-
Emmett Louis Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till's murder is noted as a pivotal event motivating the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
-
President Eisenhower to sent federal troops to enforce integration and protect the nine students.
-
He was accused of raping a pregnant white woman in northern Pearl River County, Mississippi. Three days before he was to stand trial, he was kidnapped from his jail cell in the Pearl River County Courthouse by a mob, and lynched. His lynching encouraged more African-Americans to join the Civil Rights movement.
-
The Birmingham, Alabama, Police Commissioner, Bull Connor, organized violence against the Freedom Riders with local Ku Klux Klan chapters. When the bus arrived in Birmingham, it was attacked by a mob of KKK members aided and abetted by police under the orders of Commissioner Bull Connor. This caused more African Americans to test integration on interstate buses.
-
William Lewis Moore planned to march from Tennessee to The Governor in Mississippi and deliver a letter to Governor Ross Barnett asking him to accept integration. During his march William Lewis Moore was shot twice in the head. William Lewis Moore was attempting to gain integration rights for African Americans in the state.
-
In attempt to protest segregated schools African American students chanted and marched the business area. After Birmingham police Commissioner, Bull Connor, was aware of the situation and the fact that the Birmingham jail was full, he attempted to assault the protestors with fire hoses, batons, and police dogs. Appalled by these action, more African Americans joined the Civil Rights Movement.
-
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist and a field secretary for the NAACP who was involved in efforts to integrate Mississippi University. Medgar was shot in the driveway of his house from behind. This event disturbed African Americans in the US.
-
Fourteen year old, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and elven year old Denise McNair were killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This tragic action caused blacks to want justice for the for four girls.
-
James Chaney and Andrew Goodman were captured and killed by the KKK for the civil rights work. This caused more blacks to be involved in radical black groups like the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Party.
-
Jimmie Lee Jackson was a participant in a non-violent walk to the Perry County Jail to protest the containment of civil rights worker James Orange. Police broke up the protest violently by attempting to beat every protestor in site. Including Jimmie Lee Jackson's mother, Viola Jackson. In attempt to protect his mother, Jimmie Lee, pulled the attacking officer off of her and then was shot by another officer. Jimmie Lee Jackson's death inspired the Selma to Montgomery marches.
-
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in at the Lorraine Motel on the second floor balcony for his leadership in the Civil Rights movement. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led to a nationwide wave of race riots in Washington D.C., Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kansas City, and dozens of other cities.