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Brown v. Board of Education
In the case of Brown V. Board of Education, The issue of segregation within schools was decided to be unconstitutional. This case later sparked other integration efforts and tested the separate but equal president, established in 1896 by the case Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of Nine High School students who began attending Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas. They had ti be escorted by federal troops and faces severe acts of racism from other students once inside. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil rights act of 1957 sought to help protect African American voter rights and allowed persecution of any individual who infringed on another's right to vote. This act although had many loopholes, but helped many citizens exercise their civic duty to vote. -
Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
A group of young African American students refused to leave a North Carolina lunch counter until they were served. Not only did they wait patiently to no avail, but they were also faced with violence and harassment by others. Tactics by the SNCC tought students not to fight back even in the face of violence. This sparked a new movement of sit-ins across America as an alternative nonviolent protest. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was a protest march that included 250,000 people, The individuals gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial and marched for jobs freedom. This march was also the occasion of the "I have a dream" speech that changed history and the face of the civil rights movement. -
Birmingham Church Bombing
Four young girls were killed in a Birmingham church when a bomb went off that was intended to kill a group of civil rights leaders. This crime was committed by a group of Ku Klux Klan members and opened the eyes of many Americans to the incredibly racists attacks still occurring in the south. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Prevents discrimination in the workplace with regard to race, gender, religion, or origin. This then led to the equal pay act and to the formation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Signed into law by President Johnson, the Voting Rights Act aimed to prevent and take legal action against any factor that prevented minorities from voting. These included: literacy tests, intimidation, and poll taxes. -
Fair Housing Act
The Fair Housing Act signed by President Jonson prohibited discrimination regarding race, sexuality, or religion when buying or renting housing. -
Olympics Black Power Salute
During the medal ceremony following the race, African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised a fist in protest to African American rights. They were later stripped of their medals for this act of protest. -
Operation PUSH
Jesse Jackson founded the PUSH (or People United to Serve Humanity) in 1971, an organization that advocated self–reliance for African Americans and sought to establish racial parity in the business and financial community. -
Congressional Black Caucus
A group of African American congress members that focus on black-targeted issues and solutions to solve them. -
The Ending of Turkegee Syphilis Experiment
Beginning in 1932 the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment was a 40-year experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis has been described as an experiment that "used human beings as laboratory animals in a long and inefficient study of how long it takes syphilis to kill someone." -
First African American in Space
Guion Bluford Jr. was the first African American in space. He took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the space shuttle the Challenger -
The Oprah Winfrey Show
Oprah Winfrey an African American woman started a talk show, the Oprah Winfrey show. The talk show went on to be the highest rated talk show in history. -
First African American Secretary of State
Colin Powell became the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989, and was the first black man to obtain that position. He also became the first secretary of state in 2001 under President Bush. -
Rodney King Riots
Rodney King was tased and beat by four officers after causing a high-speed chase, resisting arrest, and threatening the officers. The arrest was broadcasted to live television and lead to riots in the streets of California. -
First African American female secretary of state
Condoleezza Rice becomes the first black female U.S. Secretary of State in 2005. -
First African American President
Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States and became the first black man to be the president. He served another term in 2012. -
Black Lives Matter Protests
Three Black organizers: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created a Black-centered political movement called #BlackLivesMatter. It was in response to the murder of Trayvon Martin, Protests within this group continue to this day.
