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Plessy v. Ferguson
In this U.S. Supreme Court case, a 7-1 majority agreed to segregation as long as is was "separate but equal." The plaintiff stated that the law failed to define who was considered white and "colored" since he was only 1/8 black and had gotten arrested for getting on a white only train car. This led to even more segregation of many more things such as water fountains and schools.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Plessy-v-Ferguson-1896 -
Brown v. Board of Education
Oliver Brown filed a suit against the Board of Education after his daughter wasn't allowed to enter an all-white elementary school. This case brought to attention how schools weren't "separate but equal" and that the segregation went against the "equal protection clause" in the 14th Amendment. The verdict allowed for the beginning of desegregation of schools and was able to fuel the civil rights movement.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka -
Murder of Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old boy who was murdered by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam. The two men believed that Till had grabbed, made advances, and wolf-whistled Carolyn Bryant, a white woman. The court ruled that the two men weren't guilty which made people around the country angry since the court didn't charge the men with kidnapping. Carolyn Bryant later confessed in 2017 that Till had never harassed her.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a protest where African Americans didn't ride city buses in order to protest segregated seating. This boycott was lead by Rosa Parks when she refused to give up her seat to a white man. The U.S. Supreme Court made Montgomery to integrate its bus system. The boycott also led to Martin Luther King Jr. to emerge as main leader in the civil rights movement.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott -
Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) & Martin Luther King
MLK Jr. helped found the SCLC to have a place to put together civil rights protest activities in the south. The SCLC would have boycotts, marches, and other nonviolent forms of protest and played a key role in the March on Washington. The SCLC has continued to have an important role in human rights and still active on a national and international level.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/civilrights/sclc.htm -
Little Rock Nine & Central High School
The Little Rock Nine were a group of black students that enrolled at Central High School which was formerly all-white. On the first day, Governor Orval Faubus sent the Arkansas National Guard to keep them from entering the high school but later that month, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to allow them into the school. This served as a catalyst for more schools to become integrated during the movement
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/central-high-school-integration -
Greensboro Sit-In
This was a protest in which black students sat at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro and refused to leave. The Greensboro Four were 4 black men (Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil) who staged the sit-in and felt the need to act after the murder of Emmett Till. The sit-in caused many others to happen throughout the nation which forced establishments to change their segregationist rules.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/the-greensboro-sit-in -
Freedom Ride/Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were groups of people who participated in Freedom Rides on bus trips throughout the south to protest segregated bus terminals. They tried to use restrooms and lunch counters that were reserved for whites. The protest led to the Interstate Commerce Commission to issue rules to stop segregation on interstate transit terminals.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-rides -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was a giant protest in which protesters wanted to bring attention to on going hardships and inequalities that African Americans still faced after emancipation. MLK Jr. gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech during the march. The march also paved the way for the 24th Amendment and the passing of the Civil Rights Act.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons-plans/the-march-on-washington-and-its-impact/
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) & Freedom Summer
The SNCC was to give younger African Americans a voice during the movement. Three members ended up dying because of the KKK during the Mississippi Freedom Summer. The SNC began to become more radical as they started to go towards groups such as the Black Pather Party but the SNCC was disbanded in the early 1970s.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sncc
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Student-Nonviolent-Coordinating-Committee -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act was suggested by President John F. Kennedy and was able to go through opposition from southern members of Congress. The act was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. It ended segregation and banned discrimination based on the race, color, religion, sex or national origin of people. Congress even expanded the act and added more civil rights like the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X was assassinated while speaking at a rally for his organization in New York City. He was assassinated by Nation of Islam members. His death lead to members of the SNCC to call for black power for black people.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/malcolm-x
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/malcolm-x-assassinated -
Voting Rights Act
This act was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson and it helped stop the prevention of African Americans voting. The act for example stopped the use of literacy tests. This act allowed many more people to vote.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/voting-rights-act -
Assassination of MLK
MLK was assassinated after his speech in Memphis that was to support a workers strike against sanitation. He was shot by a sniper while standing on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine motel. As a result of his death many people began riots and wanted there to be a national holiday in honor of MLK.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr-assassination
