The Civil Rights Movement

Brown vs. Board of Education

May 17, 1954

Brown vs. Board of Education affected the Civil Rights Movement because it addressed the segregation that was shown in schools. The issue that arouse was a girl named Linda Brown and she was an African American student. The neighborhood in her school denied her because the school was an all white school and told her to attend the all black school across town. As a result, the Topeka School Board got sued. Finally, the outcome of the case was that the Supreme Court ruled this unconstitutional.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dec 5, 1955

The boycott effected the Civil Rights Movement because it was set up to end segregation. The leader of this boycott was Martin Luther King Jr. It was set up so that they could peacefully protest to end all of the segregation that was going on. The outcome of this boycott was that Alabama's laws requiring segregation were found unconstitutional.

Little Rock 9 and the Desegregation of Schools

1957

It all started with the school board in Little Rock, Arkansas winning a court case to allow 9 African American students to be admitted to Central High, which was an all white school. The governor ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering the school. But, Eisenhower didn't like that so he ordered the Army to take care of the African American students in the school. In the end, the officials resisted integration and Gov. Faubus ordered three public schools to close.

The Sit-In Movement

Feb 1, 1960

The Sit-In Movement effected the Civil Rights Movement because they were trying to desegregate public facilities in the Southern communities. The group that led this movement was the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. They were a group of African American college students and some whites joined too. This then led to African Americans starting to register to vote in the Deep South. The outcome of this was African Americans going to jail and getting beaten up.

Freedom Riders

1961

The Freedom Riders was made up of African American and white volunteers, mostly college students, to travel into the South to draw attention to its refusal to integrate bus terminals. The leader of this movement was James Farmer and he thought of this idea. They boarded the bus and when they arrived to their destinations, white mobs slit the bus tires and threw rocks at the windows. They all got beaten up where you couldn't even see their faces because their was so much blood.

James Meredith and the Desegregation of Southern Universities

1962

James Meredith was an African American air force veteran. When James went to apply at a university the governor of Mississippi blocked him from entering. So, he had a court order to let him register at the university but, the governor said he will never be allowed to attend there. JFK responded by dispatching 500 federal marshals to escort Meredith to the campus. Then an angry white mob came to attack him. As a result, Kennedy ordered to send several thousand troops to guard James.

The March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

The March of Washington effected the Civil Rights Movement because Dr. King realized that Kennedy would have a hard time trying to push his civil rights bill through Congress, so he needed to find another way to build more support. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a big influence on this topic. He also made his "I had a dream" speech during this movement. As a result of the march, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed.

Malcom X and the Civil Rights Movement

1965

Malcolm X became a symbol of the black power movement. He had a very difficult childhood. But, when he came out of jail, he was reformed. His views on the movement was that he lost patients on how slow the process was and said that the African Americans need to demand equality and not wait for it to be given to them. As a result, Malcom X had influenced all of the African Americans through his speeches and ideas to take pride in their own culture and create a place for themselves in the world.

Voter Registration Among Minorities

Aug 3, 1965

Within this movement, Dr. King, chose to do another march in Selma, Alabama, but this time it was for voting rights. At this march the people were beaten because they were not listening to the police commands. As a result, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. This bill had authorized the U.S. attorney general to send federal examiners to register qualified voters, bypassing local officials who often refused to register African Americans.

Urban Problems and the Black Panthers

1966

Life for the African Americans in the urban areas was rough. They lived in the poor areas in the major cities that were overcrowded and very dirty. The Black Panthers were a political organization founded by college students. They believed that a revolution was necessary to receive equal rights.