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Plessy v. Ferguson
A U.S supreme court case that ruled that there would be segregation between the races and created the "separate but equal" doctrine. It all started after Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for blacks. This event is important because it was the start of a long battle for colored folk to be equal to their white counter parts. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/plessy-v-ferguson -
Brown v. Board
A supreme court case that happened because a little girl was not allowed to go to an all-white school. All members agreed that the segregation of children in schools was in fact, unconstitutional. This case was very important because this started the idea that seperate but equal was not at all equal. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka -
Murder of Emmett Till
This event was the brutal murder of an innocent 14-year-old African American. He was beaten to death by the husband and brother of the woman he allegedly catcalled. This is an important event because it was an important catalyst for the push for the end of segregation. It inspired many for a change, to protect young innocent children. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks has become a famous icon of the Civil Rights for refusing to leave her seat for a white man. The Boycott was 14 months long and it ended with the Supreme Court ruling that segregation in public plases is unconstiutional. This is an important event because this is the event that brought Dr. Martin Luther King into the spotlight. Many argue that without him, the movement would have lasted much longer. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/montgomery-bus-boycott -
Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) & Martin Luther King
After the Rosa Parks incident, Reverand Dr. King and his followers started an organization that would help in the Civil Rights movement. They mostly operate in the south and fought to free southern African Americans form segregation in a non-violent matter. This was an important event because it ultimately leads to the March on Washington and many other projects which were all important events in Civil Rights History. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Southern-Christian-Leadership-Conference -
Little Rock Nine & Central High School
Under escort by the military, 9 African American students entered and all white school. There was a protest by the Governor but President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in reinforcements to enforce the court order. This was an important date because it showed that anyone who did not obey the order was going to be forced to do so by the government. It also showed that the government was on the side of actual equality. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/central-high-school-integrated -
Greensboro Sit-In
The protest done by students at a lunch counter in North Carolina. The men refused to leave when they were denied service then soon after many other sit-ins began to occur. The event sparked establishment to chainge their rules with segregation.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/the-greensboro-sit-in -
Freedom Ride/Freedom Riders
Protests by riding on busses through the south, it involved both blacks and whites with the protesting. Alomg the way they were being met with violence from those who did not agree with it. This is an important event because it drew a lot of attention for the treatment of the protesters to be unfair. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-rides
https://www.britannica.com/event/Freedom-Rides -
March on Washington
A massive protest done in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Its aim was to draw attention to the injustices of being a black person in the US. This is an important event because this is where Dr. King gave his "I have a dream speech," and many say this was one of the major events that lead to the end of segregation. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) & Freedom Summer
The SNCC, formed because they believed that the Dr. King run SCLC did not attract the younger black activists, and CORE set up a project for voter registration. The movement was aimed at increasing black voter registration in Mississippi, there were many participants including white allies, but the KKK, police, and locals commited acts of violence to the peacfull activists. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sncc
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-summer -
Civil Rights Act (1964)
The Act ended segregation in public places and the work place regardless of color, gender and religion. It was originally proposed by Kennedy but signed in by Lyndon B. Johnson even with stong opposition. This is an important event beaause it effecivwly ended segregation in the way of life, what the whole Civil Rights Movement was fighting for. https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=97
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X was a Civil Rights activists and was and still is an icon, much like MLK and Rosa Parks. He was shot by men from the Nation of Islam, the same religion he was practicing, during a meeting at the Audubon Ballroom. This is important because he actually wanted to become a non-violent leader like Dr. King but was killed 2 weeks before he could address it. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/malcolm-x-assassinated -
Voting Rights Act (1965)
Signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, it addressed and allowed African Americans from having the right to vote and prhoibited any protests agianst it. It said that their right to vote was covered under the 15th ammendment and could not be revoked. It's important because without it, the US may have not seen blacks voting for a while longer, and this ends the fight for Civil Rights. https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=100 -
Assassination of MLK
MLK was a speaker against the discrimination of colored poeple, he was and still is the most wellknown activist. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee and the whole country went into mourning. well Important because it leads to the demise of his organization the SCLC, and the world had just lost one of its most prominent speaker against discrimination. Many say he would have continued to change the world. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr-assassination
