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Plessy v. Ferguson
The Supreme Court, in a 7-1 vote, upheld the Louisiana law, stating that the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause did not prevent states from having separate facilities for different races as long as they were equal. -
The Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were America's first Black military pilots, who overcame racial barriers to become highly successful fighter pilots during World War II, earning a reputation for skill and bravery. -
the integration of the MLB
he integration of Major League Baseball (MLB), a pivotal moment in American history, began on April 15, 1947, when Jackie Robinson, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, became the first African American to break the color barrier in the modern era -
the integration of the armed forces
The integration of the U.S. Armed Forces, mandated by President Harry S. Truman's Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948, abolished racial discrimination and segregation, ensuring equal treatment and opportunity for all service members regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin -
Sweatt v. Painter
In the landmark 1950 Supreme Court case Sweatt v. Painter, the court ruled that a separate law school for Black students at the University of Texas was not equal to the all-white University of Texas Law School, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and ordered Heman Marion Sweatt's admission. -
brown v. board of education
Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that outlawed racial segregation in public schools. The ruling overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine, which had legalized segregation since the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. -
the death of Emmit till
Emmett Louis Till was a 14-year-old African American youth, who was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery store -
the Montgomery bus boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, was a year-long protest (December 5, 1955 – December 20, 1956) in Montgomery, Alabama, where African Americans refused to ride city buses to protest segregated seating, sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give up her seat. -
little rock high school
The desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, gained national attention on September 3, 1957, when Governor Orval Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard in an effort to prevent nine African American students from integrating the high school -
the civil rights act
The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and ended segregation in public places and employment. -
the greensboro four lunch counter sit in
Greensboro sit-in, act of nonviolent protest against a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, that began on February 1, 1960. Its success led to a wider sit-in movement, organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that spread throughout the South. -
the freedom rides by freedom riders
The Freedom Rides were a series of bus trips taken by civil rights activists, both Black and white, through the segregated South in 1961 to challenge the non-enforcement of Supreme Court rulings against segregation in interstate travel and bus terminals. -
the 24th amendment
Constitutional Amendments – Amendment 24 – “Elimination of Poll Taxes” Amendment Twenty-four to the Constitution was ratified on January 23, 1964. It abolished and forbids the federal and state governments from imposing taxes on voters during federal elections. -
the integration of the university of mississippi
The integration of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1962 involved a federal court order for James Meredith, an African-American man, to enroll, leading to a violent riot and ultimately, Meredith becoming the first Black student to attend the university under federal protection. -
the integration of the university of alabama
The integration of the University of Alabama in 1963, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, saw Governor George Wallace famously stand in the schoolhouse door to block the enrollment of Vivian Malone and James Hood, but ultimately yielded to federal authority after President Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard. -
the march on washington i have a dream
On August 28, 1963, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a massive protest against racial discrimination and for civil rights, culminated with Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. -
the assassination of JFK
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.