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Jackie Robinson enters Major League Baseball
Jackie Robinson Entered Major League Baseball becoming the first African American player in the modern era to play in the major leagues. This ended decades of racial segregation in professional baseball. -
Emmett Till is murdered
In 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy, was brutally murdered in Mississippi after being falsely accused of flirting with a white woman. His death and the acquittal of his killers sparked national outrage and became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Rosa Parks Arrest
Rosa Parks was arrested for not moving to the back of the bus. This was a big movement in the civil rights movement. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus boycott was a key movement in the civil rights movement. It demonstrated the power of nonviolent protest and racial segregation and discrimination in the U.S. -
Little Rock Nine Intervention
In 1957, the Little Rock Nine, a group of African American students, faced intense opposition when they tried to integrate into Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. President Eisenhower intervened, sending federal troops to escort the students to school, enforcing desegregation. -
Greensboro Sit-In Protest
In 1960, four African American college students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, sparking a wave of similar protests across the South. -
Integration of Ole Miss Riots
The 1962 integration of the University of Mississippi, with James Meredith becoming its first African American student, was marked by violent riots and resistance. President Kennedy intervened, deploying federal marshals and the National Guard to enforce Meredith's admission. His enrollment was a key moment in the Civil Rights Movement, illustrating the challenges and resistance faced in desegregating institutions in the United States. -
The Birmingham Children’s March
This is considered a turning point in the civil rights movement. This march aimed to bring attention to the unjust treatment of African Americans in the city and to demand an end to segregation. -
Medgar Evers shooting
Medgar Evers, a prominent civil rights activist, was assassinated on June 12, 1963, in Jackson, Mississippi. Evers was the field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi, working to desegregate schools and increase voter registration among African Americans. Evers was shot in the back outside his home by a white supremacist named Byron De La Beckwith. Beckwith was a member of the White Citizens' Council, a segregationist group, and had a history of involvement in racist activities. -
March on Washington / I Have a Dream Speech
Overall, the March on Washington is remembered as a very important changing moment in the civil rights movement, demonstrating the power of nonviolent protest and setting the stage for future activism and social change. -
Freedom Summer
Despite the violence and intimidation, Freedom Summer was largely successful in its goals. It helped to register thousands of African American voters in Mississippi and raised awareness about the need for voting rights and racial equality. The project also contributed to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting. -
Malcolm X is murdered
Malcolm X, the influential civil rights leader, was assassinated on February 21, 1965, during a speech in New York City. -
Black Panther Party is formed
The Black Panther Party was formed in October 1966 in Oakland, California, by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. The party was initially established to monitor police activities in African American neighborhoods in response to allegations of police brutality and racial profiling. -
Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court ruling
In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 that laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional, establishing the right to marry for interracial couples across the United States. -
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had been supporting a sanitation workers' strike.