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Brown v. Board of Education
Before this case came to court, the case Plessy v. Ferguson allowed public facilities to be seperate but equal. In Topeka, Kansas, black and white school districts were unequal. This sparked the beginning of the Brown case. At the end of the case, the Supreme Court outlawed school segregation. Washington DC -
Reverent George Lee: Killed
The Rev. George Lee killed for leading voter-registration drive in Belzoni, Mississippi -
Lamar Smith: Killed
Lamar Smith murdered for organizing black voters in Brookhaven, Mississippi -
Emmett Louis Till: Killed
Emmett Louis Till murdered for speaiing to a white woman in Money, Mississippi -
John Earl Reese: Killed
John Earl Reese was slain by nightriders opposed to school improvements. Mayflower, Texas -
Rosa Parks
On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white man. After her action of rebeling, she was arrested and convicted for violating the laws of segregation. Montgomery, Alabama -
Montgomerey Bus Boycott
Montgomerey Bus Boycott begins -
Supreme Court v. Bus Segregation
Supreme Court bans segregated seating on Montgomerey buses -
Willie Edwards Jr.: Killed
Willie Edwards Jr. killed by Klansmen (KKK). Montgomerey, Alabama -
Civil Rights Act I
When President Eisenhower and Congress signed the Civil Rights Act, it signified the begin of the federal commitment for civil rights. The law established a civil rights division in the U.S. Justice Department, and authorized the U.S. Attorney General to seek federal court injunctions to protect the voting rights of African Americans. Washington D.C. -
President Eisenhower enforces Desegregation
In September of 1957, 9 black students were chosen to enter highschool at an all-white public school in Arkansas. The 9 kids faced angry mobs, bullies, the National Guard. After President Eisenhower had had enough, he ordered federal troops to Little Rock to enforce school desegregation and protect the 9 students -
Mack Charles Parker: KIlled
Mack Charles Parker is taken from jail and killed/lynched. Poplarville, Mississippi -
Blacks in White School Lunchrooms
Black students stage a sit-iin at a "whitets only" lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina -
Supreme Court outlaws Segregation in Buses
Supreme Court outlaws segregation in all bus terminals -
Freedom Riders Attacked
The Freedom Riders were a group of black and white civil rights activists that were organized by C.O.R.E., a U.S. civil rights group. The Riders would travel in the south and promote blacks' rights. They would only use white rest and lunchrooms. The Riders were often attacked by outraged whites protestors. -
Herbert Lee: Killed
Voter registration worker Herbert Lee killed by white legislator in LIberty, Mississippi -
Civil Rights Group Join Forces
Civil rights groups join forces to launch voter registration drive -
CPL. Roman Ducksworth Jr.: KIlled
CPL. Roman Ducksworth Jr. taken from bus and killed by the police. Taylorsville, MIssissippi -
Riots for James Merideth
When James Meredith was accepted into Ole Miss, the university discoverd he was black. The new information caused Ole Miss to withdraw Meredith's admission. James still arrived to the school on registration day, though. Riots immediatly broke out. Attorney General Robert Kennedy and President Kennedy sent police force and soldiers to ensure Meredith's safety. -
Paul Guihard: Killed
Paul Guihard was killed by French reporters during Ole Miss riot. Oxford, Mississippi -
Wiliam Lewis Moore: Killed
William Lewis Moore was slain during a one-man march against segregation. Antalia, Alabama -
Police attack Black Marching Children
Birmingham police attack marching children with dogs and firehoses -
Alabama Governor stops Integration
Alabama Governor George Wallace stands in schoolhouse door to stop university integration. -
Medgar Evers: Assassinated
Medgar Evers was a black civil rights leader. He was also the NAACP field secretary in Mississippi. He was considered the most powerful civil rights speaker in the state. Soon after he became involved in the investigation of Emmett Till's case and spoke on national television about the Jackson movement, he was assassinated in Jackson, MIssissippi -
Americans March for Civil Rights to Washington DC
250,000 Americans marched to Washington D.C. in hopes to protest against the social and economic problems African Americans had faced for the past decades. Along with the many civil rights marchers, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech that changed the view of civil rights. The speech is known as the, 'I Have a Dream'. Washington D.C. -
Schoolgirls Killed in Bombing
Schoolgirls Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley are killed in bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama -
Virgil Lamar Ware: Killed
Youth Vigil Lamar Ware killed duriing a wave of racist violence. Birmingham, Alabama -
Poll Tax Outlawed
Poll tax outlawed in federal elections -
Louis Allen: Assassinated
Louis Allen, a witness to a murder of a civil rights worker, was assassinated. LIberty, Mississippi -
Rev. Bruce Klunder: Killed
The Rev. Bruce Klunder killed protesting construction of segregated school. Cleveland, Ohio -
Two Men Killed from KKK
Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore are killed by Klansmen. Meadville, Mississippi -
Civil RIghts Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act, first proposed by John F. Kennedy, was put into action when it was signed by President Johnson in 1964. The Act ended segregation in public places and banned disemployment discriminiation based on race, religion, sex, nationality and color. Washington D.C. -
Freedom Summer bring CIvil Rights Volunteers
Freedom Summer brings 1,000 young civil rights volunteers to MIssissippi -
3 Civil RIghts Men Killed by KKK
Civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner are abducted and slain by Klansmen. Philadelphia, Mississippi -
Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn: KIlled
Leutenant Colonel Lemuel Penn was killed by Klansmen while driving north. Colbert, Georgia -
JImmie Lee Jackson: KiIlled
Jimmie Lee Jackson, a civil rights marcher, was killed by state troopers. Marion, Alabama -
State Troopers vs. Marchers
State troopers beat back marchers at Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama -
Rev. James Reeb: Beaten to Death
The Rev. James Reeb, a marcher volunteer, was beaten to death. Selma, Alabama -
Selma to Montgomerey Voting Rights March
in March, 1965, over one thousand civil rights activists and supporters set out from Selma to Montegomery, Alabama, to ensure the right of black voters. Throughout the march, the activists were faced Alabama state troopers blocking off roads. President Johnson ordered troops to ensure a safe march for the marchers. The successful March pushed Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that August -
Viola Gregg Liuzzo: Killed
Viola Gregg Liuzzo was killed by Klansmen for transporting marchers. Selma Highway, Alabama -
Oneal Moore: Killed
Oneal Moore, a black deputy, was killed by nightriders. Vanado, Louisiana -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress passes Voting Rights Act of !965. Washington D.C. -
Willie Brewster: Killed
Wille Brewster was killed by nightriders. Anniston, Alabama -
Jonathan Daniels: KIlled
Jonathan Daniels, a seminary student, was killed by deputry. Hayneville, Alabama -
Samuel Young Jr.: Killed
Samuel Young Jr., a student civil rights activist, was killed in dispute. Tuskegee, Alabama -
Vernon Dahmer: KIlled
Vernon Dahmer, a black community leader, was killed in a Klan bombing. Hattiesburg, Misssissippi -
Ben Chester White: Killed
Ben Chester White was killed by Klansmen. Natchez, MIssissippi -
Clarence Triggs: Killed
Clarence Triggs was slain by nightriders. Bogalusa, Louisiana -
Wharlest Jackson:Killed
Wharles Jackson, a civil rights leader, was killed after a promotion to a "white" job. Natchez, Mississippi -
Benjamin Brown: Killed
Benjamin Brown, a civil rights worker, was killed when police fired on protestors. Jackson, Mississippi -
Thurgood Marshall: Black Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall served as an attorney for the NAACP for almost 30 years, where he took 32 cases to the Supreme Court and prevailed 29 of them, until he was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals. From there, President Johnson appointed him Soliciter General, and finally Supreme Court Justice. His innaguration became a monumental event as he became the first Black Justice of the Supreme Court. Washington D.C. -
Three Students Killed on Highway
Students Samuel Hammond Jr., Delano Middleton, and Henry Smith were killed when highway patrol men fire on protesters. Orangeburg, South Carolina -
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Assassinated
THe night before King's assassination, King had given a speech to support a sanatation workers' strike. The morning after, he was shot in the neck by a sniper's bullet in Memphis Tennessee. His death caused an upset bewteen both blacks and whites because of King's belief in nonviolence. Blacks thought it further widened the rift between whites and blacks. Either way, Martin Luther King Jr. will always be known as the courageous leader he was.
