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Brown v. Board of Education
When: May 17, 1954
Who: Linda Brown
Where: Topeka, Kansas
What: State sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and which was unconstitutional. The NAACP brought 5 cases to the Supreme Court to overturn the separate but equal doctrine. The judges rules 9-0 to overturn the doctrine. Most blacks still did not get the chance to go to school. -
Murder of Emmett Till
When: August 28, 1955
Who: Roy Cardyn Bryant
Where: Believed to be in Drew or Money Mississippi
What: Emmett Till was accused of whistling to a white woman when he went to go buy candy. 3 days later, Roy Bryant and his half-brother kidnapped, eye detached, ear cut off, barb wire wrapped around his neck, and weight down by a 75 pound cotton gin fan, then thrown into water. His mother requested that his casket was open to see what damaged they had done. -
Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott
When: 12-1-1955
Who: Rosa Parks & Martin Luther King Jr.
Where: Montgomery, Alabama
What: Rosa is arrested for failing to move seats on the bus. She is fined $10. MLK Jr. and church send out flyers to boycott the bus system on Dec 5. The buses ran empty for 381 days Supreme Court ruled bus had to let black ride. -
SCLC
When: Jan 10-11, 1957
Who: MLK and 60 pastors
Where: Atlanta, Georgia
What: Churches organized black events and for people to vote, nonviolent. MLK was the first President of the organization, because of the Montgomery bus boycott. He also wanted universal income against Vietnam war. This organization gave him the opportunity to speak throughout the South, as well as much a national platform from which to speak. -
Little Rock 9
When: Sept 4, 1957
Where: Little Rock, Alabama
What: 9 students are picked by the NAACP to go to school. They were trained on how to handle such events when going to school. G.V of Arkansas called out the National Guard to stop them. President Eisenhower brought in 1,200 troops to escort those 9 students to school and to class. It worked the next year school was fully integrated. -
Greensboro Sit Ins
When: Feb 1, 1960
Who: 4 college students
Where: Greensboro, North Carolina
What: 4 college students go to Wodworth’s to buy items. Then the 4 college students go sit at the lunch counter. They are refused services and told to leave, but they stayed. Day after day they came back and did something. Numbers grew to 1,000. Wodworth’s was losing $1.8 million so they decided to serve the black community. -
Freedom Riders
When: May 1, 1961
Who: 436 individuals in 60 separate Freedom Riders
Where: Start in Washington D.C go to the Deep South to desegrate bus stations, diners and hotels.
What: A diverse group of volunteers from 39 states, most were college students. arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina, blocked by KKK. Buses burned and beatings, town after town. The purpose of the Freedom Riders was to ride interstate buses in the State with mixed racial groups, to challenge local laws. -
March on Washington
When: Aug 2, 1963
Where: Washington D.C
What: 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C peaceful and respectful protest. MLK will give I have a dream speech. He was the last speaker of the peaceful protest. This event was aimed to draw the attention of locals, to continue challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans. A. Philip Randolph organized the original protest in 1941 but changed his mind. Later in 1957, he organized the March with MLK. -
Civil Right Act of 1964
When: July 2, 1964
Who: Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr.
Where: Washington D.C
What: Enabled the Federal Government to prevent racial discrimination and segregation based on race, color, religion or national origin in private businesses or public facilities. MLK said that the Civil Rights Act was nothing less than a “second emancipation.” But the Civil Rights Act paved the way for the Voting Rights Act, as well it expanded the way to disabled Americans, etc. -
Assassination of Malcom X
Date: Feb 21, 1965
Who: Malcom Little
Where: Audubon Ballroom, New York
What: Civil Rights leader who was part of the Nation of Islam. He wanted black people to believe in themselves and start their own businesses. He was shot 21 times. Thomas Hagon convicted of killing. -
Selma to Montgomery Marches (Bloody Sunday)
When: March 7, 1965
Who: 600 marches, John Lewis
Where: Selma, Alabama
What: Black marches wanted to walk 54 miles to Montgomery to register to at the Edmond Bridge trooper brutally beat them. -
Voting Rights Act (1965)
When: August 4,1965
Who: Lyndon Johnson
Where:Washington D.C.
What: United States Senate passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It had been a long delayed issue of the voting rights which was driven by activists in Selma, Alabama. Followed by the protest, Lyndon Johnson sent a voting rights act bill to Congress. Then the Voting Rights act was passed. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King
When: April 4, 1968
Who: MLK
Where: Lorraine Motel, Memphis Tennessee
What: Striking Sanitation workers protest in Memphis. Went back to the motel. Shot lower right side of his face with Remington Rifle. James Earl Ray sentenced to 99 years of prison. His death marks the end of the Civil Rights Movement.