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The Civil Rights Movement refers to a period during the 1950s and 1960s during which Americans held marches, non-violent protests, boycotts, and student-led sit-ins to obtain civil rights for all Americans, regardless of race.
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In Morgan v. Virginia, the US Supreme Court invalidates provisions of the Virginia Code which require the separation of white and colored passengers where applied to interstate bus transport, an area of federal jurisdiction.
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The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sends 16 men on the Journey of Reconciliation. The Journey of Reconciliation was a form of non-violent direct action to challenge segregation laws on interstate buses in the Southern United States.
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Executive Order 9981 President Harry S. Truman issues Executive Order 9981 ordering the end of segregation in the Armed Forces.
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Henderson v. United States In Henderson v. United States the Supreme Court abolishes segregation in railroad dining cars.
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The United States Army high command announces it will desegregate the Army.
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Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL) The Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL) is founded in Cleveland, Mississippi by T.R.M. Howard, Amzie Moore, Aaron Henry, and other civil rights activists. This campaign successfully pressured many Mississippi service stations to provide restrooms for blacks.
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Executive Order 10479 Executive Order 10479 signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower establishes the anti-discrimination Committee on Government Contracts.
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Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company In the landmark case Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, WAC Sarah Keys, represented by civil rights lawyer Dovey Roundtree, becomes the first black to challenge "separate but equal" in bus segregation before the Interstate Commerce Commission.
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Hernandez v. Texas In Hernandez v. Texas, the Supreme Court of the United States rules that Mexican Americans and all other racial groups in the United States are entitled to equal protection under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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Brown v. Board of Education The Supreme Court rules against the "separate but equal" doctrine in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and in Bolling v. Sharpe, thus overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.
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Executive Order 10590 (1955) President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10590, establishing the President's Committee on Government Policy to enforce a nondiscrimination policy in Federal employment.
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Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County The Supreme Court rules in "Brown II" that desegregation must occur with "all deliberate speed" (Earl Warren)
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Montgomery Bus Boycott Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus, starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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Tallahassee Bus Boycott Tallahassee, Florida bus boycott begins.
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[Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights](Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR)) The Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) is founded at a mass meeting in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Southern Christian Leadership Conference formed. Martin Luther King Jr. is named chairman of the organization.
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Little Rock Nine Governor Orval Faubus calls out the Arkansas National Guard to surround Little Rock Central High School to preserve the peace and avert violence that may be caused by extremists who came to Little Rock "in caravans."
President Dwight Eisenhower federalizes the National Guard and also orders US Army troops to ensure Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas is integrated. Federal and National Guard troops escort the -
Civil Rights Act of 1957 Civil Rights Act of 1957 signed by President Eisenhower. It was primarily a voting rights bill and was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since Reconstruction following the American Civil War.
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The City of San Antonio, Texas in America's deep south, becomes the first city to integrate lunch counters.
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Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is formed in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Civil Rights Act of 1960 The Civil Rights Act of 1960 signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The act established federal inspection of local voter registration rolls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote or to vote.
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United States presidential election, 1960 John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election.
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Executive Order 10925 President John F. Kennedy issues Executive Order 10925, which establishes a Presidential committee that later becomes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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Albany Movement Five hundred protesters arrested in Albany, Georgia.
MLK arrives in Albany, Georgia in response to a call from Dr. W. G. Anderson, the leader of the Albany Movement to desegregate public facilities.
MLK is arrested at an Albany, Georgia demonstration. He is charged with obstructing the sidewalk and parading without a permit. -
Segregated transportation facilities, both interstate and intrastate, ruled unconstitutional by U.S. Supreme Court.
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Birmingham Campaign The Birmingham campaign, organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights challenges city leaders and business owners in Birmingham, Alabama, with daily mass demonstrations.
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Letter from Birmingham Jail King's famous Letter from Birmingham Jail is completed.
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President John F. Kennedy makes his historic civil rights speech, promising a bill to Congress the next week. About civil rights for "Negroes", in his speech he asks for "the kind of equality of treatment which we would want for ourselves. Speech
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March on Washington The famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is held, where Dr. Martin Luther King gives his memorable 'I Have a Dream' speech.
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16th Street Baptist Church Bombing The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham kills four young girls. That same day, in response to the killings, James Bevel and Diane Nash begin the Alabama Project, which will later grow into the Selma Voting Rights Movement.
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John F. Kennedy President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.
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Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishes the poll tax for Federal elections.
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Martin Luther King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest person to be given the award.
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Malcolm X Malcolm X is shot to death in Manhattan, New York, probably by three members of the Nation of Islam.
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Bloody Sunday Civil rights workers in Selma, Alabama, begin a march to Montgomery but are stopped by a massive police blockade as they cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Many marchers are severely injured and one killed. This action, initiated and organized by James Bevel, becomes the visual symbol of the Selma Voting Rights Movement.
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Voting Rights Act of 1965 Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed by President Johnson. The Act prohibited states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color."
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Watts Riots Watts Riots erupt in the Watts District, South Los Angeles, California lasting from August 11 to August 15, 1965. The 5-day riot resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and 3,438 arrests.
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Executive Order 11246 President Johnson signs Executive Order 11246 requiring Equal Employment Opportunity by federal contractors. The Order "prohibits federal contractors and federally assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, who do over $10,000 in Government business in one year from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin."
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Black Panthers Party The Black Panthers are founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California.
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United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1966 Edward Brooke is elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. He is the first black senator since 1881.
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Thurgood Marshall is the first African American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King is shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray.
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Civil Rights Act of 1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is signed by President Johnson. Also known as the Fair Housing Act – it bans discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. The law is passed following a series of contentious open housing campaigns throughout the urban North.
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Robert F. Kennedy Robert F. Kennedy, a Civil Rights advocate, is assassinated after winning the California presidential primary. His appeal to minorities helped him secure the victory.
