-
The main events of the 1950s in the United States included the economic boom after World War 2, the beginning of the Cold War, and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Sporting events were extremely popular in the '50s. Many Americans began going to professional sports games. Pictures and media began being widespread in American homes. Many people watched the same news channels.
-
Herman Marion Sweatt brought this case to court in 1946 when he was automatically refused admission to the University of Texas Law School. The university argued that they would be setting up a "separate law school for negroes", but the court ruled that this would in no way be equal. Sweatt was to be admitted to the school. -
Army Private Sarah Keys was jailed for failing to give up her seat to a white Marine. In the Supreme Court ruling, it was decided that the Interstate Commerce Commission forbade segregation on buses that crossed state lines. -
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was violently tortured and murdered in Money, Mississippi by two white men. He had supposedly whistled at a white woman in a store a few days earlier. His mother chose to have an open casket funeral so that the public could see the brutality of the crime against her son. -
The Vietnam War was a war over the spread of Communism in North and South Vietnam. The United States became officially involved in the war after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident on August 2, 1964.
-
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a protest against segregation based on race on public transportation. Protestors stopped using public transportation altogether for 13 months until the federal government declared segregation on public transportation unconstitutional. The movement was inspired by the arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery Alabama. -
This association was formed just days after the arrest of Rosa Parks. The goal of the association was to fight for the rights of Black Americans and oversee the bus boycott and desegregation in Montgomery Alabama. -
SCLC was founded by Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leading figures in the fight for the civil rights of Black Americans. The conference was founded in order to better organize protest efforts across the South. -
The Little Rock Nine Crisis was a result of nine African-American students being withheld from enrollment in a previously all-white school in Little Rock Arkansas. A mob formed outside of the high school to try and prevent the nine from entering, but sixteen days later President Eisenhower ordered a division to protect them. This was a very influential achievement in the Civil Rights Movement and sparked the desegregation of other unrelenting schools in the south. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Act aimed to protect the right of Black Americans to vote. This act was extremely difficult to enforce, especially in the deep south. -
The state government of Arkansas refused to accept the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and requested that the desegregation of Arkansas schools be "postponed" for at least 2 years. The Supreme Court rejected that Arkansas be above the supreme law of the land that was decided in Brown. -
The main events of the 1960's in America included the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, protests by younger generations opposing war and conflict in Vietnam, and political assassinations. There was a "generation gap" between baby boomers and their parents. The younger generation held different political views and ideologies than those before them. There was also a major spike in the use and creation of psychedelic drugs.
-
The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of protests by black students of NC A&T in Greensboro North Carolina. The protests began when four black students sat at a "whites only" lunch counter. When they weren't served, they continued to gather support and return to the counter with more students, until eventually, the restaurants would serve them. -
The "Freedom Riders" were a group of activists, both black and white, who rode public transportation routes to see if states (specifically in the deep south) were following federal law on the desegregation of buses. Freedom Riders were met with brutality and violence. Firebombing and other attempts to attack the protesters took place in Alabama, South Carolina, and other southern states. -
The Albany Campaign was a movement that was created to end all forms of racial segregation in the deep south, specifically in Albany, Georgia. The campaign ended with more than 1,000 protestors detained in Albany and surrounding areas. -
Riots and violence started as a direct result of the enrollment of the first African American to the University of Mississippi, James Meredith. He wasn't officially accepted and enrolled in the school until after federal involvement began. -
The Birmingham Campaign was a series of protests that took place in the city of Birmingham, Alabama. Activists used multiple efforts in an attempt to desegregate the city. They were met with violence in the form of police dogs, fire hoses, and clubbing. MLK was imprisoned and wrote "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". Images spread of the treatment of the protesters and ultimately spurred others to join the cause. -
Medgar Evers was a Black activist and member of the NAACP. He was shot just outside his home on June 12, 1963. On the day of his funeral, white police presence could not contain the anger of the thousands of mourners. The suspect got away with the murder after his friend (a white cop) corroborated his story in court. -
The March on Washington was an organized gathering aimed to advocate for the rights of Black Americans. Around 250,000 peaceful protestors gathered in Washington D.C. from around the country. MLK delivered his "I Have a Dream Speech" at the Lincoln Memorial. -
Mississippi Freedom Summer was an effort by activists to get black populations in Mississippi to register to vote. 42% of the population were people of color, but they were only 5% of the voter population. They were met with violent opposition by the KKK and local/state law enforcement. -
This Act was passed to protect Black Americans from discrimination on the basis of "race, color, religion, sex or national origin". The key parts of the act were: voting rights, public accommodations, desegregation of public education, equal employment opportunity, and registration and voting statistics. -
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was an attack on two US naval destroyers stationed off the coast of Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, signed shortly after, officially got the United States involved in the war. -
In this Supreme Court Case, it was decided that hotels/motels could not refuse to serve customers on the basis of race. The Heart of Atlanta Motel had previously refused to house African Americans. Title 2 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "forbade racial discrimination by places of public accommodation if their operations affected commerce".
-
Malcolm X was a major figure in the civil rights movement, with more severe methods than MLK. He was assassinated at the age of 39 just before speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. -
During this organized March, hundreds of people marched 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery Alabama to ensure the right of African Americans to vote despite the system set up to deter and block them. On a day known as "Bloody Sunday" state and local police attacked the protesters with clubs, whips, and tear gas. The protesters gathered more support and came back in the following days until eventually they received federal protection from the president. -
Around 20,000 people, mostly college students, were led by the SDS to protest the Vietnam War in Washington DC. This was the largest anti-war protest in the United States to date. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed by President LBJ and officially outlawed the use of discriminatory voting tests/requirements used against Black Americans. Although the act failed to permanently and completely stop discrimination on the basis of race, it created a major increase in the amount of registered Black voters. -
James Meredith was the first African American admitted into the University of Mississippi. He began a solitary march from Memphis Tennessee to Jackson Mississippi to protest discriminatory treatment in the South. He was shot by James Norvell, a white man. The outrage after led to thousands continuing his march. -
The Tet Offensive was an attack by North Vietnam and their Viet Cong allies on Southern Vietnam. South Vietnam, civilians, and the United States military suffered severe losses. An estimated 50,000 communist troops died. -
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee. He was standing on a balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel when he was fatally shot by James Earl Ray. MLK had become a major symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, and his death sparked outrage across the United States. -
The Fair Housing Act aimed to end discriminatory practices in the housing market on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, etc. The Act protects people when buying/renting a home, seeking assistance, applying for financial help, and more. -
The main events of the 1970s in America included the end of the Vietnam War (veterans returned home to very little respect), the oil crisis, the economic decline, and the Watergate scandal.
-
This Supreme Court Case turned attention to the neglect of the desegregation laws in the South. Many school systems continue to segregate Black and White students. The case decided that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools would integrate their schools and buses. -
Chisolm was the first African American woman to be a part of Congress. She ran her presidential campaign in the 1972 election, with the slogan "Unbought and Unbossed". Shirley advocated for the poor and inner-city residents, as well as making a significant impact on anti-poverty policies and educational opportunities. -
One example of Northern violence over school integration is the Boston Desegregation Busing Crisis in 1974. The Boston School system desegregating their buses was met with violence against the Black students. Buses carrying Black students were attacked by white protesters, who were throwing things at the children. -
Hank Aaron, a major league baseball player, broke the home run record previously held by Babe Ruth, with 715. Hank advocated against racism and broke racial barriers during his time playing. -
Barbara Jordan became the first African American, and the first woman, to make an address at the Democratic National Convention. She mentions in her speech that this would not be possible even a decade earlier. -
Allan Bakke, a white man, argued to the court that he was being withheld from enrollment in the University of California solely on the basis of race. The University had places reserved for minority groups to be enrolled. Bakke won the case and was admitted to the school.