Major events in the 1960s- To Kill a Mockingbird

President Eisenhower signs Civil Rights Act

May 6, 1960

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960

Freedom Riders

May 4, 1961

Freedom riders take bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities

James Meredith enrolled in the University of Mississippi

Oct 1, 1962

James Meredith becomes the first black student to be enrolled in the University of Mississippi

Martin Luther King arrested

Apr 16, 1963

Martin Luther KIng was arrested and put in jail during the anti-segregation protest in Birmington, Ala.

I Have a Dream Speech

Aug 11, 1963

At Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King gives a speech about his dream of a life without segregation.

President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act

Jul 2, 1964

President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Malcom X

Feb 21, 1965

Black nationalist and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, is shot to death. People believed it was by people of the Black Muslim faith

Congress passes Voting Rights Act

Aug 10, 1965

Congress passes Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Sourthern blacks to vote

Supreme Court approving interracial marriage

Jun 12, 1967

The Supreme court stated that it is unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriage

Martin Luther King shot

Apr 4, 1968

Martin Luther King, he was 39, was shot outside his hotel room on the balcony