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The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is issued by President Abraham Lincoln freeing the enslaved in the rebellious Confederate states. -
Thirteenth Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment is passed abolishing slavery in the United States -
Jim crow laws
1890s - Jim Crow laws become common in many southern states segregating blacks from whites. -
The Supreme Court
1896 - The Supreme Court rules that segregation is legal in the Plessy v. Ferguson case using the "separate but equal" argument. -
naacp
The NAACP is founded by African-American leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Well -
jackie robinson
Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play major league baseball. -
Harry s. truman
President Harry S. Truman ends segregation in the U.S. armed forces. -
supreme court
1954 - The Supreme Court rules that segregation in the schools is unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education case, overturning the earlier ruling in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. -
rosa parks
Rosa Parks is arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus. This sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasts for over a year. Eventually, segregation on the buses in Montgomery comes to an end. -
Arkansas nine
- Nine African-American students in Arkansas (nicknamed the Arkansas Nine) attend a previously all-white high school. Army troops are brought in to protect them.
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freedom riders
The Freedom Riders protest by riding buses into the segregated southern states challenging their Jim Crow laws. -
The Birmingham Campaign
1963 - The Birmingham Campaign takes place in Birmingham, Alabama. Schoolchildren marching in non-violent protest are met with police dogs and fire hoses. Martin Luther King, Jr. is arrested and writes his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail." -
The March on Washington
The March on Washington by over 200,000 protesters occurs. Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech -
The Civil Rights Act
- The Civil Rights Act is signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlaws discrimination based on race, national origin, and gender. It also outlaws segregation and the Jim Crow laws.
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martin luther king
1964 - Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. -
Marchers in Selma
Marchers in Selma, Alabama are met by police with tear gas. Several marchers are injured and the day is nicknamed "Bloody Sunday -
race riots
Race riots erupt in Watts, California -
1965 - President Lyndon Johnson
President Lyndon Johnson issues an order requiring "Affirmative Action" in hiring minorities for federal government work. -
The Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act is signed into law making it illegal to prevent any citizen from voting regardless of race. -
- Thurgood Marshall
- Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.