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1954- Brown V. Board of Education
A milestone decision where the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. The Supreme Court stated, "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." -
1955- Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Her defiant stance led to what became the year-long Montgomery bus boycott. Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for violating a Jim Crow ordinance. Her arrest led to a successful citywide bus boycott, which brought Martin Luther King, Jr. to national prestige. -
1955- Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. The boycott occurred from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956. African Americans stopped using the system and would walk or get rides instead. The boycott continued for 381 days and was very effective. -
1957- Little Rock Nine
Nine ordinary African American high-school students walked out of their homes and challenged racial segregation in the public schools of Little Rock, Arkansas. The media coined the name “Little Rock Nine" to identify the first African American students to desegregate Little Rock Central High School. Arkansas governor and a mob of whites were forced to allow nine African American children to attend school on this day. -
1961- Albany Movement
This movement protested the segregation policies in Albany, Ga. The Albany Movement aimed to end all forms of racial segregation in the city, focusing initially on desegregating travel facilities, forming a permanent desegregated committee to discuss further desegregation, and the release of those jailed in segregation protests. -
1963- Birmingham Campaign
The goal of the Birmingham campaign was to end discriminatory economic policies in Alabama city against African American residents. The Birmingham Campaign sparked national demonstrations, riots, and international pressure. This campaign came to a successful end when many signs of segregation in Birmingham businesses came down and public places became accessible to people of all races. -
1963- March on Washington
Intended to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans. People protested racial discrimination and showed support for civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress. It became known as the largest demonstration for human rights in United States history -
1968- First Black Congress Woman
Shirley Chisholm, the first black congresswoman, was elected by New York's Twelfth Congressional District. -
1965- Chicago Freedom Movement
This movement was formed to protest segregated housing, educational deficiencies, and employment and health disparities based on racism. The movement included multiple rallies, marches, and boycotts to address the variety of issues facing black Chicago residents. Many including MLK were injured and eventually, an agreement was announced on Aug. 26, 1966, to build public housing in predominately white areas and to make mortgages available regardless of race or neighborhood. -
1965- Bloody Sunday
On March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama, a 600-person civil rights demonstration ended in violence when marchers are attacked and beaten by white state troopers and sheriff's deputies. The march was aimed at fighting the lack of voting rights for African Americans. Footage of the brutality broadcast across the nation sparked public outrage and boosted support for the civil rights movement. -
1968- MLK Assassination
Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray is convicted of the murder in 1969. -
1968- Fair Housing Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, prohibiting racial discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of most housing units in the country. -
1968- Poor People's Campaign
The goal of the Poor People’s Campaign was to gain more economic and human rights for poor Americans from all backgrounds. The bill of rights the campaign strived to establish never became law, but the federal government enacted several programs to end hunger. The movement went from advocating a platform of only racial equality to one that incorporated interracial class issues and economic goals. -
1970- Fight Against School Desegregation
Violent racial clashes connected with school desegregation occurred in northern and southern cities. In Pontiac, Michigan, tensions were high after a court decision ordered the desegregation of public schools. A car near Pontiac Central High School struck down a black student on October 7, as white and black students continued a two-day battle with rocks and bottles. -
1978- Fixed Racial Quotas
In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the United States Supreme Court ruled against fixed racial quotas but upheld the use of race as one factor in making decisions on admissions for professional schools. -
1991- Civil Rights Act
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to strengthen the federal civil rights laws against employment discrimination. It also provided safeguards to protect minorities and ways to resolve subtle forms of employment discrimination. The 1991 law was meant to fill in gaps in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
1992- LA Protests
Violence erupted after four white police officers were acquitted of assault and other charges in the beating of black motorist Rodney King, which was captured on video the year before. The footage showed officers repeatedly striking, kicking, and using a stun gun on King, even after he was on the ground. When a jury failed to convict four white police officers of assault and using excessive force, Los Angeles residents took to the streets in violent protest. -
1996- Proposition 209
Proposition 209 was approved in California, amending the state constitution. This ban on all forms of affirmative action declared, "The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting." -
2003- Grutter v. Bollinger
In one of the most significant affirmative action decisions since the 1978 Bakke case, the United States Supreme Court, in Grutter v. Bollinger, upheld, by a 5-4 vote, the University of Michigan Law School's admissions policy, ruling that race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students because it furthers "a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body." -
2007- Major Setbacks
In Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School Dist. No. 1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, affirmative action suffered a major setback when a bitterly divided United States Supreme Court ruled, by a 5-4 vote, that programs in Seattle, Washington, and Louisville, Kentucky, which tried to maintain diversity in schools by considering race when assigning students to schools, were unconstitutional.