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Sweatt v. Painter
Supreme Court Case
Sweatt applied for Texas Law school. However due to his race he was denied. He took it to the Supreme Court who ruled the University had to allow him to attend as they would any white student. The separate school was seen to be a worse education and it was seen to be harming the learning of students. -
Keys v. Carolina Coach
Legislation
Sarah Keys boarded a bus on the way home from the Army, going across state lines on a charter bus. She sat in the middle and when the bus drivers had switched out, the new one told her to move. She refused. The driver told everyone to board a new bus besides her. She was then taken into police custody. She took it to court, and it was ruled in her favor, because according to the Interstate Commerce Act, segregation was not legal. -
Period: to
Evolution from 1954-1978
From the start to the end of the movement people seemed to have more support. More and more people would start to join and create more of a disturbance making it so the government would have to do something. The leadership gradually got more brave and the groups they were leading did as well. Their goals stayed relatively the same and that was the want for equality in different places. They overtime focused on a minimal amount of issues at a time until they got what they wanted. -
Emmett Till's Murder
Violence by Opposition
Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy who was accused of wolf whistling at a white woman. He was then severely beaten by the woman's husband and husband's half-brother. His mother was unable to identify his body once it was found and had an open casket funeral to show people how harmful racism can be. The aggressors admitted to the crime but were still found innocent. -
Creation of Montgomery Improvement Association
Achievement
A campaign created to bring racial segregation in the south to light. It was what had many people follow the Montgomery Bus Boycott upon other protests. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Protest
This protest was sparked by Rosa Parks December 1st, when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus. Starting December 5th, and lasting 13 months (until December 20th of the next year) colored individuals refused to take the bus. This went on until the district court ruled that segregated busses were not constitutional. -
Founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Achievement
Founded to help to coordinate the actions of different protest groups in the South. They had churches help them in order to spread their ideas further than just Montgomery. They taught peaceful protesting and ways to convey messages in nonviolent ways. -
Little Rock Nine Crisis
Violence by Opposition
The Little Rock Nine refers to a group of nine African American students who tried to attend an all white school once desegregation was implemented. They were berated by angry mobs and stopped by the National Guard and the police multiple times. Until eventually it was the U.S. Army that was sent to protect them to allow them to go to school. They were still harassed by others though. -
Civil Rights Act
Legislation
Made it so people have to investigate civil rights violations. It made it so there's a Civil Rights department in the Department of Justice and made it so people could be prosecuted for violating the right to vote in ways such as voter intimidation. -
Cooper v. Aaron
Supreme Court Case
The government of Arkansas was openly against Brown v. Board of Education. Due to this the Eastern District of Arkansas wanted to postpone and put a suspension on the integration of schools for two and a half years. The district court allowed this, however the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional due to the Equal Protection Clause. -
Greensboro Sit-In
Protest
An event arranged by the Greensboro Four who were four black men that were inspired by Gandhi's peaceful protests. They decided to sit at the counter of a store where they knew they'd be denied service and didn't give up their seat. The police couldn't do much so the four stayed in their seats until the store closed. The media quickly spread this story making it larger and encouraging more people to do the same until most dining facilities were integrated by summer of the same year. -
Integration of the University of Mississippi
Violence by Opposition
James Meredith applied for the University of Mississippi and was denied. He kept fighting to be allowed to go there until eventually the Supreme Court allowed him and he enrolled officially September 30, 1962. A riot began attacking the Marshals who were sent to protect Meredith's arrival. 2 bystanders were killed, 206 Marshals and soldiers were wounded and 200 people were arrested. In October Meredith officially started classes. -
Freedom Rides
Protest
Students from the Congress of Racial Equality started Freedom Rides to challenge segregation on interstate busses and bus terminals. They started having interracial bus rides to test the Supreme Court decision that segregated busses were unconstitutional. They were attacked quite a few times as they took these rides but kept going on them and it forced federal action because of the violence against the non violent protests. -
Albany Campaign
Protest
A protest to end all kinds of racial segregation. More than 500 of them were jailed. Many people got arrested. King got arrested 3 times and always served time instead of paid. He finally called to end the movement after the third arrest. -
Birmingham Movement
Protest
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference partnered with the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights to attack the segregation system by putting pressure on merchants. They protested and boycotted businesses. They were attacked by anyone who opposed and many houses and areas that had a high black population were bombed resulting in several deaths. -
Assassination of Medgar Evars
Violence by Opposition
Evars was a black veteran who fought for his right to vote. He was denied voting access by racist white individuals. This injustice encouraged him to begin investigating multiple racial murders and maltreatment cases involving black victims. He got many people to stand with him in boycotts as well as investigating evidence for Emmett Till's murder. He was eventually murdered in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by a white supremacist. -
March on Washington for Jobs
Protest
Colored individuals marched in Washington D.C. demanding jobs for colored people. It was a peaceful march and no one was harmed. It ended up being successful and people gave them a lot of support. -
Mississippi Freedom Summer
Protest
This project was designed to call attention to the violent oppression that black individuals in Mississippi were facing. The plan was to get black people registered to vote by using white activists. It was also to ensure that black individuals get an equal education to people in Freedom Schools especially in regard to civics and literacy. -
Civil Rights Act
Legislation
This act was passed to assure that people could not be discriminated against based on race, color, religion, sex, or origin. It also made it so you couldn't be discriminated against when it comes to jobs, and being hired, fired, and being promoted. -
Heart Of Atlanta Motel vs US
Supreme Court Case
Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbade discrimination, The Heart Of Atlanta Motel refused to accept any Black Americans. This resulted in the court ruling that the motel could not deny someone based on their race and had to allow all people to stay there. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Violence From Opposition
Malcolm X was an activist who broke from the Nation of Islam and was threatened by the Nation for it. When he went on stage to give a speech he was charged by many people with guns. The shots from the guns ended up being fatal. -
March From Selma to Montgomery
Protest
The march was to have African Americans exercise their right to vote regardless of the segregation that had made an attempt to make it illegal. Martin Luther King Jr. led the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. They were attacked several times but kept going and people kept joining them. Eventually 25,000 people entered Montgomery, ending the march. -
Voting Rights Act
Legislation
This act is known as the "legislative crown jewel of the civil rights era" and was created to end Jim Crow laws in the South. It made sure that states did not violate the 15th amendment. -
James Meredith's March Against Fear
Protest
James Meredith was the first black man to go to The University of Mississippi, he was on a 220 mile walk to protest the right to vote for black individuals. He said it was to challenge the fear they were expected to have. During this march he was shot 3 times with a shotgun while people watched. He was rushed to the hospital and many groups continues his march for him. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Violence by Opposition
Martin Luther King Jr. was a big activist in the Civil Rights era having led many peaceful protests. He was shot outside of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. His assassination resulted in many hate crimes across the country, more than 40 people died and there was damaged land in over 100 cities. -
Fair Housing Act
Legislation
This act was passed as a way to make it illegal to discriminate against anyone attempting to do a housing related activity such as buying, renting, getting a mortgage, getting housing assistance, etc. It ended up applying to most housing and making it so housing was more accessible. -
Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Supreme Court Case
Despite the court case of Brown v. Board of Education, some schools in Charlotte were keeping kids segregated by using bussing to have them in different schools. This case made it so that they would have to integrate schools quickly using the same busing techniques they were using to keep people segregated. -
Shirley Chisolm's Presidential Campaign
Achievement
Shirley Chisolm ran for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. She did not get nominated, however she did serve in the House of Representatives for some time and at one point was the Secretary of the House. -
Hank Aaron's Home Run Record
Achievement
Hank Aaron was a black baseball player who hit 755 home runs. He ended up hitting more than Babe Ruth. He later had a bronze statue put up in Baseball's Hall of Fame. -
Barbara Jordan's Address at the Democratic National Convention
Achievement
Barbra Jordan was the first woman and first black person to deliver a keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention. She talked about equality and how important it was to have everyone equal in America and make sure no one was unequal. -
University of California Regents vs. Bakke
Supreme Court Case
This case was where the University of California denies a white man, Bakke, regardless of his qualifications because of their reserved spots for qualified minorities. It was seen as unconstitutional because it wasn't giving people equal rights it was meeting a racial quota. It was a heavily argues case and was very difficult to make a decision on.