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13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment officialy abolished slavery in the U.S. This was the first step to the Civil Rights movement as there were a lot of colored people being enslaved before this. -
14th Amendment
Rights of citizenship, due process of law, and equal protection of the law. The 14th amendment has become one of the most used amendments in court to date regarding the equal protection clause. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment officially prohibited the Federal Government and every state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on the person's race or color. This was huge for the movement, as only white people were allowed to vote before. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a court case that challenged the segregation law, and the Supreme Court ended up uphelding the fairness of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality. “Separate but equal”. African-Americans became unhappy with this because this still didn’t grant full equality as they were still separated. -
NAACP Created
The NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was an organization formed in 1909 to march for rights and justice for colored people, specifically African-Americans. They were led by MLK Jr., W. E. B Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey and Ida B. Wells. This group was one of the most important pieces of the movement, as they were involved in lots of things such as the Integration at Ole Miss. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment officially gave women the right to vote. This was a drastic step in helping America become equal, and women like Susan B. Anthony fought for many years to gain this right. This helped women move one step closer to equality in the United States. -
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Proposed
The ERA is a proposed amendment to the U.S. constitution that guarantees equal rights for all American citizens regardless of gender. It fought to end discrimination against women and promoted equality in things such as divorce, property, employment and more. This was ratified in 1972 and tremendously helped women achieve equality in all aspects of life. -
Executive Order 9981
This executive order was published in 1948 by president Harry S. Truman, in which it abolished racial segregation based on color, religion or ethnicity in the U.S. military. African Americans and other colored people played a huge role in the American military, and this order was much needed to advance their equality. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a court case, in which the supreme court made a landmark descision to rule that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are equal in quality. This is one of the country's most important court cases, as it established desegregation in schools. However, this took a while to be put in play by all schools. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the rule of racial segregation seating for buses in Montgomery, Alabama. This was led by Rosa Parks, as she questioned why she had to sit in certain seats of the bus, and this ultimately led to the decision of racial segregation in buses declared uncostitutional. -
Little Rock 9
The Little Rock 9 was a movement of nine African-American students attending Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas. These students fought for desegregation in schools, challenging public school segregation by enrolling in an all-white high school. This was followed by the Little Rock crisis, in which governor Orval Fabus called the national guards to prevent these students from entering. These brave students helped lead all schools in the south to be desegregated. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957, signed by president Dwight D. Eisenhower, allowed federal prosecution of anyone who tried to prevent a citizen from voting. It also created a commission to investigate voter fraud. This was big because it granted everyone a right to vote no matter race, gender or other. -
Chicano Movement (Mural Movement)
The Chicano/ Mexican American Movement was founded in the 1960's by "Chicano's", who were the largest group of Spanish speaking latinos. They fought for justice and equality for issues like discrimination, educational segregation, stereotypes and rights for workers. They started the Chicano Mural Movement which used murals to express their social issues and to support cultural heritage. This was big for latinos in the movement, as they also needed to fight for equality. -
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the heavily segregated southern U.S. in 1961. These people were black, white, female, and male and their purpose was to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia, which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. They eventually help end racial segregation in U.S. southern public transit. -
Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez was a latino-american civil rights activist, who fought for improving the treatment, pay, and working conditions for farmworkers. With Dolores Huerta, he founded the United Farm Workers Union, which advocated the fair treatment to farmworkers in the U.S. -
March on Washington: “I have a dream” Speech
The March on Washington, best known as the “I have a dream” speech, was a speech by activist Martin Luther King Jr. He preached about advocating civil and economic rights of African Americans in the U.S., saying how people should not be “judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”. This speech is possibly the most famous speech in the United States, and one of the most successful as well. -
Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party/ Movement was an African American militant group founded in Oakland in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. They fought for equality and a stop to police brutality for African Americans, also preaching for self defense and promoting socialism. They used protests and marches to fight for their rights. -
American Indian Movement (AIM)
The American Indian Movement, also known as AIM, was a Native American movement founded in 1968 in Minnesota. They fought to address poverty in urban areas, and police brutality to Native Americans. They also protested racism and civil rights violations against indians. They helped lead Native Americans to equality in America. -
MLK Assassinated
On April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed by James Earl Ray. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, and only an hour later, he was declared dead. This had a major impact on the Civil Rights Movement, as MLK was the most iconic leader, leaving people with pure anger across the U.S. -
Sandra Day O’Connor appointed to the Supreme Court
On July 7, 1981, president Ronald Reagen nominated Sandra Day O’Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court. She became the first woman to serve on the court, thus proceeding the equal opportunities for women in the United States.
