-
Plessy v. Ferguson
(http://bit.ly/1uuLcJp)
In 1892, Homer Plessy, who was seven eighths Caucasian, sat in the whites only section on a Louisiana train. He refused to move to the black section and was arrested. Louisiana had enacted a law that required separate cars for blacks and whites. The supreme court ruled against Plessy's argument that the law was violating his constitutional rights and decided that the law did not violate the 13th or 14th amendment. -
Period: to
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
(http://bit.ly/2nCak4H)
The Congress of Racial Equaltity (CORE) was founded on the campus of the University of Chicago in 1942. CORE was the first to initiate a Freedom Ride to change the laws of segregation on public transportation. They also worked on the Freedom Summer voter project and the March on Washington in 1963. In the beginning, the group had focused on non-violent ways to protest but in the end they veered towards black nationalism -
Jackie Robinson
(http://bit.ly/1n14iFE)
Jackie Robinson was the first black athlete to play in Major League Baseball. He played in the Brooklyn Dodgers and helped the team win the World Series in 1955. Robinson won the National League Rookie of the Year award his first season, won the league MVP award, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement by putting up with abuses in his baseball career which inspired African Americans to fight for their rights. -
Sweatt v Painter
(http://bit.ly/2nqJY3w)
Heman Marion Sweatt applied to the University of Texas Law School. His application was rejected because he was black. Sweatt asked the state courts to order his admission. Thus, the University tried to provide him "separate but equal" facilities. The court decided in favor of Sweatt. The court stated that because of The Equal Protection Clause the University must allow the admission. The court decided that the separate facility would be inferior and hinder the students. -
Brown v Board of Education
(http://bit.ly/1cnSbhI)
Brown v Board of Education is actually the name of 5 separate cases. The main issue of all these cases were the fact that public schools were segregating the students. Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund were in charge of these cases. The supreme court decided that "separate but equal" facilities were unequal and violated the Equal Protection Clause just like the Sweatt v Painter case. -
Medgar Evers
Born on July 2, 1925 Medgar attended Acorn college after being drafted into the military. He served from 1943-1946 before receiving an honorable discharge. He later went on to participate in the Regional Council of Negro Leadership. Medgar's attempt to continue his education at the University of Mississippi Law School caused a partnership with NAACP to try to integrate that university. This law suit is recognized as Brown v. Board of Education Case.
[http://bit.ly/2nzi715] -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
(http://bit.ly/1ymBgQq)
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the first large scale protest against segregation in the U.S. African Americans refused to ride in city buses in Montgomery, Alabama. The protest lasted 381 day. The U.S Supreme Court ordered the Montgomery Bus System to integrate. Rosa Parks began the boycott by refusing to get up from the seat. She was fined and arrested. Black leaders chose Martin Luther King Jr as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association. -
The Southern Manifesto
(http://to.pbs.org/1hc6YZt)
The Southern Manifesto was a paper signed by 19 senators and 77 members of the House of Representatives. It stated that the decision reached by the supreme court in the case of Brown v board of education was an abuse of power. The Manifesto encouraged states to refuse the mandates by the Supreme Court. The court stated that its interpretation of the Constitution was the "supreme law of the land" -
Period: to
Southern Christian Leardership Conference
60 people from 10 states gathered to form a regional organization and coordinate protest activities across the South. Their motto was - that civil rights are essential to democracy, that segregation must end, and that all Black people should reject segregation absolutely and nonviolently.The SCLC helped with the demonstration in Birmingham, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the march from Selma to Montgomery, and registering black voters.
[http://bit.ly/1PAzHdV] -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
(http://onevotesncc.org/stories/story-sncc/)
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed after the Greensboro sit-ins. Ella Baker saw the Greensboro Sit-In as an opportunity to gather young students for movement work. She saw the potential of this new student activism. She thought that Martin Luther King Jr's Southern Christian Leadership Conference would not be able to connect well with young activists. She thought having an organization for young activists would be better. -
Little Rock - Central High School
(http://bit.ly/1ufa8Cs)
Because of the ruling of Brown v Board of education, public schools were to be desegregated. Thus, 9 black students enrolled at Central High school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Orval Faubus announced he would use the Arkansas national guard to block the entry of the black students. The Mother’s League also protested against the entry. Roosevelt ordered the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell to escort the 9 black students. -
Greensboro Sit-In
(http://bit.ly/1MP3Fql)
Blair, Richmond, McCain and McNeil were the ones who instigated the sit-in movement. These four students sat at the lunch counter at a Woolsworth in Greensboro. The restaurant only served whites and refused to serve the 4 men, so they refused to leave and stayed until the store closed. The media covered the whole event. By February 5, 300 students had joined the protest. This inspired other young blacks to protest peacefully in other areas that were segregated. -
"Freedom Rides"
(http://bit.ly/1vgaxE1)
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) recruited 13 African American and white civil rights activists to launch the Freedom Rides. The Freedom Rides were a series of bus trips to protest segregation. The African American Freedom Riders would try to use "whites-only" restrooms and buses along the stops. They met with many violent protesters but also received international attention. This made the interstate commerce commission to prohibit segregation. -
"Letter from Birmingham Jail"
Letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. after his arrest for leading a Good Friday demonstration aimed to bring awareness to the suffrage of blacks. The main purpose of this letter was to be an eye opener not only to the 8 Christian and Jewish leaders who criticized him and the demonstrations, but to everyone who didn't think "justice too long delayed is justice denied" and also to passionately defend his nonviolent, but direct, actions.
[http://bit.ly/1YSpCQ8] -
March on Washington
A political rally in which 200,000 people attended. It was designed to shed light on the continuing political and social issues African Americans faced, especially regarding jobs and freedom even after the Executive Order 8802 was established by President Roosevelt in order to stop the first march in 1941. A. Philip Randolph again chaired the event with help of Bayard Rustin. M.L.K.Jr gave his famous speech, " I have a dream" and John Lewis his.
[http://bit.ly/1i6tu7Z] -
Bombing of Birmingham Church
Occurring at the 16th Street Baptist church where civil rights meetings took place, the bombing had been the third one in 11 days. It was planned by members of the KKK after a federal court order mandated the integration of Alabama's school system. Four girls were killed, one lost an eye, and 20 others were injured. Nobody responsible for this act faced charges until 1977 because Edgar Hoover, FBI leader, disapproved of the civil rights movement. [http://bit.ly/1CwahtD] -
Twenty-fourth Amendment
The 24th amendment was ratified to prevent poll taxes, or a fee on voting targeted towards low income African Americans. It has two sections; the first being the right of U.S citizens to vote in any primary or other election for President, Senator, Representative in congress, or electors regardless of failure to pay any type of tax. The second is giving Congress the power to enforce the article by appropriate legislation.
[http://bit.ly/2dhhWkk] -
Missisippi Freedom Summer
Organized by civil rights groups: CORE, SNCC, SCLC, and COFO. This drive strived to increase voter registration is Mississippi, since it had the lowest rate of African American voters. More than 100 white college students helped COFO register voters on Nov.1963. Although volunteers faced drastic brutality such as murder from the KKK, police, & local/state authorities, Freedom schools were established and 1200 African Americans were registered to vote.
[http://bit.ly/1jCdm18] -
Civil Rights Act Passed
The Act was proposed by J.F.K in 1963 because he believed that the U.S wouldn't be fully free until all its citizens were free. Although the Southern Congressmen opposed the act it was eventually signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. It ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This act was a huge step towards equality, but also just a "second emancipation" as M.L.K.Jr described it.
[http://bit.ly/1udSFsU] -
Malcolm X Assasinated
Malcom an African American nationalist and religious leader became influenced by Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam.They advocated black nationalism, racial separatism, and condemned Americans of European descent as immoral ''devils''. He became a member, but was kicked out because of his reckless views. Malcolm then founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity which instilled racism as its main focus. ''X'' was killed by NOI members during his rally.
[http://bit.ly/1lATEnS] -
Selma to Montgomery March
A campaign planned by M.L.K.Jr & the SCLC to highlight voter registration difficulties for African Americans especially after to death Jimmie Jackson. The first march to Montgomery on March 7 was stopped by state troopers and the second by violent segregationists. The third attempt was successful with the authority of President Johnson and the protection of U.S Army troops and Alabama's national guard forces; the march took 3 days and had a total of 50,000 supporters.
[http://bit.ly/1nGD5oz] -
Voting Righst Act approved
The act banned literacy tests and authorized the U.S attorney general to investigate the use of poll taxes in state/local elections. It was strongly pushed by President Johnson because he thought it would improve the American way of life. He also acknowledged African Americans were wrongfully being mistreated and cheated of off their rights. After the act was passed by the Senate, House of Reps., and signed by the president voting increased from 6% to 59%
[http://bit.ly/1x2nE2e] -
James Meredith
(http://bit.ly/1oA25xm)
James Meredith was the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi. Meredith applied and was accepted into the University, but his admission was revoked because he was black. The federal court ordered him to be admitted into the University. 3 Years later, Meredith started the March Against Fear. On the first day, he was sniped and was admitted into the hospital. Civil Right leaders arrived to march on his behalf. Meredith recovered. -
Black Panthers
The leaders Huey P. Newton & Bobby Seale didn't believe in M.L.K.Jr's nonviolent campaigns, instead they favored a ''revolutionary war.'' Black panthers had 4 desires: equality in education, housing, employment and civil rights. They intended to achieve these goals with a 10 point plan. The BPP wasn't all about violence; it developed many useful organizations such as: Free Food Program, Free Medical Research Health Clinics,and an Intercommunal Youth Band.
[http://bit.ly/1SM5axc] -
King's Assasination
(http://bit.ly/1v0B75e)
Martin Luther King Jr was assasinated in Memphis, Tennesee. King was called to Memphis to support a sanitation workers' strike. On the evening of April 3rd, King gave a speech at the Mason Temple Church in Memphis. The next day, after 6 pm, King was shot in the neck whilst he was standing on a second story balcony. He was rushed to the hospital but he was pronounced dead an hour after at the age of 39.
