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The NAACP is a civil rights organization to help advance and give justice to African Americans. People including Mary White Ovington, Henry Moskowitz, William English Walling and Oswald Garrison Villard, along with such African Americans as W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida Wells-Barnett, Archibald Grimke and Mary Church Terrell. -
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was also a civil rights movement for African Americans who helped to include others in their movement. CORE was originally founded in Chicago, Illinois to help make change. -
Executive Order 9981 established that "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." This is very important because it allowed black men to help fight during World War II. President Harry S. Truman signed this order to ensure some freedom in willing to help fight. It established the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. -
Brown v. Board of Education was when the U.S. Supreme Court finally ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional. The NAACP and Thurgood Marshall took their case to the Supreme Court to show others why segregation is terrible in public schools. They determined that the "Jim Crow" laws were not fair, and maintained that whites were superior. They continued to challenge segregation until they gained the 14th amendment which gave black people access to more things. -
Emmett Till was a fourteen year old boy who was kidnapped and lynched when offending a white woman in her family's store. This shows that when a teenager made a mistake of messing with a white woman, he was tortured. So, this event tells others that Emmett did not deserve what happened to him. -
Rosa Parks was an American Activist who fought for African American rights. When she refused to move for a white man on the bus, she helped make history and change. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott is one of the most famous events in African American History. One day when Rosa Parks was riding the bus, she refused to give her seat up to a white person. After her arrest, outrage began for equality for no more segregation. A 13-month bus boycott helped the Supreme Court to rule segregation on buses unconstitutional. Today Rosa Parks is recognized for her acts of change. -C -
The SCLC was a civil rights group to help advance equality for African Americans. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King Jr. was closely associated with this group as well. -
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a group of activists who helped to get rid of division between whites and African Americans during the civil rights movement. The SNCC also helped to bring equality to all. -
Greensboro Sit-ins were a series of non-violent protests to show support for being able to get service anywhere no matter their race. A murder of a young black boy sparked them to try to do something to make a difference. Four students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College all gathered in a diner and when they were refused service, they sat there to show that they deserved to be served. This led to others also doing these actions to show they should not be denied service. -
Ruby Bridges was just a child when she helped to fight for everyone's rights. Ruby went to an all white school just to show others that segregation should stop. She faced a lot of backlash, but in all she helped to make a difference. -
Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights people who participated in Freedom Rides, and bus trips through the American South. It lasted over 6 months to protest segregated bus terminals and they got a law to be able to sit where ever they wanted. This was led by CORE to help promote that transportation should be equal. -H -
James Meredith was an American civil rights activist who eventually became a writer and also a political advisor. James was the first African American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi. This was important because it went against what many believed in, and he showed others that no matter your skin color, you can still be a part of things. -
The Birmingham Campaign was a movement led in early 1963 by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which brought to bring national attention to the efforts of local black leaders not to segregate public buildings in Birmingham, Alabama. The campaign was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 to promote equality for all. People like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverends James Bevel and Fred Shuttlesworth, among others all helped to lead this effort. -H -
Medgar Evers was an American civil rights activist. He fought for African American rights and worked with the NAACP to help find equality until one day he was assassinated by a white supremacist. Medgar's life was very important because he helped to make changes when he was living, and helped to show others the right thing too. -
Martin Luther King Jr. was a well-known activist, minister, and leader who fought for the rights of African Americans, and others that were different than whites. He believed that everyone deserved to be equal because we are the same people, just with different colored skin. So many people found his peaceful protests unhelpful, but one took it too far. Martin was the most well-known spokesperson in the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1968. He helped to show others their rights. -
March on Washington was originally conceived as a mass demonstration to spotlight learning and a press for new federal jobs, programs, and a higher minimum wage, the goals of the march expanded to include calls for congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act, and full integration of public schools. It started in 1963. People like Philip Randolph, Whitney M. Young Jr., Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer, Roy Wilkins, and John Lewis were all involved in the march. -H -
16 street church bombing was on September 15, 1963. During prayers everything was fine and then the bomb went off ‘’Thomas Blanton, Robert Chambliss, Bobby Frank Cherry, and Herman CashThomas Blanton, Robert Chambliss’’, t were some people that were in the church during the time. The reason why the white supremacy group did it was that they did not like them and did not stand with them for black people's rights. -H -
Malcolm X was a well-known African American minister during the civil rights movement. Along Martin Luther King Jr's. side, he spoke for black empowerment throughout the whole world. Malcolm wanted equality for all no matter how you looked. Malcolm X is a very important reason why African Americans gained more rights than they had because they had such good leaders. -
Freedom Summer was a nonviolent effort led by CORE and SNCC to help others with voter registration. Many white people also joined to help show others that everyone deserves equal voting and you should not be discriminated based on race. They hoped that this would catch the attention of the media and finally give black people the right to vote. But, instead, there was violence, ending with 3 people being killed. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a law that forbids unfairness because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. No one could be told they cannot do anything after this act was passed. People like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the Little Rock Nine, and many others helped to endorse this act and helped President Johnson to sign it. -
The Bloody Sunday: Selma to Birmingham March was a peaceful protest led by Martin Luther King Jr, the SNCC, and the SCLC. It started on January 2, 1965, when people gathered to promote equal voting rights. But, however, these protests caused a lot more violence than expected. During this, an outbreak happened that caused someone in the Selma March to be shot. This led to more problems, which is why the Selma March is now known as The Bloody Sunday because some people died that day. -
The voting rights Act of 1965 prohibited discrimination against black people when voting. President Johnson signed the act on August 6, 1965, partnering with MLK to help to give people this right. This included poll taxes and literacy tests. This is important because it finally allowed everyone to vote fairly without being discriminated against. People could help decide who they wanted to run the country and or town. -
The Watts riot was an outbreak after two brothers were pulled over by a white cop. When Marquette failed the sobriety test and was worried when being arrested, a problem broke out between the officers. When a crowd gathered, a police officer jabbed Ronald in the stomach. The following morning, these events resulted in many people including the NCAAP all gathered together to show why the police acted wrongly. -C -
Bobby Seale was a political activist and author. Bobby helped and worked with the Black Panther group, and showed support for equality for African Americans. This is important because the Black Panthers helped to give equality to people no matter their skin color. -
The Black Panthers were and still are a group of people who fight for African American rights and to protect others from police brutality. Their great courage and positive attitude helped them to fight for others and not just themselves. Some people involved were Elaine Brown, Fred Hampton, Eldridge Cleaver, Ericka Huggins, Kathleen Cleaver, Huey P. Newton, Barbara Easley, and Bobby Seale. -
Stokely Carmichael was an activist who helped to lead the global pan-African movement. Stokely helped to take shape in the civil rights movement and contributed to making change. His speech "Black Power" encouraged others to believe that they are worth it. His actions are seen today as very helpful to communities everywhere. -
Thurgood Marshall was a civil rights activist and an American lawyer. He encouraged others to serve equality when he was an Associate Justice of the supreme court. Thurgood Marshall was the first African American justice. His works have been seen to help give all people equality and justice. -
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin was standing on his balcony at 6:01 PM. when he was shot in the back of the head by James Earl Ray. James Earl Ray killed him on the night of April 4th and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Martin was a minister and activist for African American rights. Although he didn't live to see his wish fulfilled, he made a difference. -C -
The Poor People's Campaign was a protest to show that poor people of all backgrounds (including race) deserved equality and wanted economic justice. Martin Luther King Jr. helped to lead this campaign in Washington, D.C. -H -
John Lewis was an American civil rights activist and politician who helped to continue the civil rights movement today. He served in the House of Representatives and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee until his death in 2020. He is seen today as a great leader and part of the civil rights movement. -
The most important event among these was the March on Washington. The March on Washington was very important because there were 200,000 people who listened because they believed that they deserved jobs and freedom. This march was when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech that helped to pressure John F. Kennedy to make a strong federal bill to congress. The March on Washington showed many people around the world that everyone deserves equality no matter what they look like. -
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act#:~:text=This%20act%20was%20signed%20into,as%20a%20prerequisite%20to%20voting.
https://www.archivesfoundation.org/documents/executive-order-9981-ending-segregation-armed-forces/
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/assassination-martin-luther-king-jr
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott -
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According to history.com, the article states, "At one point during his speech, she called out to him, “Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin, tell ‘em about the dream!” referring to a familiar theme he had referenced in earlier speeches." This shows that many other people supported the fact that African Americans should all be equal. People believed that Martin Luther King Jr. needed to tell people what was right.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington