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Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court which declared that establishing seperate schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. It overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 which declared state- sponsored segregation and "seperate but equal" facilities. The decision was unanimous. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph Abernaphy, two leaders of the SCLC, called for the boycott of city buses. They hoped that these boycotts would eventually desegregate the public transit system. Rosa Parks started the movement with her famous refusal to give up her seat for a white person. It quickly caused a large financial deficit for the city because black community made up a large portion of their bus riders. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional. -
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Little Rock Crisis
Nine African American students were admitted into Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The students were intitially prevented from entering the school by Gov. Faubus. and physically by the National Guard. Eisenhower then talked to Faubus and "convinced" him to admit the students peacefully. When not much was done, Eisenhower took federal action and the students were accompanied with a guard to all classes. Ernest Green became the first African American to graduate from the high school. -
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode buses into the segregated south in 1961 to challenge local laws or customs that engorced segregation. They rode from Washington D.C. to New Orleans. Some violence ensued throughout. Buses were bombed, but the activists, mainly young African Americans, continued. -
The Integration of Ole Miss
James Meredith, a very bright African American man, enrolled in Ole Miss knowing his application would be rejected because of his skin color. When he was rejected, he took it to the Supreme Court which ruled that it was unconstitutional. When word got out that he was accepted, riots broke out on the campus. They got so violent that John F. Kennedy sent out the National Guard to enforce order. Meredith eventually graduated from Ole Miss. -
March on Washington
It took place in Washington D.C. and was one of the largest political rallies in U.S. history. It was for the benefit of civil and economic rights for African Americans, but also showed support for Kennedy's proposed civil rights bill. It was here that MLK delivered his historic "I Have A Dream" speech. Disagreements broke out between the leaders of the SCLC and SNCC because John Lewis, leader of SNCC was going to give a speech criticizing Kennedy, but was persuaded to change the speech by MLK. -
Selma March
Considered the emotional and political peak of the Civil Rights Movement, the Selma Marches were part of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama. Sometimes called "Bloody Sunday", the first Selma Marches had 600 civil rights be savagely beaten by clubs and gassed with tear gas. This was the event that gave the mistreatment of African Americans national attention. -
Black Panthers Formed
The Black Panthers were an aggressive African American leftist organization active from 1966 to 1982. It was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. Their primary objective was to rid African American neighborhoods of police brutality. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He was shot by James Earl Ray who was arrested and charged with the crime. Since MLK was the most influential leader of the movement, his death was a huge shot to the Civil Rights Movement -
Bobby Kennedy Assassinated
Bobby Kennedy, former president John F. Kennedy's brother, was shot and killed while walking through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel. He was planning on running for president in the upcoming election and probably would have won. He was a big advocate for Civil Rights and would have passed some decent legislation supporting it. His death took away any possibility of that.
