-
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This decision overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine -
Emmet Till Murder
The murder of a 14 yr old boy who was murdered in Mississippi for offending a white women. His open-casket funeral and the acquittal of his killers drew national attention. -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts (Start)
Sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was a year-long protest against segregated buses. It marked one of the first major victories for the civil rights movement and brought Martin Luther King Jr. to leadership. -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts(End)
-
Little Rock Nine
Nine Black students integrated the previously all-white High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Faced intense resistance and requiring federal troop protection. Federal government's role in enforcing school desegregation. -
Lunch Counter Sit ins
Starting in Greensboro, Black college students staged nonviolent sit-ins at segregated lunch counters to demand equal service. Spread across the country and challenged segregation in public spaces. -
Freedom Rides
Integrated groups of civil rights activists rode interstate buses into the segregated South to challenge the non-enforcement of the Court rulings and the segregation of the bus terminals. -
Birmingham Protests
Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC led protests mostly by children which aimed to desegregate Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Images of police violence against the protestors drew national attention and once again federal attention -
March on Washington
Over 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., to demand civil and economic rights. The event is best remembered for Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. -
Freedom Summer
Register Black voters in Mississippi and establish Freedom Schools. Volunteers faced violence and intimidation, including the infamous murder of three activists. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This landmark law outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and ended segregation in public places -
Selma Marches
March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest voting restrictions. The violent response to the first march by state troopers, known as "Bloody Sunday." -
Voting Rights Act
Prohibited literacy tests and other voter suppression like poll taxes.