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Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case that ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court also had overturned the previous Plessy v. Ferguson case that ruled that segregation was “separate but equal.” -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
In response the the arrest of Rosa Parks, the Black community in Montgomery began boycotting buses. Led by Martin Luther King Jr, the boycott lasted nearly a year before a law was passed to desegregate buses. -
The Little Rock Nine
Nine Black students walked to the newly desegregated Central Highschool in Little Rock, Arkansas, but were stopped by the Arkansas National Guard. Govenor Orval Faubus sent the Guard to prevent the students from entering th school. However, President Eisenhower sent Federal Troops to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school on September 24. -
Greensboro Sit-ins
In Greensboro, North Carolina four college students performed a sit-in at a Wool's Worth counter. The students were refused service because of their race, however, they sat at the counter until closing. The next day they brought even more support and support continued to increase as the days went by. -
Freedom Riders
Thirteen volunteers for a bus ride leaving from Washington D. C. began to test the Supreme Court order that interstate facilities could not be segregated. On each stop they tried using the facilities and faced only mild harrassment when on May 14 in Anniston, Alabama they were attacked by an angry mob. -
The Albany Movement
The Albany Movement was a huge nonviolent attack on segregation in Albany. Bus stations, libraries, and lunch counters, which were reserved for whites, were soon filled with African-Americans. Many boycotts were launched and many protestors marched on City Hall. To combat the protestors, the police chief used mass arrests. Due to no good results, the movement began to deteriorate and King soon left town. -
The March on Washington
Civil Rights leaders wanted to gain more support for Civil Rights, so in August they planned a March on Washington. The March was the largest Civil Rights demonstration in U. S. History. More than 200,000 people showed up for the march. Speeches were given from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and on that day, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous, "I Have a Dream" speech. -
The Selma March
Over 600 Blacks gathered together to march from Selma to Montgomery. They marche3d peacefully until they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge. They were stopped by Selma police and beaten. The actions were caught on camera and became national headlines. The Federal Government promised to protect the march on March 25 when the marchers decided to try again. -
Freedom Summer
Volunteers from Ohio college began training to teach and register Blacks to vote in Mississippi. They established "Freedom Schools" for Black children so they could further their education. They also began registering Blacks to vote, however, these volunteers were targeted. Many were threatened and others were even killed. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill so that Blacks could not be discriminated in public places, banned unequal voting requirements, and also barred discrimination in unemployment based on race, gender, religion, or national origin. The bill also created the Equal Oppurtunity Comission and applied Fedral Powers to speeding intergration. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
On this date, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for restricting voting rights of African Americans. It prohibited states from imposing any voting qualifications. The Act was also formed to outlaw literacy tests in order to vote. A literacy test was a strategy that many southern states used to restrict African Americans from voting. -
The Rise of Black Power
Stokely Carmichael called for “Black Power” following the shooting of James Meredith. Some interpreted Black Power as a sign of violence. Carmichael saw “Black Power” as a means of uniting individuals within the movement. He thought of Black Power not as just a movement for racial desegregation but as a movement to help combat America’s racism. -
The Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party was formed by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. The Black Panther Party was an African-American socialist organization mostly known for their violent actions for equality. At one of their marches, they carried guns and chanted “The Revolution has come!” FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, considered them “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country.” By corrupting the party from the inside, the FBI led to the decline of the Party -
The Assassination of King
Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Memphis to carry out his speech. The day after his speech a sniper, James Earl Ray, shot King on his balcony at Lorraine Motel. King was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital and was pronounced dead at the age of 39. Following King’s assassination, Robert F. Kennedy gave a speech asking for the people to pray for King. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
The Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, was an extension of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin.
