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Brown v Board
Topeka board of education denied Linda Brown admittance to an all-white school close to her house. Thurgood Marshall argued that a separate but equal violated equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Warren decided separate educational facilities were inherently unequal. This fueled the start civil rights movement because it was the first big court case to side with African Americans about the unequal treatment and facilities. -
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Civil Rights Movement 1954-1968
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Emmet Till Murder
Murdered in 1955 for supposedly whistling at a white woman by her husband and his friends. They kidnapped him and brutally killed him. His death led to the American Civil Rights Movement as his mother wanted people to see what these white men had done to her son and how it was very injustice and cruel. -
Southern Christian Leadership Confernece
A group formed by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957, that aimed to mobilize the vast power of black churches on behalf of black civil rights. rained and tested African Americans for the ability to remain calm so they could participate nonviolently in marches and "sit-ins". This would later lead to some of the most powerful protests in America such as the famous Greensboro Sit In. -
The Greensboro Sit In
The Greensboro Sit-ins were protests where 4 students from the NC Agricultural and Technical College sat down at whites-only lunch counter. Once they were there, they refused to move. Each day, they came back with many more protesters. Sometimes, there were over 100. These sit-ins led to the formation of the SNCC which led to sit-ins across the country and more people being involved in the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. -
James Meredith
In 1962 he became the first black American to attend the Univesity of Mississippi after being blocked several times by segregationist politicians. An icon of the Civil Rights Movement, Meredith receded from public view following his brace steps toward educational integration. This encouraged the civil rights movement as he was denied from his education by the University of Mississippi. -
Martin Luther Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail
King called for black assertiveness and nonviolent resistance to oppression. He is famous for his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," written when he was in jail during the protests, which promotes the doctrine of civil disobedience, a method of protests that urges blacks to ignore all laws that they believe are unjust. The letter then circulated around the world. -
The March on Washington
A massive civil rights demonstration in August of 1963 in support of Kennedy-backed legislation to secure legal protections for American blacks. One of the most visually impressive manifestations of the Civil Rights Movement, it was the occasion of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech which laid out his goals for the Civil Rights Movement. -
Civil Rights Act 1964
This act made racial, religious, and sex discrimination by employers illegal and gave the government the power to enforce all laws governing civil rights, including desegregation of schools and public places. This was significant because the laws were being enforced about segregation in the workplace illegal and African Americans were able to have more jobs. -
Malcom X
Malcolm X was a Black Muslim minister in the Nation of Islam and an influential black leader who moved away from King's non-violent methods of civil disobedience. Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965 while giving a speech in New York City. The assassins were said to be Black Muslims, although this was never proved. -
Kings Assaination 1968
Following King's assassination in 1968, violence and controversy followed. Senator RFK, a strong supporter of civil rights running for president, gave a speech announcing King's death. He told the American people that America didn't need segregation and violence, America needed loved towards one another and compassion. King's lifetime work as a civil rights activist changed America forever. His philosophy of non-violence and commitment to economic and social justice is still influential today.
