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A 14-year-old from Chicago is brutally murdered in Mississippi for allegedly flirting with a white woman. His murderers are acquitted, and the case bring international attention to the civil rights movement after Jet magazine publishes a photo of Till’s beaten body at his open-casket funeral. -
A day after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., to a white male passenger, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. proposed a citywide boycott against racial segregation on the public transportation system. African Americans stopped using the system for 381 days and n June 1956, a federal court ruled that the laws in place to keep buses segregated were unconstitutional. -
This movement protested the segregation policies in Albany, Ga. Many groups like the (SNCC), (NAACP), and (SCLC) took part in the Albany movement. Some concessions were made to the coalition, but the movement eventually disbanded after nearly a year of protests without accomplishing its goals. -
The goal of the Birmingham campaign was to end discriminatory economic policies in Alabama city against African Americans. The campaign included a boycott of businesses that hired only white people. Protesters were using marches and sit-ins with the goal of getting arrested. Police used dogs and high-pressure water hoses against protesters. This campaign came to a successful end with many of these policies were repealed. -
This was the largest political rally for human rights ever in the United States. Around 200k to 300k participants came together on the to protest for jobs and freedom for African Americans. King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The March on Washington is credited with helping pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
This march was named Bloody Sunday for the violent beatings of protesters as they attempted to march peacefully from Selma, Ala., to the state capital, Montgomery by state troopers. The march was aimed at fighting the lack of voting rights for African Americans. Footage of the brutality broadcast across the nation sparked public outrage and boosted support for the civil rights movement. -
The Chicago Open Housing Movement, also called the Chicago Freedom Movement, was formed to protest segregated housing, educational deficiencies, and employment and health disparities based on racism. The movement included multiple rallies, marches and boycotts to address the variety of issues facing black Chicago residents. The marchers were met with rocks, bottles and firecrackers. Approximately 30 people were injured, including King, who was hit in the head with a brick. -
The Chicago Open Housing Movement, also called the Chicago Freedom Movement, was formed to protest segregated housing, educational deficiencies, and employment and health disparities based on racism. The movement included multiple rallies, marches and boycotts to address the variety of issues facing black Chicago residents. The marchers were met with rocks, bottles and firecrackers. Approximately 30 people were injured, including King, who was hit in the head with a brick. -
Many groups and individuals vehemently opposed the Vietnam War in the massive peace movement of the 1960s and '70s. King compared the antiwar movement to the civil rights movement and denounced U.S. involvement in a series of speeches, rallies and demonstrations. He called for a stop to all bombing in North and South Vietnam, as well as a declaration of a unilateral truce and a move toward peace talks. -
The goal of the Poor People’s Campaign was to gain more economic and human rights for poor Americans from all backgrounds. A march on Washington was planned for April 22, 1968, but when King was assassinated the march postponed. By May 12, approximately 50,000 demonstrators had converged and erected a tent city, called Resurrection City, in what became a live-in. The occupation lasted six weeks and ended when bulldozers arrived and mowed down Resurrection City on June 24. -
Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray is convicted of the murder in 1969.