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Emancipation Proclamation
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Procolation was an executive order that proclaimed the freedom of three of the four milliam US slaves. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865 and officially outlawed slavery. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868. It changed the definition of an American citizen to include all people born or naturalized in the United States regardless of race or color. It also states that they are a citizen of the state they reside in. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870. It outlawed denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". -
Plessy v. Ferguson
A 30 year old black shoemaker was arrested for sitting in the white car of a railroad. He was only 1/8th black. In Louisiana he was still considered black. He went to court and the judge declared him guilty. He appealed it and took it to the supreme court and was still found guilty. Eventually, the pressy case set the precedent that sperate but equal was consitiuational. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. It prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. -
Smith v. Allwright
Lonnie Smith was a black man who always voted for democrats. In texas he was not allowed to vote for the democrat party. Smith and the NAACP took this to supreme court. The supreme court ruled in favor of smith 8-1. -
Executive Order 9981
Hitler started to eliminate the Jews and the whole country was disgusted by it. They started to look at thir own racism in their own country. They made the act to eliminate discrimination. Then they made another act to eliminate discrimination in the armed forces, which changed the black community's world. -
Brown V. Board of Education
Brown V. Board of Education was a supreme court case. It was decided May 17, 1954. The ruling declarded segregation in public schools unconstitutional. -
Emmett Till Murder
Emmett came to stay in Missisippi with his uncle for a little bit. He went into a convient store owned by the Bryants. He whistled and Carolyn Bryant thought it was at her. Her husband found out about this and came after Till with his brother and kidnapped him. He then went missing and days later he was found dead, severly beaten, and shot. Emmett Till's mother put the body on display so the whole world could see the abuse he recieved. This lead to the black civil rights movement. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The bus boycott was intended to reject the city's policy for black segregation on transportation. This caused financial dificulty for the montgomery bus systems. Blacks were their major customers. The boycott ended on December 20th, 1956. A federal ruling decided that alabama and montgomery segregation laws were unconstitutional. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was enacted September 9, 1957. It's was to that all African Americans could exercise their right to vote. -
Greensboro and Nashville Sit-ins
4 black students decided to go into a coffee shop called Woolworth's. They attempted to get coffee at the "whites only" counter. The staff refused and the manager kicked them out. They did not leave, they stayed until closing. The next day 20 or more came in to sit in. News cameras came. The third day more than 60 people came. On the 4th day more than 300 people joined. The sit-ins began to happen everywhere. After that the sales dropped at the stores and they desegregated. -
Freedom Rides
Seven black and 4 white people left DC on two buses. There were both black and whites on each bus. They traveld all the way to the deep south. The second week they all recieved severe beatings. One of the buses got burned, so they kept going with one. Others began doing freedom rides. They gained so much publicity by doing this, they ended transportation segregation. -
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
More than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the march for jobs and freedom in the nation's capital. They convinced the president to create a civil rights bill in congress. This is the time when Martin Luther king delievered his famous "I have a dream" speech. FDR issued and orderd the formation of fair practice for blacks in the workplace. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment was ratified on January 23, 1964. It prohibits poll taxes. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted July 2, 1964. It made illegal many forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation. -
Voting Rights Act 1965
There was a movement for voting rights, they were never sucessful. Then when terrorism began against blacks, it was nationalized. Then when state troopers and black activists marched peacefully it was the turning point. President Johnson signed the legislation. Which resembled the 15th admendment, allowing the black community to vote and stating that it is unconsitiutional for them not to have that right.
