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Executive Order 9981
President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order which abolished discrimination in the United States army. This eventually lead to the end of segragation in the services. -
Brown V. Board of Education
A court case which declared seperate schools from black and white students unconstitutional, stating that seperate cannot be equal. This caused Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) to be overturned. The ruling of this case was a major victory in the civil rights movements and paved the way for intergration -
Emmett Till Case
A 14 year old African American boy was kidnapped, beated, and then murdered by two white men for whistling at a white woman. They were arrested for murder but then acquitted by an all white jury. Later on the two men brag about committing the murder during a interview. This case becomes part of the cause for the civil rights movement. -
Rosa Parks Refuses to give up her seat
Rosa Parks, a middle age African American women, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This act helped start the civil right movement in the U.S. A bus boycott began the day she was convicted of breaking segregation laws. -
Montgomery Bus Sustem Desegregates
After boycotting buses African Americans went to the Supreme court to prove that it was illegal to seperation whites from blacks on public transportation. The Supreme Court ruled it unconsitutional to seperate people based on race. This inspired blacks to challenge other segergation laws. -
Little Rock Nine
Protected by U.S. soldiers, nine African American students entered Central High School. little Rock showed to many Americans just how stronn raism was in some parts of the nation. -
Protesters in Greensboro (Sit In)
Four African America students sat down at a "whites only" lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. and refused to leave after being denied. This event was the inspiration for additional sit-in protests in the South. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington for jobs and freedom and was one of the biggest political rallies for human rights in U.S. history. It called for civil and economic rights for African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. lead it and this is where he gave his " I have a Dream" speech. The March on Washington is important because it helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Martin Luther King, Jr. Murdered
Martin Luther King, Jr was murdered by James Earl Ray in his home. As a result of this riots broke out in 125 cities.
