Civil rights

Civil Rights Milestones

By 22lvonlicht

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation based on race in public schools was unconstitutional. This resulted in the first opportunity for African American children to receive the same quality education as white children.

  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    Montgomery Bus Boycott
    When Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat to a white man on a public bus, the African American community in Montgomery, Alabama boycotted public transportation for a year until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in November of 1956 that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.

  • The Little Rock Nine

    The Little Rock Nine
    Following desegregation of schools, the first nine African American students to enroll in a formerly all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, were met by a threatening mob, which was supported by the Governor and the National Guard. President Eisenhower sent the military to escort the students for the entire school year.

  • The Freedom Riders

    The Freedom Riders
    Freedom Riders were Civil Rights protesters who rode interstate buses to bring attention to the fact that bus companies were not enforcing the law that banned segregation. The Freedom Riders were subject to violent attacks and arrests by police who supported the racist policies.

  • March on Washington

    March on Washington
    The March on Washington was organized by Civil Rights leaders to spread awareness of the movement and to advocate for change. The event was attended by 300,000 who heard Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

  • The Civil Rights Act of 1964

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964
    Congress passed laws which ended segregation in public places and made employment discrimination based on race, gender, religion or sexual identity illegal.

  • Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
    Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed while standing on his balcony at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Tennessee to support striking sanitation workers. The assassin was James Earl Ray, whose motives remain unknown.

  • The Civil Rights Act of 1968

    The Civil Rights Act of 1968
    Also known as the Fair Housing Act, these laws, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., prohibit discrimination in any housing-related process.