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Civil Rights Movement
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Brown V. Board of Education
U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional following the Case of Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka, overturning the prior 'separate but equal' ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
A protest led by MLK in Montgomery, Alabama that boycotted segregated public busses after a black woman by the name of Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a public bus just 4 days prior. -
Little Rock 9
Nine Black high school students in Little Rock, Arkansas integrate to the newly desegregated Little Rock Central High School with an otherwise all-white student body. -
Greensboro Four begin the Sit-In movement
Four freshmen from a black technical college in North Carolina begin a sit-in movement in downtown Greensboro, peacefully protesting segregated facilities. -
Birmingham Demonstrations
A series of demonstrations Launched by MLK & the SCLC on April 3rd located in Birmingham, Alabama. The campaign protested Birmingham's prevalent public segregation peacefully with sit-ins, economic boycotts, mass protests, & marches on City Hall and was met with hoses, attack dogs, and unjust arrests resulting in community outrage and national recognition. -
March on Washington
March for civil and worker rights in Washington, DC in which 250,000 individuals gathered peacefully on the National Mall with many music performances and speeches took place where Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous, "I Have A Dream" speech. -
Selma-Montgomery March
three marches organized by MLK protesting for Voter Rights In Alabama. Protesters marched from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery & were initially met with violence from state troopers until given protection of federal marshals, FBI agents as well as the state's National Guardsmen. These marches resulted in the signing of the Voter Rights Act & the suspension of literacy tests. -
Assassination of Malcom X
On the 21st of febuary, 1965, Malcolm X, a Radical Civil Rights leader was gunned down in the middle of his address to his organization of Afro American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. -
Black Panther Party Founded
Following the death of Malcolm X and urban uprisings, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California, with the purpose of protecting African Americans from police discrimination. The Organization launched numerous community programs offering numerous services such as legal aid, transportation assistance, free breakfast for school children, and more. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK was shot & killed by a sniper on the 2nd story balcony of his Motel during his trip to Memphis, Tennessee the night after leading a peaceful demonstration in support of the city's current Sanitation Strike. Countless Riots break out in hundreds of cities across the country following King's death. -
Fair Housing Act Passed
Congress passes the Fair Housing Act outlawing discrimination in the housing market In MLK's honor just one week after his death.