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The Supreme Court Decision of Plessy V. Ferguson
In the landmark 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court upheld the constitutionality of state-imposed racial segregation, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine -
The Tuskegee Airmen
the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps -
The Integration of Major League Baseball
a pivotal moment in American history, began on April 15, 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, becoming the first Black player to play in the modern era. -
The Integration of the Armed Forces
President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981 -
The Supreme Court Decision of Sweatt v. Painter
the University of Texas School of Law must admit Heman Sweatt, a black applicant, because the separate law school established for Black students was inherently unequal and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
The Supreme Court Decision of Brown v. Board of Education
The Court unanimously ruled that state-sponsored segregation in public schools was unconstitutional -
The Death of Emmitt Till
a Black boy visiting Mississippi from Chicago, was brutally murdered after being accused of whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery store. His killers, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were acquitted by an all-white jury, and the case sparked national outrage and galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a nonviolent protest that took place from December 1955 to December 1956. -
The Integration of Little Rock High School
Governor Orval Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard in an effort to prevent nine African American students from integrating the high school. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1957
the first federal civil rights legislation passed since 1875, focusing on protecting voting rights and establishing mechanisms for investigating and prosecuting voter discrimination. -
The Greensboro Four Lunch Counter Sit-In
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 Freedom Rides by Freedom Riders of 1961
A series of bus trips through the segregated American South. -
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
prohibits the denial or abridgment of the right to vote in federal elections due to failure to pay a poll tax or any other tax. -
the integration of the university of mississippi
The integration of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1962, led by James Meredith, was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, marked by a riot on campus and the eventual enrollment of Meredith as the first Black student. -
the integration of the university of alabama
On June 11, 1963, the University of Alabama's integration occurred when two Black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, successfully enrolled, after Governor George Wallace's attempt to block them was thwarted by federal intervention, including the federalization of the Alabama National Guard and the deployment of federal marshals. -
the march on Washington by mlk
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a massive demonstration that drew over 250,000 people to the Lincoln Memorial to advocate for civil rights and economic justice. -
the assassination of jfk
Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a motorcade with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, and his wife, Nelly Connally. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Hospital where, at 1 p.m., the President was pronounced dead. -
the assassination of Malcom x
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated while delivering a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York, by three members of the Nation of Islam, though two were later exonerated, sparking controversy and leaving a legacy of unfinished work in the fight for racial justice. -
bloody sunday
"Bloody Sunday" refers to two distinct, but impactful, events: the brutal assault on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965, and the shooting of unarmed civilians by British soldiers in Derry, Northern Ireland, on January 30, 1972. -
the voting rights act of 1965
When Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it determined that racial discrimination in voting had been more prevalent in certain areas of the country. Section 4(a) of the Act established a formula to identify those areas and to provide for more stringent remedies where appropriate. -
the assassination of mlk
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent civil rights leader, was assassinated while standing on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, succumbing to a single gunshot. -
the voting rights act of 1968
The Voting Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibited discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, and later expanded to include familial status and disability.