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Brown V Board of Eduction
In the renowned Supreme Court case of 1954, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. One of the pillars of the civil rights movement was Brown v. Board of Education, which helped set the precedent that "separate-but-equal" education and other services were not actually equal at all. -
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Civil Rights Timeline
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
Sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1st, 1955, the Montgomery bus boycott was a 13-month mass protest that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional. The MIA coordinated the boycott, and its president, MLK, became a prominent civil rights leader as international attention focused on Montgomery. The bus boycott demonstrated the potential for nonviolent mass protest to successfully challenge racial segregation. -
Little Rock Nine
On September 4, 1957, nine African American students attempted to attend a previously all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, but were prevented from entering by an angry mob and the Arkansas National Guard. The Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African American students, challenged the South's refusal to integrate and exercised their right to choose which high school they would attend. -
First lunch counter sit in
The Greensboro sit-in began in 1960, when young African American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. The sit-in effort quickly spread to college cities across the South. -
Freedom Rides
The Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides, bus rides through the South protesting segregated bus terminals. Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” facilities and lunch counters at bus stations in Southern states. Along their journeys, the groups were met by arresting police officers and brutal violence from white rioters, but they also garnered international attention to the civil rights cause. -
Birmingham campaign
In April 1963, Martin Luther King and the SCLC joined Birminghams local campaign. The goal of the campaign was to attack the city’s segregation system. The Birmingham campaign launched with mass meetings, lunch counter sit-ins, a march on city hall, and a boycott of downtown merchants. On May 10th, 1963, an agreement was announced to desegregate lunch counters, drinking fountains, and restrooms within 90 days. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was a political event held by civil rights leaders in Washington, D.C., in 1963 to protest racial discrimination and to show support for major civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Segregation on the basis of race, religion, or national origin was prohibited in all places of public accommodation by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including courthouses, parks, restaurants, theaters, sports arenas, and hotels. No longer could Black people and other minorities be denied service simply due to their skin color. The Civil rights act as well barred religious, racial, and gender discrimination by employers and labor unions. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law, with the goal of removing legal barriers at the state and municipal levels that hindered African Americans from exercising their right to vote as promised by the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Voting Rights Act is widely regarded as one of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation in American history.