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Emmett Till is Murdered for Whistling at a White Woman
Emmett Till was born in Chicago on July 25, 1941. When he was 14 years old, he went to visit some relatives in Money, Mississippi, where he reportedly flirted with a married, 21-year-old white woman named Carolyn Bryant. Several nights later, Carolyn's husband and his half brother kidnapped Till from his great-uncle's home and took him to a barn, where they brutally beat him before shooting him and dumping his body in the Tallahatchie River with a 32kg cotton gin tied around his neck. -
Rosa Parks Refuses To Move from Her Bus Seat
Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4th, 1913. While riding on the Montgomery City bus home from work, the bus eventually became filled up with people. She was soon told by the bus driver to vacate her seat to a white male passenger and to move to the back of the bus. As an activist member of the NAACP, she quietly refused to give up her spot. Although she was arrested, this act created the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Elizabeth Eckford Goes to School in Little Rock
Elizabeth Eckford (born on October 4, 1941) was one of the Little Rock Nine, the first group of black students to attend an originally all white school. She was meant to arrive and enter the school with the other eight in her group but she was not informed that the meeting place was changed and so she was harassed by an angry mob. There is a very famous photo of her walking away from the mob as they are screaming at her and giving her evil looks. -
Four Black Students Stage a Sit-In at a Lunch Counter
On February 1st, 1960 at 4:30pm, four black, male, university students (Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blain Jr. and David Richmond) staged a sit-in at a Woolworth lunch counter. They were refused service when they sat down at a lunch counter and the manager asked them to leave. However, they stayed until the store closed. The days consecutively afterwards, more and more people started to join the sit-ins until on July 25th the same year, Woolworth lunch counters became desegregated. -
James Meredith Enrolls at the University of Mississippi
James Meredith was born on June 25th, 1933. He was a very bright student who attempted to enroll at Mississipi University but was rejected twice. He then filed suit with the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississipi. After many hearings, the case finally reached the Supreme Court, where it was ruled that James had the right to be admitted into the school. Being he first black person to be admitted into the university, this caused many riots and mobs to form around the campuses. -
Medgar Evers is Murdered
Medgar Evers was born on July 2nd, 1925 and was a Civil Rights Activist from Mississipi. He became the first field secretary in Mississippi, organising boycotts and other events for the NAACP. His investigative work and civil rights leadership made him a target to white sumpremacists. He was shot in the back of the head on June 11th, 1963 as he got home from an integration meeting and died 50 minutes later in the local hospital. -
Martin Luther King Jr's Speech 'I Have A Dream'
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929. He was a leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement who is famous for his non-violent protests. 'I Have A Dream' is his most famous speech, spoken to an audience of 250,000 civil rights supporters and took approximately 13 minutes to finish. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964 is Passed
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark piece of legislation that outlaws racial discrimination based on sex, colour, race, religion or national origin. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public. -
Voting Rights Act is Passed
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The Act allowed for mass enfranchisement of racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. -
Martin Luther King Jr is Murdered by Suspected James Earl Ray
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4th, 1968 at the age of 39. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital and was pronounced dead later that evening. Evidence left behind after the incident showed that James Earl Ray, an escaped convict, had shot and killed Martin Luther King. Jr. Many years later however, more information was found and showed that James was not the only one involved in the murder, stating he was not the one who actually shot King.
