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Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were testing the 1960 decision by the Supreme Court in Boynton v. Virginia that declared the segregation of interstate transportation facilities unconstitutional. Facing violence from both police officers and white protesters, the Freedom Rides drew international attention. -
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DeShone Calhoun - Civil Rights Timeline
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University of Mississippi
Riots erupted on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford where locals, students, and committed segregationists had gathered to protest the enrollment of James Meredith, a black Air Force veteran attempting to integrate the all-white school. -
March On Washington
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known simply as the March on Washington was held in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. This was also where Martin Luther King Jr Gave His "I Have A Dream Speech" After the March. -
Civil Rights Act 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement -
Montgomery March
In Alabama 600 peaceful demonstrators participated in the Selma to Montgomery march to protest the killing of Black civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson by a white police officer and to encourage legislation to enforce the 15th amendment which allowed blacks to vote. -
Vermon Dahmer Death
Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer, Sr. was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and president of the Forrest County chapter of the NAACP in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was murdered by the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for his work on recruiting African Americans to vote. -
Dr Martin Luther King Speaks About Vietnam War
Dr Martin Luther King makes a speech against the Vietnam War at Riverside Church in New York. -
Dr Martin Luther King Assassination
Civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on his hotel room's balcony. Emotionally-charged looting and riots followed, putting even more pressure on the Johnson administration to push through additional civil rights laws. -
Protests At Universities
Between April and May, Black students hold protests at universities, including Cornell University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, asking for changes such as a Black Studies program and the hiring of Black faculty. -
Kenneth Gibson
Kenneth Gibson, elected the first Black mayor of Newark, New Jersey, ousting a two-term White incumbent and becoming the first Black mayor of a major Northeastern U.S. city. During his tenure, Gibson acquires and uses federal funds to build and rehabilitate thousands of housing units in the city. He serves five terms as mayor, leaving office only after being defeated for reelection in 1986. -
George Ellis Johnson's Johnson Products
George Ellis Johnson's Johnson Products becomes the first Black-owned company to be listed on a major U.S. stock exchange when it begins trading on the American Stock Exchange. Johnson had started the company—famous for its Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen hair dressing products—with only a $500 loan. -
First National Black Political Convention
The first National Black Political Convention takes place in Gary, Indiana, and about 10,000 Black people attend -
Thomas Bradley
Thomas Bradley is elected mayor Los Angeles. Bradley is the first African American to hold this position and is reelected four times, holding the position for 20 years. Bradley also ran for governor of California on the Democratic ticket in 1982 and 1986 but is defeated both times. -
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson is named the player-manager of the Cleveland Indians and the next spring becomes the first Black manager of any Major League Baseball team. He goes on to manage the Giants, Orioles, Expos, and Nationals. -
Elijah Muhammad Death
The day after Elijah Muhammad (1897–1975), founder of the Nation of Islam dies, and his son Wallace D. Muhammad (1933–2008) succeeds him as leader. The younger Muhammad (also known as Warith Deen Mohammed) would define a new direction for the Nation of Islam, ending the separatist philosophy of his father that had banned whites as "white devils" and changing its name to the World Community of Islam in the West.