Civil Rights Movement

Brown V. Board of Education Of Topeka

Dec 9, 1952

This was a court case in which Oliver Brown filed a class action lawsuit against the board of education of Topeka. He wanted his daughter to go ta an all white school, but she was refused. He also argued that the white facilities and black facilities were not equal to each other.

Emmit Till Lynched

Aug 28, 1955

This was an occasion in which a black boy named Emmit Till was walking near a store and a white woman lied on him and said that he "whistled" at her. He was later lynched because of his supposed actions.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dec 5, 1955

This was an event that took place to protest legal segregation on bus lines. This event was sparked when Rosa Parks was arrested because of a dispute on a bus in which she wouldn't get up for a white person.

Little Rock 9

Sep 4, 1957

These were a group of 9 black students who enrolled into Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas. They were initially blocked from entering the school. Due to Brown V. Board of Education, the president sent in troops to escort them to the school

Greensboro Sit-in Movement

Feb 1, 1960

This movement started with 4 black college students that sat in a whites only eatery and stayed after being denied service. This sparked a immense amount of support and more people started doing this around North Carolina. Then the protests started taking place all throughout the south.

Ruby Bridges Attends School In New Orleans

Nov 14, 1960

On this date, Ruby Bridges integrates William Franz Elementary School. She faced backlash from whites who didn't want integration.

Freedom Riders

May 4, 1961

These were a group of civil rights activists, both black and white that rode throughout the segregated south to protest segregated bus terminals and bus rides. They were faced with unfair treatment and unnecessary arrest.

James Meredith Enrolls In University Of Mississippi

Oct 1, 1962

This was in a time where it would be unacceptable for a colored person to be accepted into the University of Mississippi. He was enrolled because of pressure from the federal government.

Letter From Birmingham Jail

Apr 16, 1963

This was a letter that Martin Luther King Jr in jail criticizing the support of his fellow negro brothers and sister, clergymen and the inequalities that are imposed on the negro.

University of Alabama Desegregated

Jun 11, 1963

On the eleventh of June in 1963, the University of Alabama was desegregated by governor George Wallace because of pressure form John F. Kennedy and National Guard Troops. This was one of the schools the governor tried to stop the desegregation of, but failed.

Medgar Evers Assassinated

Jun 12, 1963

He was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith, a white supremacist and Klansman. Medgar Evers was a NAACP field secretary. His murder was convicted of the murder in 1994

March On Washington

Aug 28, 1963

Also known as the March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom was a march in Washington D.C to bring to light and push for a solution to inequalities imposed in African Americans at the time. Around 250,000 people were gathered at this event. This was the event in which Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous I Have A Dream Speech.

16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (Birmingham Church Bombing)

Sep 15, 1963

This was a bombing initiated in Birmingham Alabama as an a act of white supremacist terrorism. The bombing took place on a Sunday while church was in session

24th Amendment

Jan 23, 1964

This amendment ended the poll tax that some states imposed on it's citizens. Many Americans could now vote after this amendment was ratified despite their financial situation.

Freedom Summer Project

Jun 1, 1964

Also known as the Mississippi Summer Project was an event that tried to obtain African American voters in Mississippi. The project was subject to a plethora of backlash from police to the Klu-Klux-Klan. Things that affected the project were arson, beatings, false arrests, and the murders of at least three people.

Civil Rights Act 1964

Jul 2, 1964

This act ended segregation in public places and ended discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Martin Luther King Jr. Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Oct 14, 1964

Martin Luther King Jr. won this award because of his non-violent resistance of the racial prejudice in America.

March On Selma

Mar 7, 1965

This marched was initiated to protest unfair racial policies. Such as segregation in public and blacks not being able to vote.

Voting Rights Act Of 1965

Aug 6, 1965

This was an act that was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson aimed at making it easier for African Americans to vote. It attacked local and state legal hindrances that held them back from their constitutional right.

Watts Riots

Aug 11, 1965

This was a riot that went on for six days because of the arrest of an African American motorist in Watts California. He was suspected of driving intoxicated, but onlookers saw otherwise. This riot resulted in the death of thirty-four people.

Thurgood Marshall Named Supreme Court Justice

Jun 13, 1967

President Lyndon Johnson appoints Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme court to replace Justice Tom C. Clark. Johnson said it was the right thing to do and at the right time.

Martin Luther King Assassination

Apr 4, 1968

On this date, Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated by James Earl Ray. He was convicted on his forty-first birthday.