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Briggs vs. Elliot
Harry and Eliza were sick of making their child walk to school every day and gathered several protesters to aid them on their case is court. As a result, both of them were fired from their jobs but the case was successful for them and they were awarded for it in 2004. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
The Briggs vs. Eliot case only covered older students. Brown vs. The Board of Education presented itself for the younger population. Segregation and the inequality that came with it had psychological effects on black children. In 1954, the court unanimously ruled that segregation in schools is unconstitutional -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white citizen after the white section had filled up. The resulting arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and SCLC. Black citizens stopped taking the bus and instead organized car pools or just walked. -
Little Rock Nine
Nine African American students attempted to become the first black students to integrate the desegregated Central High School in Arkansas. Governor Orval Faubus would not permit it. He sent the Arkansas Nation Guard to keep the students out of the school.Eisenhower sent U.S. Soldiers to escort the students into the school and guard them. -
Greensboro Four
Four black college students sat down at the lunch counter in a corner store and ordered but were denied service. They refused to leave until they were served so they sat until closing time. The next day they came back with more protestors. This sparked an entire campaign of peaceful “sit-ins”. -
Birmingham Campaign
Segregation was strictly enforced in Birmingham, Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. went to Birmingham and helped the SCLC organized peaceful protests. The Chief of Police Eugene ‘Bull’ Connors reacted harshly and sent police dogs and firemen to stop the marches. -
Medgar Evers
In late 1954 Evers' was named the NAACP's first field secretary for Mississippi. He was soon assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith, who was set free after court could not find sufficient evidence that he was guilty of his crimes. However he was caught again in 1994 and convicted of murder, sentenced to life in prison. -
March on Washington
Martin Luther King led a march that ended up in front of the Lincoln Memorial held on August 28th, 1963. There, he gave one of the most memorable speeches in the History of the World, the “I have a dream” speech. It was attended by roughly 250,000 people all that wanted to abolish segregation. This march helped the establishment of the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965). -
24th Amendment
The 15th Amendment had allowed the African American citizens to vote, but there were many restrictions. There was a poll of which an African American voter had to pay, and was often out of their budget. This amendment takes away this poll, allowing blacks to vote freely. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom summer was an attempt to register the blacks in the south as voters. However, one of the college students and two Core workers went missing. It was later that news spread that they were shot to death and buried. -
Civil Rights Act
The civil rights act of 1964 banned discrimination in public accommodations, outlawed unequal voting requirements. It barred discrimination in employment based on race, gender, religion, or national origin. It also applied federal power to speed integration of schools and other public facilities. -
March of Selma
Blacks went on a march to protest against segregation. However they were met with the police who pushed them back and beat them mercilessly. Hundreds of black citizens were arrested. Martin Luther King heard of this and took a stand, gathering his own group of people to try again. -
Voting Rights Act
This Act prohibits states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.” It suspended literacy tests and other devices used to exclude black voters. -
Black Panther Party
Unlike other organizations, they promoted the use of violence.The panthers carried guns and monitored African American neighborhoods to guard against Police Brutality. Confrontations between Black Panthers and the police in the late 1960s led to several shootouts resulting in deaths on both sides. -
King's assassintation
King led a march to city hall on March 28 and then remained in Memphis to speak at a rally on April 3. He was assassinated by James Earl Ray the next day, a white sniper with a high powered rifle that shot king on his balcony. This act enraged citizens all over America, and began to act up all over the nation.
