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Amendments 14-15 of the US Constitution were enacted during the reconstruction period of the United States after the Civil War. Under these new Amendments, slavery was abolished, Black Americans were granted citizenship, and all citizens' right to vote was federally protected. -
Laws enacted by Southern states to interrupt the socio-economic advancements Black Americans gained after the Civil War. Black Americans were segregated and disenfranchised heavily due to these laws. Jim Crow laws remained well into the 20th century. -
Black men would protect the rights of Americans by serving in World War II only to return home to a place that did not value them or provide equal opportunities. -
Supreme Court case which ruled in favor of Oliver Brown deciding that the practice of racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The famous photo attached is of Elizabeth Eckford on her first day attending a desegregated school. -
Known for her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, in which she refused to move to the back of the racially segregated bus. This event lead to her arrest, but established her as the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement". -
The March on Washington was a large non-violent demonstration where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous speech, "I have a Dream". Over 200,000 people were in attendance. -
On a Sunday service at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama, four children were killed and many others injured after an attack by the Ku Klux Klan. The terrorist organization detonated a bomb during the service, marking a grim turning point for the Civil Rights Movement. Following this hate crime, much of the nation was outraged and the movement's energy increased in vigor. -
Landmark legislation that made discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and sex unconstitutional. This Act guaranteed Civil Rights to Black Americans under federal law. -
Sam Cook's song, "A Change is Gonna Come" was released in 1964 and is a reflection of his and many others' experiences in the racially charged American South. The song strikes a beautiful balance between sadness, exhaustion, and inspiration. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4) -
In 1967 the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial married couple living in Virginia. The court ruled that banning interracial marriages through state law violated the 14th amendment.