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Plessy v. Ferguson
In 1892, an incident in which African-American train passenger named Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for blacks. Rejecting Plessy’s argument that his rights were violated, the Supreme Court ruled that a state law that “implies a legal distinction” between whites and blacks did not conflict with the 13 & 14 Amendments. Plessy v. Ferguson is famous because the Supreme Court decision that supports the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal." -
Brown v. Board of Education
A man named Oliver Brown filed a class-action suit against the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in 1951, after his daughter, was denied entrance to Topeka’s all-white elementary schools. Claimed black children were not equal to the white schools and violated the so-called “equal protection clause” of the 14th Amendment. The case was famous because the U.S. District Court in Kansas agreed with Brown, but still upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine. -
Murder of Emmett Till
While visiting family, 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American, is brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman four days earlier. His assailant, the white woman’s husband and her brother, beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head and then threw his body into the river. Soon the two men went on trial in a segregated courthouse, and an all-white jury issued a verdict of “not guilty,” showing light on the brutality of Jim Crow segregation in the South. -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil-rights protest which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. This occurred four days after Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. This was famous due to being the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation, and the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to combine its bus system. -
Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) & Martin Luther King
The SCLS was created by sixty black ministers and civil rights leaders who met in Atlanta, Georgia in an effort to copy the strategy and tactics of the recently Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen as the president of this group dedicated to abolishing legalized segregation and ending the disfranchisement of black southerners in a non-violent manner. SCLC is famous for it still being active to this day and tackling a range of human rights issues. -
Little Rock Nine & Central High School
A group of nine black students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock. A month later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school due to white-students attacking the Little Rock None. The Little Rock Nine is famous for beening widely recognized for their significant role in the civil rights movement. -
Greensboro Sit-In
African-American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. These students were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace, due to their actions. Famous for forcing Woolworth’s and other establishments to change their segregationist rules and policies. -
Freedom Ride/Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips through the American South to protest segregated bus terminals. They use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters at bus stations, these groups were confronted by police officers and white protestors. Famous for bus riders testing the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Morgan v. Virginia that found segregated bus seating was unconstitutional. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was a massive protest march that occurred in August 1963, when some 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. This is where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his now-iconic “I Have A Dream” speech. Not only MLK's speech became famous this day, it grab the attention of JFK and his attorney general. -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) & Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a voter registration drive sponsored by civil rights organizations including the CORE and SNCC. Aimed at increasing black voter registration in Mississippi, the Freedom Summer workers included black and white volunteers. Famous due to the Ku Klux Klan, police and state and local authorities who attacked against these activists, including arson, beatings, false arrest and the murder of at least three people. -
Civil Rights Act
The act was proposed by President John F. Kennedy, it survived criticism from southern members of Congress and was then signed into law by JFK's successor. JFK thought to take action after noticing that many southern states forced segregation on African Americans. The act is famous due to ending segregation in public places and banned discrimination of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X, a civil rights activist, and religious leader is assassinated while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom. Malcolm X was a civil rights activist who's philosophies were geared towards violence as a way means necessary towards ending racism. This event is famous due to Malcolm becoming increasingly influential in the civil rights movement, especially the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. -
Voting Rights Act
In the south, they used various discriminatory practices to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote.The Voting Rights Act of 1965, was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment. The Voting Rights Act is considered one of the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. King faced mounting criticism from young African-American activists who favored a more confrontational approach to seeking change and thus he was killed by a snipper. MLK assassination led to rage among black Americans, as well as a period of national mourning that helped lead for an equal housing bill that would be the last significant legislative achievement of the civil rights era.
