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14th Amendment Passed
Constitutional amendment forbids any state from depriving citizens of their rights and privileges and defines citizenship. -
Niagara Movement
W.E.B. DuBois demands immediate racial equality and opposes all laws that treats blacks as different from others. Leads to creation of NAACP in 1909. -
Grandfather clause outlawed by Supreme Court
NAACP successfully challenges state laws that restricted black voting registration. -
Chicago race riots and lynchings
Over 25 race riots occur in the summer of 1919 with 38 killed in Chicago. 70 blacks, including 10 veterans, are lynched in the South. -
Executive Order 8802
FDR sets up Fair Employment Practices Commission to assure non-discrimination policies in federal hiring. -
Armed forces integrated
Pres. Truman issues executive order requiring integrated units in the armed forces. -
Montgomery bus boycott
Rosa Parks ignites 381-day bus boycott organized by Martin Luther King, Jr. -
Little Rock Central HS desegregated
After Little Rock school board votes to integrate schools, National Guard troops prevent black children from attending school. 1000 federal paratroopers are needed to escort black students and preserve peace. Arkansas Gov. Faubus responds by closing schools for 1958-59 school year. -
Greensboro sit-in
a series of nonviolent protests in 1960 which led to the Woolworth's department store chain reversing its policy of racial segregation in the Southern United States. -
Freedom riders oppose segregation
Blacks and whites take buses to the South to protest bus station segregation. Many are greeted with riots and beatings. -
Desegregation drive in Birmingham
King and SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) oppose local laws that support segregation. Riots, fire-bombing, and police are used against protestors. -
March on Washington
More than 200,000 blacks and whites gather before Lincoln Memorial to hear speeches (including King's "I Have a Dream") and protest racial injustice -
Selma to Montgomery march
King leads 54-mile march to support black voter registration. Despite attacks from police and interference from Gov. Wallace, marchers reach Montgomery. Pres. Johnson addresses nation in support of marchers -
Voting Rights Act approved
After passage, southern black voter registration grows by over 50% and black officials are elected to various positions. In Mississippi, black voter registration grew from 7% to 67% -
Race riots in Detriot and Newark
Worst riots in U.S. history results in 43 deaths in Detroit and federal troops being called out to restore order -
MLK assassinated
While supporting sanitation workers' strike which had been marred by violence in Memphis, King is shot by James Earl Ray. Riots result in 125 cities