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NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, was founded on Februrary 12th, 1909. This group was put together by various African Americans in hopes to end racial discrimination. -
Jackie Robsinson
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, and was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. -
Rosa Parks
“The first Lady of Civil Rights” because she was the first woman activist in the United States. Parks refused to give her seat up to a white passenger after the white section was filled and she was arrested. Her birthday, February 4th, 1931 is “Rosa Parks Day”. December 1st, 1956 is when Rosa Parks was arrested. -
A. Philip Randolph
A. Philip Randolph was the head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a union for African American railroad workers. When factories refused to hire African Americans, he told President Roosevelt that he would march through Washington. By saying so, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, on June 25th, 1941. This order declared that there will be no discrimination in employment industries. -
Executive Order 9981
Executive Order 9981 was issued on July 26th, 1948. It stated that there will be both equal treatment and opportunity for everyone in the armed forces despite their race. This ended racial discrimination in the armed forces. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Court Case that the court declared a new state law that having separate schools for those black or white was unconstitutional. It was handed down on May 17th, 1954. Ended legal segregation in public schools and gave hope to those African Americans. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Event in the U.S Civil rights movement, it was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on busses of Montgomery, Alabama. This campaign lasted until December 1st, 1956 when Rosa Parks was arrested. -
SCLC
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or the SCLC, was formed on January 10th, 1957 soon after the Montgomery Bus Boycott ended. The goal of this group was to promote civil rights in a peaceful manner. The president of this group was Martin Luther King Jr.. -
Sit-ins
To demonstrate that racial inequalities still existed, African Americans began what is now known as the Sit-In Movement. Sit-ins was when African Americans went into “White Only” Areas and sat quietly waiting to be served. When those would get arrested and thrown out, a new set of African Americans would take their place. Even though many were arrested in the process, many stores down south started to stop segregating their stores. February 1, 1960, was the first Sit-in. -
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders was a racially mixed group that were fearless. On May 4th, 1961, The Freedom Riders headed to New Orleans and mixed of their seating. White’s sat in the “Blacks Only” section and vice versa. They wanted to test the supreme court and wanted to end the racial discrimination in the country. -
March on Washington
One of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history. On Wednesday, August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of Lincoln Memorial and gave famous “I Have a Dream” speech. The march was under the theme “Jobs, and freedom.” It was organized by a group of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations. -
Malcolm X
African American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. People accused him for preaching racism and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. March 8, 1964, Malcolm X publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam, than in 1965 he was assassinated by three of its members. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Piece of the civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed many discrimination forms like racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities and women. Ended the unequal way of voting in July 2nd, 1964. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
African American activist who was leader of the African-American Civil Rights movement. He advanced the civil rights movement using nonviolent civil disobedience. He is an icon of the American progressivism. On October 14th, 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality. -
Black Power
After 1965, many African Americans started to turn away from Martin Luther King. Soon after, “Black Power” was a multiple meaning term that many African Americans called to. Some thought it meant that physical self defense and violence was allowed in defense of a person’s freedom, and others thought it meant African Americans should control the social, political, and economic direction of their struggles. -
Black Panthers
The Black Panthers, short for Black Panther Party for Self-Defence, was organized on October 15th, 1966, in Oakland California, by Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver. They were inspired by Malcolm X’s ideas and believed a that a revolution was necessary in the United States in order to end racial oppression. -
Thurgood Marshall
He served from October 1967 until October 1991 in United States Supreme Court. Marshall was the Court's 96th justice and its first African American justice. Before becoming a judge he was a lawyer for The Brown vs. Board of Education trial.
