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Rosa Parks' Arrest
Rosa Parks is arrested after refusing to give her seat up to a white passenger on a Montgomery bus. This act kickstarted the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which African Americans refused to ride buses in Montgomery. -
Desegregation of Public buses
The U.S. District court, along with Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr., in Alabama, denies the legality of segregated bus seating. The Montgomery Bus boycott can finally end after almost a year. -
Formation of the SCLC
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was formed to coordinate and assist local organizations, working for the full equality of African Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was made president of the group. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law. The act established a new Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and gave federal prosecutors to to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote. -
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were white and African American activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips through the south to protest segregated terminals. They were attacked by angry mobs all across the south. -
The March on Washington
The March on Washington was a massive protest march, with over 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial to draw attention to the inequalities and challenges still facing African Americans. This is where MLK gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
