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Congress of Racial Equality
Founded by a group of interracial students who were influenced by Gandhi's teachings of nonviolent resistance. They began protests against segregation in public accomodations by organizing sit-ins. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Oliver Brown's child was denied access to white schools in Topeka, Kansas. Federal Court dismissed his claim that segregated public schools were not equal. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren declared that "in the field of public education the doctrine of 'seperate but equal' had no place." COurt directed that the process of racial integration shold move "with all deliberate speed." -
Death of Emmett Till
African American boy (14 years old) that was abducted, shot, and thrown into Tallahatchie river in Mississippi for apparently flirting with a white female cashier. -
Rosa Parks/Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks, a critic of segregation and secretary of local NAACP chapter, boldly refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man.She was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. This led Martin Luther King Jr. to organize a long-planned boycott on the city's bus system. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
King and a group of associates met in Atlanta to organize the SCLC. Its purpose was to advance the cause of civil rights in a non-violent manner. -
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Two hundred black and white student activists converged in Raleigh, North Carolina to form the SNCC. Their goal was to ratchet up an effirt to dismantle segregation. -
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Letter Martin Luther King Jr. wrote while incarcerated. Letter was a stirring defense of the nonviolent strategy that became a classic document of the civil rights movement. He signaled a shift in his strategy for social change. -
" I Have A Dream" Speech
Famous speech MLK gave at the Lincoln Memorial. March on Washington was largest civil rights demonstration in history and it garnered widespread media attention. Words from his speech are still remembered today. -
16th Street Baptist Church , Birmingham, Alabama (bombing)
A bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the church, which had a pedominantly black congregation that served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders. Incident led to violence between protesters and police. -
24th Amendment
Outlawed the poll tax as a voting requirement in federal elections. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Outlawed racial segregation in facilities such as bus terminals, restaurants, theaters, and hotels. It also gave new powers to the federal government to bring lawsuits against organizations or businesses that violated constitutional rights, and it established the Equal EMployment Opportunities Commission to ensure equal opportunities for people applying for jobs, regardless of race or gender. -
Malcolm X Assassination
Assassins representing a rival faction of Black Muslims killed Malcolm X in Manhattan while he was speaking at Harlem's Audubon Ballroom. -
Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama
600 marchers assembled in Selma and were led by SNCC and SCLC. They crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge and were blocked by Alabama state troopers and local police that ordered them to turn around. When protesters refused officers shot tear gas and went into the crowd beating protesters with billy clubs. This led to the hospitalization of many. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Act ensured all citizens the right to vote.It authorized the attorney general to dispatch federal examiners to register voters. In states or counties where fewer than half the adults had voted in 1964, the act suspended literary tests and other devices commmonly used to defraud citizens of the vote. -
Executive Order 11246- Affirmative Action
Prohibits federal and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors who do over $10,000 in government business in one year from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. It also requires Government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment. -
Stokely Carmichael
U.S. civil-rights activist who in the 1960s originated the black nationalism rallying slogan, “black power.” He also joined the Congress of Racial Equality, the SNCC, and participated in sit-ins. -
The Black Panthers
African American Revolutionary Party that believed that the nonviolent campaig had failed and any promised changes to their lifestyle through the traditional civil rights movement, would take too long to be implemented or not introduced. They were violent and spoke out for those who were oppressed. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated
A white racist named James Earl Ray assassinated MLK Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. His death set off an outpouring of grief among whites and blacks and ignited riots in over 60 cities. -
The Civil RIghts Act of 1968
Known as Fair Housing Act. It prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin and sex.
