-
Founding of NAACP
The development of NACCP by W.E.B. Du Bios, the founder, promoted the end of racial violence. They also wanted to use legal rights to African Americans. The NAACP became a powerful civil rights group later in the MLK Period. In 1930 Charles Hamilton Houston began an NACCP campaign to attack the “separate but equal” concept. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court issued the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The Supreme Court favored African American children segregation at schools. The children saw Black and white dolls as equals rather than opposites. There were similar tests suggesting segregation was ruining image of the young students. -
CORE
The CORE, which stood for Congress of Racial Equality, had integrity for non-violent protesting. This would be a stepping stone for an effect on civil Rights activists. An act of the CORE was demonstrated through President Truman’s decision for desegregating armed forces. -
Rosa Parks
In 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white passenger. This convinced community leaders to continue the bus boycotts that were being held. Over 90% of African Americans were not riding on any buses. The Montgomery bus boycott then lead to the Montgomery Improvement Association and its leader was a young minister of a Baptist Church named Martin Luther King. -
Little Rock Nine
Crowds of white citizens threatened and harassed nine black students known as the Little Rock Nine. Orval Faubus sent Arkansas National Guard to Central High School to prevent these nine black students from entering the school for 3 weeks straight. On September 24 President Eisenhower went on national television to announce that the federal troops would be sent to Central High School on behalf of the Little Rock Nine. The next day they entered the high school, which then lead to white extremists -
The Greensboro Four
Four college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, walked into a local diner, and asked if they could be served, as they were sitting in the whites-only seats. The waitress simply refused and closed the diner down. This caused other cities to copy their type of protest, and by the end of October of 1961, the government began introducing intergraded diners. -
The Birmingham Campaign
MLK’s next target in the south was Birmingham, to exploit the racism in the south. However, the police did not use the same approach as always with “Bull” Connor leading the police. Connor used a different, more extreme approach to control the protestors, in order to prevent the overflow of jails. The attacks of the police became so bad Martin Luther King had no choice but to end the campaign in Birmingham and retreat. -
The Assassination of Medgar Evers
The NAACP in Mississippi had a very strong leader named Medgar Evers. Unfortunately, he was killed by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith with a fatal shot, killing him in his front yard. After being quickly arrested by police, he was sent to court and had 3 trials. In all three of them, the jury was undecided, and he was set free. However, 30 years later, Byron De La Beckwith was convicted again and at the age of 73, he was sentenced to life in prison. -
The March on Washington D.C.
African-American civil rights leaders planned a huge march in Washington D.C. in August of 1963. When President Kennedy called for a civil rights bill, the leaders demanded that they could use a passage for a part of their march, which was “all men are created equal”. The march consisted of over 200,000 people of all races from all across the country. They all watched MLK as he made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. -
The Civil Rights Act
After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the vice president Lyndon Johnson took over. He strongly supported the civil rights bill, and although southerners in congress fought hard to deny the bill, President Johnson signed it. This act is what Martin Luther King and many, many colored civilians dreamed of all their life; True freedom. This act banned discrimination in employment and in public accommodations.
