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Jackie Robinson joins the Dodgers
Jackie Robinson became the first African American to join the MLB, this broke the boundary between racial segregation in sports and helped spark a change in professional sports. He was inducted into the basebal halll of fame in 1962. -
Murder of Emmet Till
The murder of 14 year old African American for allegedly flirting with a white woman shed a light on the injustices occuring. When put on trial, both assailants were declared innocent due to the fact the state couldn't identify the mangled body of Emmet. Outrage spread accross the country after this decision. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott began when African American Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus. After being told multiple times she was arrested, this led to the boycott of buses that lasted a little over a year. -
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists that would go around riding buses all the way into the South. People that were against this would try to stop these activists and sometimes torch the buses. -
March on Washington
On this day, almost 250,000 people walked from the Washington monument to the Lincoln memorial where they listened to speeches from influential acivists. This peaceful protest ended with MLK presenting his famous "I have a dream" speech. -
16th Street Bombing
The racially influenced bombing of the African American Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama which resulted in the death of 4 people contributed to the support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 that was passed by Lyndon B. Johnson put an end to public discrimination of monorities. It also called for an end to segregation, this was big step into the search for equality. -
Selma March
The Selma March of 1965 was a protest in order to promote awareness about the hardships that black voters faced in the South. Along with MLK, 50,000 supporters marched to Montgomery where they stood in front of the capitol and listened to MLK and others, give speaches. -
Black Panthers Founded
The Black Panthers was established in order to protect minorities from abuse from the poeple and the government. Although they were viewed as vigilanties, the main purpose of this organization was to achieve equality for all. -
MLK Assassinated
When the news spread of MLK's death, a wide range of emotions poured out of the American people. Some African Americans saw this as an end to their efforts and retaliation to their cause. LBJ also commenting to "reject the blind violence".
