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The Beginning of a Better Life
1950 wa the decade that major victories for civil rights in the Supreme Court as well as the development of nonviolent protests and the transformation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. into the movement's preeminent leader. -
Linda Brown
Linda Brown, an 8-year-old girl in Topeka, Kansas who lives in walking distance of a a whites-only school. Because of segregation, she has to travel by bus to the school for African-American children. Her father sues the school board of Topeka, and the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the case. -
Brown Vs Board of Education
The Supreme Court decides Brown v. Board of Education on May 17, arguing that "separate but equal" schools are inherently unequal. The decision legally prohibits school segregation, declaring it unconstitutional. -
Rosa Park
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. As a result, Parks was arrested for violating a city law. Parks’ actions and subsequent arrest started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, pushing Martin Luther King Jr. into the spotlight. -
Jo Anne Robinson
Following the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, Robinson distributed a flyer that she'd written urging for Montgomery's African Americans to boycott city buses on December 5 of that year. With the help of John Cannon, chairman of Alabama State's business department at the time, and two students, Robinson distributed more than 50,000 flyers overnight calling for the boycott.For her role as a leader of the boycott, Robinson quickly became a target by White Americans. -
The Boycott Ends
The boycott continued until June 5, 1956, when a federal district court declared segregating seating unconstitutional. The boycott also established Dr. King as a figure of national prominence and ushered in an era of nonviolent civil rights protests. -
Black Panther Party
In October of 1966, in Oakland California, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party. The Panthers practiced militant self-defense of minority communities against the U.S. government, and fought to establish socialism through mass organizing and community based programs. The party was one of the first organizations in history to militantly struggle for ethnic minority and working class emancipation. -
Black Panther Mark Clark and Fred Hampton
Black Panthers Fred Hampton, 21, and Mark Clark, 22, are gunned down by 14 police officers as they lie sleeping in their Chicago, Illinois, apartment. Four other Black Panthers were wounded in the raid, as well as two police officers. The raid, which had been led by Cook County State’s Attorney Edward Hanrahan, was only one of many attempts by the government to weaken the Black Power movement -
Jessie Jackson SCLC in Chicago
In 1971 he left SCLC to establish Operation PUSH - People United to Save Humanity. Through that organization he has orchestrated economic boycotts of major corporations that discriminate against blacks. -
Oscar Grant
The federal jury awarded no damages to the father of Oscar Grant III, killed by a single shot to the back from BART Officer Johannes Mehserle early on Jan. 1, 2009 in Oakland. -
Trayvon Martin
Shooting of Trayvon Martin. Second-degree murder, lesser included offense of manslaughter. On the night of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American high school student. -
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (BLM) founded by Alicia Garcia, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. After hearing the news that George Zimmerman was aquitted in the murder of Trayvon Martin Tometi was inspired to build a movement to prevent this from happening again. -
Michael Broen
Wrongful death lawsuit pending.
The shooting of Michael Brown occurred on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis. Brown, an 18-year-old black male, was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, 28, a white Ferguson police officer. -
Black Lives Matter March
In August 2014, BLM members organized their first in-person national protest in the form of a "Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride" to Ferguson, Missouri after the Shooting of Michael Brown.More than five hundred members descended upon Ferguson to participate in non-violent demonstrations. -
Laquqn Mc Donald
The shooting of Laquan McDonald occurred on October 20, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, when McDonal was shot 16 times in 13 seconds by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke from approximately 3 feet away .Video of the shooting, captured on one police cruiser's dashboard camera, was released to the public on November 24, 2015 over 13 months after the shooting and only after several independent investigators demanded release of records. -
The March Continues
March, BLM protested at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office, demanding reforms within the Chicago Police Department. In Cobb County, Georgia, the movement protested the death of Nicholas Thomas who was shot and killed by the police. April, Black Lives Matter across the United States protested over the death of Freddie Gray which included the 2015 Baltimore. In Madison, Wisconsin, BLM protested after the officer was not charged in the Shooting of Tony Robinson. -
Freddy Gray
On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr., a 25-year-old man, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possessing what the police alleged was an illegal switchblade. While being transported in a police van, Gray fell into a coma and was taken to a trauma center.
