Civil Rights Events Timeline

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    Jim Crow laws

    Mandated segregation in schools, restrooms, transportation and nearly all every day aspects of life in the south.
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    School segregation

    Separating students based on their skin color in public schools, leading to unequal learning opportunities for black children.
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    Supreme Court case that overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling of “separate but equal”. This ruled that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional and mandated desegregation.
  • Emmett Till death

    Emmett Till death
    Emmett Till was brutally murdered at the age of 14. Him and his friends entered a shop in Mississippi where a white woman was working. Allegedly, Till flirted with her and threatened rape. This woman told this to her husband which prompted Till’s murder. Before heading back to Chicago, Emmett Till was visibly kidnapped, beaten and shot in the head.
  • Emmett Till death

    He was rolled into the nearby river, discovered two days later. A trial was held against his murderers who admitted to it, yet received no charges.
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    Bus boycotts

    Bus boycotts where African Americans would defiantly sit at the front of the bus, reserved for white people was sparked by Rosa Parks in Montgomery. This began as black communities saw this discrimination to be unconstitutional, therefore fighting for their right of freedom and desegregate busses around the south.
  • Little Rock Nine

    Little Rock Nine
    A group of nine African America students who openly faced violence on their attempt to integrate Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas.
  • March on Birmingham

    March on Birmingham
    Thousands of activists and citizens marched to protest against racial segregation and discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. These protests were peaceful as the black oppressed walked through the street getting blasted by powerful firehoses, violent police officers, and their dogs.
  • MLK “I have a dream” speech

    MLK “I have a dream” speech
    Speech called for racial equality, civil rights and an end to discrimination. Through his words he envisioned a future where people would be judged on their character rather than the color of their skin.
  • Mississippi Freedom Summer

    Campaign for African American voters in Mississippi as the voter registration was low. This involved volunteers from across the country resulting in increased political participation and the founding of a black-led organization.
  • Voting Rights Act

    Voting Rights Act
    Aimed to eliminate racial discrimination in voting. This happened by banning literacy tests and poll taxes that unfairly took African Americans’ money. This gave power to the federal government as they had the choice of election in the south.