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Plessy v. Ferguson
A guy named Plessy, who was African American, attempted to sit in an all-white railroad car. He took the case to the supreme court. Nothing changed because the supreme court found the the law of “separate but equal” constitutional. The Plessy decision set the precedent that "separate" facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were "equal". -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case went to the supreme court because an African American father had to send his daughter to school that was far from their house eventhough they lived right next to a white school. This case showed that black and white schools were not equal. Because of this case schools had to desegregate and kids were now able to go to the school closest to their house. -
Emmett Till is murdered
Emmett Till was a 14 year old African American boy from Chicago. He went to Mississippi to visit his uncle. In a store he said goodbye to a white girl there. Later the husband and brother of the girl in the store killed him. This event was shown everywhere, so people could see how bad things were in the south, and how a change was in desperate need. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
In bus black people were not allowed to sit in certain areas in the bus. It wasn't fair, so African Americans started a boycott against the bus companies. They stopped riding the buses in order to put the bus company out of business and hurt them economically. Because of this boycott that lasted 11 months, the supreme court ruled unanimous to no more segregation in buses. -
Little Rock School desegregation
The Brown v. Board of Education integrated schools. Black and white were allowed to go to the same school. Many schools delayed this. Nine African American students went to Little Rock School at the start of the school year of 1957. Many people in the town opposed it and tried to stop it. It got so crazy that each student was assigned a soldier for their protection. This is an important event because black children were now able to go to school closest to them, even if it was for white students -
Sit-ins in Greensboro/Nashville
Groups of African Americans would go to restaurants, bars, cafeterias in universities and they would just sit there. They wouldn’t say anything or act in a violent way. Students were the ones who started this and eventually more and more people joined in. This event created a change because some places were becoming desegregated. -
March on Birmingham
Thousands of African Americans students in Alabama skipped their classes to march. In these marches kids were used instead of adults because they thought the police wouldn't be as violent to the children as the adults. Also because children had less responsibilities than adults. In the end police weren't less violent. Kids were thrown into jail and sprayed by high forces of water. This event informed people about how bad things were in the south. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was a comilgating event in the Civil Rights Movement. Thousands of people lisen to speeches in Washington DC about the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr delivered his most famous speech, I Have a Dream speech. Because of the march the Civil Rigths Act was passed. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act was passed after the March on Washington occured. The act outlawed many forms of discrimination against race, ethnicity, religion, gender, etc. The bill was passed by President John F. Kennedy. The Civil Rights Act was very important because it outlawed segregation in public places, schools, and in jobs. It was the whole goal for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It outlawed discrimination in voting places. The federal government insured that elections were fairly run in states allowing citizens the right to vote without regard to race, color, etc. Before the act many African Americans were discriminated in voting places, but with this act that couldn't occur. -
Martin Luther King Assassinated
In Memphis, Tennessee Martin Luther King was hit by a sniper’s bullet at 6:01pm. Martin Luther King was the Civil Rights Movement leader. He was a spokesperson and protested in a nonviolent way. As a Baptist minister he was a leader to his community. His dream was for the world to unite and treat each other kindly. He fought for ending segregation.