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Civil Rights from the 1800s to Now
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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It also forbid slavery in the Louisiana Territory, aside from Missouri, North of the 36*30’ latitude line. -
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in Maryland and went on to help more than 300 people escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad. Most people know Harriet Tubman as the “Moses” of the Underground Railroad. Did you know she worked for the Union Army as a cook, a nurse, and an armed scout and spy? She was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war. She guided the Combahee River Raid, which freed more than 700 slaves in South Carolina. -
Civil War
Although there were several reasons for the Civil War, two of the big ones were the fight between slave and non-slave states and the growth of the abolition movement. -
President Abraham Lincoln Allows Blacks to Join the Military
Congress gave President Lincoln the “okay” to allow black people to join the military. Throughout the Civil War African Americans wanted to join the fighting. Only after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued however, were black men official accepted as soldiers. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation freed the slaves in the Confederacy. It never compensated the owners, and didn’t outright outlaw slavery. It also did not make the slaves citizens. They remained slaves in all but name. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865. It stated that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” -
Civil rights Act of 1866
Intended to protect the civil rights of African Americans, the civil rights act of 1866 declared that people born in the US and not subject to any foreign power are entitled to be citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude. -
Oscar Dunn became Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
Dunn was the first black lieutenant governor of a U.S. state. -
14th Amendment
One of the Reconstruction Amendments, the 14th Amendment gave African Americans citizenship. It also prohibits the government from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without certain steps being taken to ensure fairness. It also provided equal protection to everyone. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment prohibited the government from denying a citizen the right to vote based on their “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” -
Civil Rights Act of 1871
Aka the Ku Klux Klan Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1871 prohibits ethnic violence against blacks. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited discrimination in “public accommodations.” -
Civil Rights Act of 1875 Unconstitutional
Congress declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional because congress could not regulate conduct of individuals. -
Anti-black Riots and Silent Parade of 1917
Anti-black riots were held in St. Louis, Illinois and more that 100 black citizens are either killed or injured. More than 10,000 black New Yorkers held the Silent Parade to protest the violence. -
NAACP Sues the Governement
The NAACP sued the government to get equal pay for black and white teachers. -
U.S. Supreme Court Bans Segregation On Public Transit
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President Truman Signs Executive Order 9981
Truman signs Executive Order 9981, which states, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
This was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court. It declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. Consequently, it overturned the Plessey v. Ferguson decision of 1896. -
Emmett Till Murder
Fourteen-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till is visiting family in Mississippi when he is kidnapped, brutally beaten, shot, and dumped in the Tallahatchie River for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Two white men, J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant, are arrested for the murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. They later boast about committing the murder in a Look magazine interview. The case becomes a cause célèbre of the civil rights movement. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. This insued a boycott of Montgomery buses that was led by MLK and lasted over a year. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Established
Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele, and Fred L. Shuttlesworth establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which King is made the first president. The SCLC becomes a major force in organizing the civil rights movement and bases its principles on nonviolence and civil disobedience. According to King, it is essential that the civil rights movement not sink to the level of the racists and hatemongers who oppose them: "We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignit -
Student Sit-Ins
Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the South. Six months later the original four protesters are served lunch at the same Woolworth's counter. Student sit-ins would be effective throughout the Deep South in integrating parks, swimming pools, theaters, libraries, a -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Founded
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is founded at Shaw University, providing young blacks with a place in the civil rights movement. The SNCC later grows into a more radical organization, especially under the leadership of Stokely Carmichael -
Civil Rights Act of 1960
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 set up a law that established federal inspection of local voter registration rolls. It punished anyone who tried to prevent someone from registering to vote or to vote. -
James Meredith
James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violence and riots surrounding the incident cause President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops. -
MLK Arrested
Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Ala.; he writes his seminal "Letter from Birmingham Jail," arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws. -
Birmingham, Alabama Protests
Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Ala.; he writes his seminal "Letter from Birmingham Jail," arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws. -
"I Have A Dream Speech"
Over 200,000 people would gather that day to hear the famous words:
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment abolishes the poll tax, which originally had been instituted in 11 southern states after Reconstruction to make it difficult for poor blacks to vote -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation -
Malcolm X is Shot to Death
Malcolm X, Black Nationalist and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, is shot to death. It is believed the assailants are members of the Black Muslim faith, which Malcolm had recently abandoned in favor of orthodox Islam -
"Bloody Sunday"
Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized after police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident is dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the media. The march is considered the catalyst for pushing through the voting rights act five months later -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other such requirements that were used to restrict black voting are made illegal -
Loving v. Virgina
In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional. Sixteen states that still banned interracial marriage at the time are forced to revise their laws. -
MLK Assassinated
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
Also known as the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1986, President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing -
Unita Blackwell
Unita Blackwell was a civil rights activist who was the first African –American woman to be elected mayor in Mississippi. -
Vanessa Williams Miss America 1983
Vanessa Williams became the first African-American to be crowned Miss America in 1983. -
MLK Federal Holiday
This is the first time Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday was celebrated as a federal holiday. -
Civil Rights Restoration Act
Overriding President Reagan’s veto, Congress passes the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which expands the reach of nondiscrimination laws within private institutions receiving federal funds. -
Civil Rights Act of 1991
After two years of debates, vetoes, and threatened vetoes, President Bush reverses himself and signs the Civil Rights Act of 1991, strengthening existing civil rights laws and providing for damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination. -
Rodney King Riots
The first race riots in decades erupt in south-central Los Angeles after a jury acquits four white police officers for the videotaped beating of African American Rodney King -
NAACP Campaign
NAACP launches a campaign against TV networks to increase number of minorities in shows 1999 -
Colin Powell Becomes U.S. Secretary of State
Served under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, Colin Powell was the first African American to serve as the US Secretary of State. -
Halle Berry Became the 1st African American to win an Oscar for Best Actress
"This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It's for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it's for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened." -
Supreme Court Upholds Michigan Law School's Policy
In the most important affirmative action decision since the 1978 Bakke case, the Supreme Court (5–4) upholds the University of Michigan Law School's policy, ruling that race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students because it furthers "a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body." -
Civil Rights Act of 2008
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduces the Civil Rights Act of 2008. Some of the proposed provisions include ensuring that federal funds are not used to subsidize discrimination, holding employers accountable for age discrimination, and improving accountability for other violations of civil rights and workers' rights. -
Barack Obama Becomes the First African American President of the United States
