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Brown vs Board of Education
Supreme Court reverses Plessy by stating that separate schools are by nature unequal. Schools are ordered to desegregate "with all deliberate speed" -
Little Rock Central High School Desegregated
After Little Rock school board votes to integrate schools, National Guard troops prevent black children from attending school. -
Desegregation of The University of Alabama
Standing in the schoolhouse door and promising segregation "today, tomorrow, and forever," Wallace is forced by Pres. Kennedy to allow blacks to enroll -
Civil Rights Act passed
Overcoming Senate filibuster, Congress passes law forbidding racial discrimination in many areas of life, including hotels, voting, employment, and schools -
Voting Rights Act Approved
After passage, southern black voter registration grows by over 50% and black officials are elected to various positions. -
King Assassinated
While supporting sanitation workers' strike which had been by violence in Memphis, King is shot by James Earl Ray. Riots result in 125 cities
