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Plessy v Ferguson
Partially black man Homer Plessy violated the Jim Crow laws. He took the issue of the right to segregation according to the constitutuon to court. It was ruled that segregation was permitted by law. Set precedent for following court cases. -
Formation of NAACP
Headed by W.E.B. DuBois this organization ran a campaigning court which challenged the legal basis for segregation. Believed it could use the legal system to tear down the Jim Crow laws using the 14th ammendment. Helped lawyers figthing their cause financially and academcially. -
Maclolm X leads the Nation of Islam
Elijah Muhammad, the movement's leader, made Malcolm the spokesperson for Black Muslims. Malcolm delivered a strong message stating that whites were not to be trusted. Malcolm believed violence was justified in self-defense. -
Brown v Board of Education of Topeka
Ruled that segregated public school are illegal under the constitution. Segregation was supposed to be seperate yet equal. Court used sociology as supporting evidence to the claim that segregated schooling is unequal by nature. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Following the Rosa Parks incident, a group led by Martin Luther King Jr. organized an African-American boycott of bus travel for the 5th of December. Success persuaded the group to continue the boycott until the segregation laws were ruled unconstitutional. -
Formation of SCLC
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was a civil rights, non-violent protest group founded and led by Martin Luther King Jr. following the bus boycott. Views shaped by black ministers from the African American church. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Increased protection of African-American voting rights, established the Civil Rights division in the Justice Department, and gave federal officials the power to prosecute those violating the voting rights. Also created a US Civil Rights Commission to investigate allegations of this crime. -
Integration of Central High School in Little Rock
Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had surrounded Central High School with the national guard in order to prevent 3 black students from entering after Brown v Board of education case. Eisenhower sent 1,000 armed paratroops to guard the students and enforce the court order. -
Formation of SNCC
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Comitee was created by Ella Baker who was afraid that the civil rights groups were becoming out of touch with the African-American youth. She encouraged them to look at the big picture and not get to wrapped up in it. -
Greensboro Sit In
Non-violent protest at a Greensboro diner led to a series of sit ins at college towns throughout South Carolina. Though most protestors were arrested, they were able to get many restraunts to change their segregation policies. -
Boynton V Virginia
It was debated wether a black interstate bus passenger refusing to leave a segregated restraunt at a station was a violation of the Interstate Commerce Act. The Court ruled that it was because the station should be required to offer the same restrictions as the bus. -
First Freedom Ride
A group of blacks and whites road buses into the South to test the new Insterstate Commerce Commission regulations. They were violently attacked in the South and had to abandon the ride. Inspired many following rides. -
James Meredith enrolls in Ole Miss
Meredith was initially blocked from enrolling until Robert Kennedy sent in over 500 people worth of forces to keep the peace. He became the first black to enroll. Wrote books explaining his experience. -
Birmingham Protests
Non-violent protests and boycotts with the goal of being confronted by the government earning them national recognization and support. Protests were made illegal and over filled jails led to method os dispersement. Agreement to end segregation leads to violence. -
March on Washington
Way to peacefully bring issues directly to Washington. Speeches such as the "I Have A Dream" speech were given as well as perforcmance. Huge success, spread quickly through media. -
Freedom Summer
Congress, CORE, and the SNCC worked together to create a voter registration drive which helped increase the amount of black voters in Mississippi. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Ended segregation of public places and banned employment discrimination. Later expanded by Congress. -
Malcolm X Assassinated
In early Malcolm's February house was bombed. One week later, while addressing the Organization of Afro-American Unity in Washington Heights, Malcolm was fatally shot by rival Black Muslims. -
Selma March
Massive group of non-violent demonstrators led by Martin Luther King Jr. to the capital building in Montgomery. The march lasted 5 days and covered 54 miles. -
Black Panthers Founded
Revolutionary group of black nationalists and socialists that reached it's demise in 1982. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot in Memphis at Lorraine Motel. His murderer was James Earl Ray who was a known racist. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
Prohibited housing discrimination which was defined as refusal to rent or sell a property to an individual based on their race. -
Robert F Kennedy Assassination
Robert F Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles at the Ambassador Hotel. In California he had recently won the primaries for the presidential election.
