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Brown v Board of Education
Brown v Board ruled laws segregating public schools unconstitutional,overruling Plessy v Ferguson. It was unanimous 9-0 decision that paved the way for integration. -
White Citizens' Council
The White Citizens' Council was a group of white supremacists who opposed racial integration of schools, public facilities and voter registration. They used protesting tactics such as propaganda, economic boycotts and violence against civil rights activists. -
Brown v Board of Education II
Brown v Board II followed up the original a year later by adding that schools need to integrate schools with "all deliberate speed." It also listed the steps that schools needed to follow in order to de-segregate. -
Lynching of Emmett Till
14 year old Emmett Till was brutally murdered after he allegedly flirted with a white female grocery store clerk. The clerk's husband and brother beat him nearly to death, gouged his eyes, then threw his body into a river tied to a 75 pound cotton gin. His lynching was the spark of the civil rights movement of the '60s. -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks was arrested after she refused to give up her seat in the front of a bus for a white passenger in Montgomery. Martin Luther King Jr. led a bus boycott after the incident, which caused the Supreme Court to rule public bus segregation unconstitutional. Rosa Parks is often credited for starting the modern civil rights movement. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott began days after Rosa Parks was arrested and went until December 20, 1956. It was a protest amongst African Americans fighting against the segregation of public transportation by using different modes of transportation throughout the day. Rosa Parks and MLK were asked to lead the boycott. The protest was deemed successful when the Supreme Court decided bus segregation was unconstitutional. -
MLK House Bombing
Martin Luther King's house was bombed by segregationists retaliating the success of the bus boycott. His house was surrounded by armed, angry African Americans who opposed his movement in Montgomery. He spoke to the crowd and explained he was asked by the public to lead the boycott and reminded them they should not advocate for violence. -
Bombing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was a civil rights activist and minister at Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham. Attackers planted bombs near his parsonage, which destroyed the walls, floors and mattress he was sleeping on, but left him unhurt. He took the miracle as a sign that God was protecting him to do the work he was called to do. -
SCLC Founded
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference encouraged forms of nonviolent protest among African Americans. The group was formed by MLK, Ella Baker, Bayard Rustin and 60 black ministers and church leaders King invited. They also emphasized the involvement of churches in political activism against social issues, such as segregation/racism. -
Eisenhower Sends Federal Troops
President Eisenhower sent in troops to Little Rock to protect the newly enrolled 9 black students at Central High School. The students faced physical and verbal abuse. -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
African American students participated in the civil rights movement by staging sit ins at Woolworth's segregated lunch counter. A group of students would go in to protest, get arrested, then another group would come in and repeat. The protests were very peaceful and the students didn't fight back even when bystanders would spit on them or throw food. The sit ins spread to college towns throughout the south. -
SNCC Formed
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was a manor civil rights organization that focused on black power and draft resistance to Vietnam War. It was founded by Ella Baker at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC. The group emerged after the first round of sit ins. -
Freedom Rides
The Freedom Rides were interstate bus routes that drove racially mixed passengers through the segregated South. African American riders tried to use white bathrooms and lunch counters while passing through South Carolina and other states. They provoked violent riots where mobs would attach the riders. The original route was planned to go through Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and finish in New Orleans. Buses ran until December 10, 1961. -
White Mob Attacks Montgomery
Freedom Riders traveling to Montgomery were met by an angry white mob instead of the police officers that were supposed to be there. 400 marshals were sent to the city to restore the peace after the mob attacked and beat the riders. -
Albany Movement Failure
The Albany Movement was formed on November 17, 1961 and lasted until August 1962. The SNCC, NAACP, Ministerial Alliance, Federation of Woman's Club and Negro Voters League joined together for the desegregation campaign. MLK joined in December 1961 to lead the nonviolent protests intended to end all segregation in the city. King was arrested numerous times throughout his stay and decided to finally leave Albany. Nearly all facilities remained segregated after his departure. -
Bailey v Patterson
Bailey v Patterson was a Supreme Court case brought by African Americans in Jacksonville, MS. The case completely outlawed segregated inter and intrastate public transportation facilities. -
MLK in Birmingham Jail
MLK led nonviolent protests in Birmingham, but a court had ordered that he couldn't hold them there anymore. He wrote his famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" during his 4 day imprisonment. -
Equal Pay Act
The Equal Pay Act was created to abolish wage gap based on sex discrimination. The Act was signed by President Kennedy on June 10, 1963. -
Kennedy Sends Federal Troops
President Kennedy ordered Governor George Wallace of Alabama to allow two African American students to register at the University of Alabama. Wallace publicly rejected this order by standing in front of the school entrance to prevent the students from going in, so Kennedy authorized the Secretary of Defense to call up the Alabama National Guard to force him to move. -
Medgar Evers Assassination
Medgar Evers was Mississippi's field secretary of the NAACP. Evers fought for his right to attend the University of Mississippi law school. He was shot in his back and through his heart in his driveway by Byron De La Beckwith, who opposed activism and the integration of public schools. 5,000 people marched from Masonic Temple to Collins Funeral Home to grieve. -
March on Washington
A crowd of 250,000 participated in the march in Washington D.C. at the Lincoln Memorial to advocate civil and economic rights of African Americans. This march was where MLK gave his infamous "I have a dream" speech that called for an end to racism. -
Bombing of Birmingham Church
The 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed by several KKK members who planted around 15 sticks of dynamite within the church. The tragic bombing ended with the death of four young girls and many others injured. The dynamite exploded before Sunday morning services. -
JFK Assassination
President John F. Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in the presidential motorcade in Dallas. Kennedy was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital 30 minutes after being shot. -
Freedom Summer
The Freedom Summer was a time period from June-August of 1964 that was an attempt to register as many African Americans as possible to vote in Mississippi. It's also known as the Mississippi Summer Project. The Council of Federated Organizations set up freedom schools, houses, community centers and libraries. The movement was not very successful in getting many registered voters. -
24th Amendment Ratified
The ratification of the 24th Amendment prohibited Congress and States from requiring a poll tax for federal elections. Poll taxes were ruled to be unconstitutional in Harper v Virginia Board of Elections for any level of election. -
Murders of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner
Andrew Goodman, Mickey Schwerner and James Chaney were members of the Council of Federated Organizations and the Congress of Racial Equality. They also worked with the Freedom Summer campaign. The three were followed and pulled over by law enforcement while leaving town, abducted and shot at close range. After extensive investigation, KKK members and the Neshoba County sheriff's office and police department were found to be involved in the murders. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, proposed by JFK and signed by Lyndon B. Johnson, outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also ended segregation in public places. -
Malcolm X Assassination
Malcolm X was shot in Manhattan by Talmadge Hayer, Normal 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson (Nation of Islam members). He has 21 gunshot wounds to his body. Two days prior to his death, X told an interviewer that the Nation of Islam was trying to kill him. He was pronounced dead at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital shorty after his arrival. -
Selma to Montgomery March
The Selma to Montgomery march went along the 54 mile highway from Selma to Montgomery, AL and ended on March 25, 1965. Nonviolent activists organized and led the march to fight for their constitutional right to vote. Police brutally attacked the demonstrators during their first march, which is known as "Bloody Sunday." MLK led 2,500 marchers to Edmund Peters Bridge, peacefully prayed, then turned around to obey court orders, which is known as "Turnaround Tuesday." -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed by Lyndon B. Johnson at the peak of the civil rights movement, prohibited racial discrimination in voting. The U.S. Department of Justice deems it the most effective piece of federal civil rights legislation. -
Black Panthers
The Black Panthers were a violent anti-police brutality group founded on October 15, 1966 in Oakland, CA by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Members patrolled the Oakland police department while carrying arms. -
Loving v Virginia
Loving v Virginia was brought to court by Mildred Loving (black) and her husband Richard Loving (white), who were arrested for interracial marriage. The case overruled Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924 and Pace v Alabama of 1883 by ending all race-related marriage restrictions. -
Minneapolis Riots
The Minneapolis Riots took place on Plymouth Ave and consisted of violence for three days. Protesters vandalized, looted and burned stores. The riots totaled 18 fires, 36 arrests, 24 injuries and $4.2 million in damages. They were caused by police violence and racial tension between African Americans and whites. -
Detroit Riots
Detroit Police raided an unlicensed night club where a group of 82 was hosting a party for Vietnam veterans and arrested everyone. These riots are known as one of the bloodies black riots in history. Crowds looted stores, burned buildings and threw bottles at police cars. 7,000 National Guard and troops were called in. The riots took place from July 23-28, 1967. -
MLK Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray on his hotel balcony in Memphis. Ray shot King in the neck and he was rushed to St Joseph's hospital, but died later that night -
Bobby Kennedy Assassination
Bobby Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in LA. He was a presidential candidate at the time. Kennedy died 26 hours later at Good Samaritan Hospital. His assassination prompted the U.S. Secret Service to protect presidential candidates.
