Civil Rights Movement

By chlonicki

  • Executive Order 9981

    President Harry Truman issued an executive order to eliminate segregation in the armed forces due to the Great War. This order received pushback, however President Truman stood firm on his beliefs of treating all humans equal even though first steps ever made were military. The order was successful due to the African-American's patriotism and skill.

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of schools was a direct violation of the 14th Amendment. It was a long, disputed, and controversial road towards official disegregation and equal schooling, but this case led to the expansion of educational opportunities and the civil rights movement.

  • Emmett Till

    A young African-American male was lynched for allegedly flirting with a white woman. This was an instrumental murder to inspire the civil rights movement. His mother became a big activist and the acquittal of the perpetrators exposed the injustice at that time.

  • Rosa Parks

    Back in this time buses were segregated where whites were in the front and blacks were in the back. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white business man. This act alone stimulated the civil rights movement and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

  • Little Rock Nine

    Nine black teens faced extreme measures to try to attend Little Rock's Central High School. This was an instrumental event since President Eisenhower had to intervene and have US Troops escort the students themselves. Even though they were still harrassed and faced ridicule, they treaded on and graduated.

  • Civil Rights Act of 1957

    Signed by President D. Eisenhower, this act did not provide new rights however recognized African-Americans and established the protection of voting rights set out in the Fifteenth Amendment.
    A Civil Rights Commission within the executive branch with the authority to investigate discriminatory conditions and to recommend corrective measures."

  • Greensboro Sit-In

    A civil rights protest where four African-American students did not leave a segregated lunch counter at Woolworth's College. This sit-in stemmed a chain of reactions nationwide.

  • Ruby Bridges

    One of the school desegregation stories we as a nation are all aware of. A young 6-year-old was the first student to integrate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. Due to the protests and hostility, she was escorted into the school by federal marshals.

  • Freedom Riders

    A civil rights activist group made up of whites and blacks who initiated taking bus rides nationwide to protest segregated travel which spread to restroom and lunch counters as well. They faced backlash and violence yet were able to make a difference on a national level for equal rights regarding travel.

  • March on Washington

    The event where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have A Dream Speech". A civil rights march where 250,000 people marched on Washington D.C. to draw attention to continuing challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans.

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. This act prevents employment discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion or national origin. It protects minorities against workplace discrimination.

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    This act completely banished racial discrimination regarding voting rights. Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.

  • Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

  • Fair Housing Act

    Also referred to as the Civil Rights Act of 1968, signed by President Johnson. Guaranteed fair and equal housing for minorities.