-
Sit In
Four friends entered the nearby Woolworth's department store. They purchased supplies then sat down at the whites only lunch counter and ordered coffee. When they were refused service Blair asked, "You just served us at the checkout counter. Why can't we be served at the counter here"? The students stayed at the counter till it closed. Then they stated that they would sit there daily until they got the same service as white customers. -
The March on Washington
On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 demonstrators, African American and white, gathered near the Lincoln Memorial. They heard speeches and sang songs. Dr. King delivered a powerful speech calling for freedom and equality for all Americans -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
On July 2, 1964, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. The law made segregation illegal in most places of public accommodation, and it gave citizens of all races and nationalities equal access to public facilities. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 authorized the U.S. attorney general to send federal examiners to register qualified voters. The law also suspended discriminatory devices, such as literacy tests, in countries where less than half of all adults had been registered to vote. -
The Watts Riot
Just five days after President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, a riot erupted in Watts, an African American neighborhood in Los Angeles. It lasted for six days and required more than 14,000 members of the National Guard and 1,500 law officers to restore order. Riots broke out in dozens of other American cities between 1964 and 1968 -
The Selma March
Dr. King selected Selma, Alabama, as the focal point for their campaigning for voting rights. Dr. King joined with SNCC activists and organized a "march for freedom" from Selma to the state capital in Montgomery. There was brutal attacks.
