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Brown V. Board of Education
US Supreme Court rules that school segregation is unconstitutional. This overruled Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Black teenager found dead after flirting with a white woman. All white jury acquits suspected white murderers. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
African Americans boycott the public bus system of Montgomery, Alabama after Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat. -
Little Rock Desegregation
President Eisenhower sends the National Guard to Little Rock High School to protect nine African-American students as they desegregate the school. -
Sit-In Campaigns
Students across the United States stage sit-ins to protest segregation in restaurants. -
Freedom Rides
Volunteers in Southern states travel by bus to desegregate bus terminals. -
Birmingham Protests
Martin Luther King is thrown in jail, writes his "Letters from Birmingham Jail" advocating non-violence -
March on Washington
Nearly 200,000 people march on Washington D.C. for Martin Luther Kings "I have a dream" speech -
The Civil Rights Act
President Johnson signs legislation prohibiting discrimination in all public places -
Voting Rights Act
African-American voting registration triples after banning literacy tests and poll taxes. -
Supreme Court Appointment of Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States of America -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. is shot at his motel room in Memphis Tennessee. Leaves the United States in shock.