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Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy vs. Ferguson was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court issued in 1896. It upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality. This event established "separate but equal". After this,Jim Crow Laws spread across the US and were heavily enforced in the South. -
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A Step Closer to Equality
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Brown vs. Board of Education
The Brown vs. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case in which the court declared to establish separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. This was a significant event because it represented the fall of segregation between the whites and blacks. This event made equal opportunity in education as separate was not equal among them. -
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks, an African American woman was arrested and fined due to refusing giving her seat up to a white man.The Women's Political Council, a group of black women working for civil rights, began circulating flyers calling for a boycott of the bus system. This event was significant because on June 5, 1956 a Montgomery federal court ruled that any law requiring racially segregated seating on buses was unconstitutional. Impacting many people's lives and slowly gaining equal civil rights. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a young African American murdered by allegedly flirting with a white woman. The woman's brother and husband beat, shot, and threw Emmett into a river. This was a significant event because it brought nationwide attention to the racial violence and injustice prevalent in Mississippi. This event brought upsurge activism against this. -
Funding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was a Civil Rights non-violent Protest group. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was established following the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that proved that non-violent protests could bring change in the African American quest to achieve Civil Rights equal to the ones of whites and bring an end to the "separate but equal" doctrine which legalized segregation. This group proved the government wrong and empowered African-Americans. -
Little Rock Nine and Central High School
A group of African American students had had enough of unfair education and fought to attend an all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas.School segregation had been declared unconstitutional which is why they were escorted into school by Eisenhower. This event comes to show that blacks were put through so much and were capable of a lot, giving African-Americans the respect they had well deserved. -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Freedom Summer
The SNCC was a civil rights group formed by young African Americans trying to have a voice in the civil rights movement. They played a big role in the Freedom Rides aimed at desegregating buses and in marches made by martin Luther king. Freedom Summer was a Mississippi project aimed to register as many African- American voters. These events resulted in the expansion of black voting in the south which was significant as they weren't allowed to vote before. -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests in Greensboro, North Carolina, 1960, which led to the Woolworth department store chain removing its policy of racial segregation in the South. By siting in an all-white lunch these groups sparked interest in the push for civil rights. This event was significant because it led to the end of segregation and impacted blacks by allowing them to have more rights. -
Freedom Ride/ Freedom Riders
Freedom riders were activists who participated in bus trips through the South to challenge segregated bus terminals. The 1961 Freedom Rides sought to test a 1960 decision by the Supreme Court in Boynton v. Virginia that segregation of interstate transportation facilities was unconstitutional. They inspired many black people in the South to act against their infringements and they forced federal law enforcement to cooperate with local law enforcement in order to have civil rights. -
March on Washington
The march on Washington was an event in which 200,000 attended in where they focused on civil rights and the need to create a level playing field for Americans. Martin Luther King also gave his famous speech, "I have a dream" in which he spoke about believing in equality. This event was significant because people wanted to have equal civil rights. The impact resulted in Kennedy initiating a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a law in which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. It also required equal access to public places and employment, and enforced desegregation of schools and the right to vote.Although it did not end discrimination, it was significant because it opened the door to further progress. -
Assassination of Malcom X
Malcolm X was shot before he could deliver a speech about his new organization named Afro-American Unity. Malcolm was killed by members of the nation of Islam and was due to an ongoing feud with Islam. -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Act aimed to overcome barriers that would prevent African Americans from voting. This act was seen was considered to be one of the most invigorating civil rights.Despite the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 African Americans in the South faced tremendous obstacles to voting which resulted in very few African Americans being registered to vote. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. In his last years of life, King faced much criticism as many young African Americans believed violence was the answer to change.Though blacks and whites mourned King’s death, the killing in some ways served to widen the rift between black and whites, as many blacks saw King’s assassination as a rejection of their vigorous pursuit of equality through the nonviolent resistance he had achieved.
