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Jim Crow Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the racist policy of segregation by legalizing “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites -
Executive Order 9981 issued
President Harry Truman issues Executive Order 9981 to end segregation in the Armed Services. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimous decision that overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine in public schools -
Emmett Till Assassination
murdered in Money, Mississippi. -
Rosa Parks Montgomery City Bus Incident
refused to give up her seat and was arrested -
Montgomery Bus Boycott begins
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SCLC Founded
Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded for civil and political rights. -
Little Rock Crisis
The Little Rock 9 enter Central High School as federal troops oversee the situation sent by President Eisenhower. -
Woolworth's Store Protest
4 black college students sat at an all-white lunch counter and started a sit-in protest at a Woolworth’s store. -
SNCC Founded
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee founded at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC as one of the major American Civil Rights Movement organizations -
Freedom Riders
Freedom riders begin a bus ride through the South to protest segregation. -
MLK Arrested in Alabama
Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham protesting in the “most segregated city in America.” -
Medgar Evans Assassination
American civil rights activist Medgar Evans is assassinated in Jackson, MS -
MLK "I have a Dream" speech
More than 250,000 people, march on Washington to demand immediate passage of the civil rights bill. -
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
Bombing to occur at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL -
premier legislation signed
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the premier legislation for Civil Rights into law. -
Malcolm X Assassination
Minister Malcolm X was assassinated in New York by members of Nation of Islam -
Selma-Montgomery March begins
A march from Selma to Montgomery to fight for voting rights begins. -
Voting Rights Act signed
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act to outlaw literacy tests -
Watts riots begins
Riots begin in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles -
James Meredith Shot
James Meredith, first African American to attend Ole Miss, is shot in Memphis -
Black Power founded
Huey Newton & Bobby Seale founded the “Black Power” political group known as the Black Panthers. -
1967 Detroit Riots
Bloodiest incident in the long hot summer of 1967, also known as the Detroit Rebellion. -
MLK Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis. -
Lynching of Michael Donald
Several Ku Klux Klan members beat and killed Michael Donald, a young African-American man, and hanged his body from a tree.
