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Brown V Broad of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education case was brought to light by Oliver Brown who was a black man who just wanted to take his daughter (Linda Brown) to an all white school in Kansas but was denied. This would also happen in other states like South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The case would occur on May 17, 1954 which the NAACP took to the Supreme Court and they decided to overturn the case since they seemed state segregation was unconstitutional. -
Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a 14 year old African American boy from Chicago. He brutally beaten, lynched, and tortured by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milan who were Carolyn Bryant’s husband and brother in law. Emmett was accused of offending Carolyn in 1955 in Money Mississippi. After being brutally beaten and murdered Emmett was dumped in a river to be found later on. -
Rosa Parks Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks was an African American woman who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This historical moment happened on December 1, 1955. She was then arrested for not giving up her seat which then caused a spark in the boycotting buses. Instead of using buses people who participated would walk long distances to work or school. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The SCLC was an organization linked to the black churches, 60 black ministers were pivotal in organizing civil right activism. Martin Luther King Jr was elected President. They focused its non violent strategy on citizenship, schools and efforts to desegregate individual cities. It played key roles in the March on Washington in 1963 and the Selma Voting Rights Campaign and March to Montgomery in 1965. -
Little Rock 9
The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students who enrolled in the Little Rock Central High School on September 4, 1957. They couldn’t really get into the school peacefully so they were then sent home but then returned on September 25, 1957 and they were escorted to school to by U.S. soldiers. They would go through harassment but it became such a big moment during the Civil Rights Movement. -
Greensboro Sit ins
The Greensboro Sits ins were protests that were nonviolent and were against racial segregation. They were started by four African American college students from North Carolina AT University which began the sit ins on February 1, 1960. They would start by sitting in restaurants and public places in Greensboro, North Carolina where they could buy items but not be served food. If they were kicked out the next day there would be more people who participated in the sit ins. -
Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges was a six year old African American girl who was enrolled into an all white school for passing a hard test out of 4 black children. She would go on to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 14, 1960. When she first arrived she was escorted to the school by Marshalls. She would only get taught by one teacher and was the only student in the class with the teacher. -
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were civil rights activists that would ride buses to the southern states that were segregated. 436 individuals went on 60 separate ride groups such as CORE, SNCC, NAACP, and the Nashville student movement. They would start the movement on May 4, 1961. The riders were beaten after going state after state but they kept going no matter how tough it was. -
March on Washington
March on Washington had peaceful protests where many protesters were there to protest for jobs and freedom. They lead the protests all the way to Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. This is where Martin Luther King would give his famous “I have a dream “ speech. The rally was able to gather over 250,000 people. -
Civil Rights Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson finally signed the civil rights act into law on July 2, 1964 alongside Martin Luther King in Washington D.C. Segregation was no longer a thing neither was discrimination. This historic moment was a big one for everyone. Especially for all the civil rights activists. -
Assassination of Malcom X
Malcom X was a black man who was a civil rights leader. He was unfortunately assassinated on February 21, 1965. His death shocked the world and with only being 39 he was too young to die. His help in the Civil Rights Movement made such an impact. He was giving a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City when he was shot multiple times by Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Khalil Islam, and Thomas Hagan. -
Selma to Montgomery Marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protests in total that began on March 7, 1965. The SCLC and Jon Lewis would start the protests.The police would always wait for the protests to go their way so they could try and make them go away and if they didn’t the police would hurt the protesters. -
Votings Rights Act
Lyndon B Johnson made it a law to ban literary tests to vote to which he saw it as a federal matter not a state matter. He passed the law on August 6, 1965 in Washington D.C. He wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to vote freely. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Civil Rights leader his death was very tragic since he had been fighting for freedom. He was assassinated on April 4 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin was staying at the Lorraine Motel when he was relaxing by the balcony until a bullet strikes him in the neck. His assassin was James Earl Ray.