-
Emmett Till
In the summer of 1955 a young 14 year old boy from Chicago, Emmett Till was found dead floating in the Tallahassee River. Emmett Till's death occurred because he allegedly made obscene sexual gestures toward a white lady at a store, and was later kidnapped, mutilated and killed by her husband and brother. -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts
On December 1st of 1955 civil rights figure Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white male and was fined and arrested. As a result 4 days later, blacks boycotted the Montgomery bus system for 13 months. Ultimately the Supreme Court eventually ruled bus segregation unconstitutional and demanded Montgomery to integrate its buses. This is widely recognized as the first large scale movement against segregation and a young leader known as MLK emerged during this movement. -
Little Rock 9
On September of 1957 9 black students were to be enrolled into Little Rock high school, a formerly all-white school to test the ruling of Brown vs the board of education verdict which ruled segregation in schools was unconstitutional. On sept. 4 Governor Orval of Arkansas ordered the national guard to prevent the students from entering. As a result president Eisenhower ordered federal troops to escort the 9 students and they started their first full day on September 25th -
Youth Movement: SNCC and Sit ins
The SNCC or the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee was formed to give young blacks in the civil rights movement more of a voice. This group was founded by the same 4 teens who led the sit in at a diner in NC in February. This group held freedom rides and organized marches and is a huge example of black youth in the civil rights movement. -
Freedom Riders
They were originally a group of 13, made up of white and black civil rights activists who through a series of bus trips protested bus segregation in the south. They tried to integrate many bus systems, ate at white only diners, use white only bathrooms and faced a lot of violence on the way. This ultimately led to even more freedom rider groups’ stemming from the original -
James Meredith and Ole Miss
Much like with the Little Rock 9 in 1962 there was opposition to a black student enrolling into a white school. James Meredith a young black male tried to enroll to Ole miss and riots broke out on campus resulting in 2 dead and many injured and arrested. Ultimately JFK called national guards and federal forces to allow his enrollment. -
Letters from a Birmingham Jail
The letters in question are written by MLK. The letters written were by MLK while he was in in jail for an “illegal” gathering to bring attention to the civil injustices to the black community in Alabama. King’s letter was written in response to his critics about his nonviolent but direct actions. MLK in this letter wrote the famous line “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” in response to those who questioned why he was involved in Alabama when he was from Atlanta -
Project C and Children's March
Both Project C and the Children’s March are examples of nonviolent actions taken by black civil rights leader against segregation. Project C was the organization of lunch counter sit ins, marches, and boycotts to protests segregation in Birmingham. The Children’s March also known as the Children’s Crusade was from May 2nd – May 5th kids marched through the streets of Birmingham and were sprayed with hoses, beat with batons, and threatened with dogs in protest of segregation. -
March on Washington
On August 28th of 1963 some 200,000 people made up of civil right activists and religious leaders gathered in Washington D.C to shed light of the continued discrimination faced by blacks throughout America . This is also when Dr. King gave his forever famous and revered I have a Dream speech -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a project organized by the Racial Equality (CORE) and Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to increase the amount of black voters in Miss. through a voter registration drive. The movement was primarily made up of black Mississippians and white volunteers. This movement faced a lot of opposition specifically from the KKK and even from members of the police and the state -
Civil Rights Act
Proposed by JFK, but finally signed into action by Lyndon B. Johnson the Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This was a huge step in the Civil Rights movement -
Malcom X
Malcom X born May 19, 1925 was a prominent leader in the black civil rights movement. Malcolm X's approach differed from MLK's non aggressive approach, as he said blacks should protect themselves from white aggression "by any means necessary". Malcom X was a influential black leader during the Civil Rights movement who was unfortunately assasinated on Feburary 21, 1965 -
Selma to Montgomery March
In 1965 Dr.King’s SCLC group made it a goal to register more black voters in the south. In part of this goal they organized a march from Selma to the state capital of Alabama, Montgomery. The people of the march faced violent resistance from state and local authorities but finally achieved their goal with protection from the National Guard. This march was caught and shown to the public and displayed the problems to the public eye. -
Voting Rights Act
The voting rights act, another act put in place by president LBJ was an act to help African Americans overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented them from voting. The Act prohibited states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure…”
