

    Civil Rigths Act of 1964 (Legislation)

    The act bans discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Also in hiring, promoting, and firing.
  • Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. US (Supreme Court)

    Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. US (Supreme Court)

    This case was very important in taking out the Jim Crow system. It enforced the Civil Rights Act of 1964, allowing Congress to regulate private businesses if it might affect commerce. It showed that the government could interfere with private businesses from discriminating on the basis of race.
  • Assassination of Malcolm X (Violence by Opposition)

    Assassination of Malcolm X (Violence by Opposition)

    On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated while making a speech. He was shot at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. He was taken to Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, NY, where he passed away. He was murdered by Thomas Hagan. He was a major spokesman for the Nation of Islam and an advocate for black empowerment.
  • March from Selma to Montgomery (Protest)

    March from Selma to Montgomery (Protest)

    In Selma, Alabama hundreds of people marched to Montgomery. They marched for African Americans' right to vote.
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Legislation)

    Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Legislation)

    President Lyndon Johnson signed an act banning discriminatory voting practices. Many southern states had modified and adapted these discriminating practices after the Civil War. They had literacy tests to take before African Americans could vote.
  • James Meredith's March Against Fear (Protest)

    James Meredith's March Against Fear (Protest)

    James Meredith was the first African American to be enrolled at the University of Mississippi. He began a walk alone from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. He wanted to bring light to racism and the voter discrimination that was very present.
  • Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Violence by Opposition)

    Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Violence by Opposition)

    On April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee MLK Jr. was shot dead. He was standing on a balcony outside of his room at Lorraine Motel. This just sparked more of a reason to get equality. James Earl Ray killed Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Fair Housing Act (Legislation)

    Fair Housing Act (Legislation)

    The act was created by Lyndon B. Johnson. This act banned discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. They could not discriminate against these things on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, and family status. It was signed into law during Martin Luther King Jr. assassination riots.
  • Period: to

    1970's

    In the 1970s we see many more achievements from African Americans. We also see fewer protests and more African American power.
  • Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (Supreme Court)

    Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (Supreme Court)

    The Supreme Court voted unanimously that busing programs should be used for racial integration. Charlotte resisted the Supreme Court's decision to desegregate public schools.
  • Shirley Chishlom's Presidential Campain (Achievement)

    Shirley Chishlom's Presidential Campain (Achievement)

    Chisholm became the first African American candidate of a major party nomination for President of the U.S. The first woman to run for the democratic party.
  • Northern Violence over School Integration (Protest and Voilence by Opposition)

    Northern Violence over School Integration (Protest and Voilence by Opposition)

    A major amount of violence occurred in the North over school integration. Very well-known is the Boston desegregation busing crisis. Children were jeered, menaced, and periodically attacked. All of this happened because they were African Americans using the bus for transportation.
  • Hank Aaron's Home Run Record (Achievement)

    Hank Aaron's Home Run Record (Achievement)

    Hank Aaron, an Atlanta Brave, hit his 715th home run in his career. He broke the record of Babe Ruth.
  • Barbara Jordan's Address at the Democratic National Convention (Achievement)

    Barbara Jordan's Address at the Democratic National Convention (Achievement)

    On July 12, 1976, a Texas Congresswoman gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention. She asked for Americans to accomplish a "national community" and the "common good". She was the first black woman to deliver a keynote address at a major party convention.
  • University of California Regents vs. Bakke (Supreme Court)

    University of California Regents vs. Bakke (Supreme Court)

    A court case that held a university's admissions basis on race as an exclusive basis. This violated the Equal Protection Clause.