-
Montgomery bus boycott
Sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks and lead by Dr. King, it was formed to negotiate with city leaders. After over a year into the boycott, the Supreme Court declared Alabama's laws requiring segregation of buses as unconstitutional. This contributed to the civil rights movement by being the start on Dr. Kings emphasis on peaceful protest. It was also a huge step to desegregation indefinitely. -
The Sit-In Movement
Was a nonviolent movement that quickly caught the publics attention. Within 2 months, these protest spread to 54 cities and by 1961, sit-ins were held in more than 100 cities. This contributed to the civil rights movement because of how fast is spread and the image of peaceful protest. -
The March on Washington
As a way to speed up the legislative process and gain national support more than 200,000 demonstrators congregated on the nations capitol. This is when Dr. King gave his “I have a dream” speech. This help the civil rights movement gain momentum because it was such a significant speech and was shown support by many people. -
The Selma March
Led by SNCC activist and Dr. King from Selma, Alabama to the state capitol in Montgomery, some 600 protester marched together. After being met by armed white citizens, they refused to stop the protest and were beaten and attacked. This contributed to the civil rights movement because they were able to get government support because when they would march across Edmund Pettus Bridge with a second group of protesters they were protected by federal troops. -
The Voting Rights Act
Authorized the US attorney general to send federal examiners to register qualified voters, bypassing local officials who refused to register African Americans. This contributed to the civil rights movement because it prohibited racial discrimination in voting.