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Brown v. Board of Education
The court case addressed the issue of racial segregation in public schools. The main plaintiff was the father of Linda Brown, Oliver Brown and his lawyer was the NAACP. This case took place in various places like Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The Brown decision made it so there was desegregation in public schools across the U.S.A.. -
Milder of Emmett Till
Emmett was 14 when he decided to go on a vacation. He stopped at a gas station and was said to have whistled at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. He was then later beaten and lynched a few hours later by Carolyn’s husband, Roy Bryant, and her brother, J.W Milan in Money, Mississippi. Emmett’s family took the Bryant’s and Milan to court but lost and the Brant’s and Milan walked away with no charges. This event helped spark the civil rights movement. -
Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks sat in the middle of the bus where she was allowed when the back was full, but when a white asked her to get up and give them her seat, she refused to. This took place in Montgomery, Alabama. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The SCLC was an organization linked to the black churches. 60 black ministers were pivotal in organizing civil rights activism. Martin Luther King
Jr was elected President. They focused its non violent strategy on citizenship, schools and efforts to desegregate individual cities. It played key roles in the March on Washington in 1963 and the Selma Voting Rights Campaign and March to Montgomery in 1965. -
Little Rock 9
9 black students enrolled into Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The National Guard was called in to help “preserve the peace” because there had been people yelling and threatening the 9 high schoolers. -
Greensboro Sit-ins
In the Woolworth’s Lunch Counter blacks were allowed to buy items but couldn’t be served food. The sit-ins started off with just 4 college students on January 1st asking to be served. Then the numbers slowly grew. February 3rd there were 60 students, February 4th there were 300 students and then on February 5th 50 white men joined them. -
Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges was a 6 year old that passed an academic test and got to help integrate a New Orleans, Louisiana school. She was taken from and to school by 4 U.S Marshals. Since parents didn’t want their children to be around Ruby, they would pull their children out of school. Which left only Ruby and her teacher, Barbara Henry. While she was in school she would be threatened by parents form outside of the school. -
Freedom Riders
13 civil rights activists from Birmingham, Alabama rode from city to city in the south. They wanted to challenge racial segregation in bus stations. Many of the activists were beaten and arrested. Robert Kennedy felt like he had no choice to enforce desegregation on buses. -
March on Washington
This was a peaceful and respectful protest for jobs and freedom. There were around 250,000 people involved in this march, including Martin Luther king. His last speech of the day was his famous “I have a dream” speech. -
Civil Rights Act (1964)
This was a peaceful and respectful protest for jobs and freedom. There were around 250,000 people involved in this march, including Martin Luther king. His last speech of the day was his famous “I have a dream” speech. -
Assassination of Malcom X
Malcom x was tragically killed by 3 armed men. He was shot around 21 times in New York, NY. He was killed while he was preparing to speak in New York. -
Selma to Montgomery Marches (Bloody Sunday)
This started off as a peaceful protest until they got to a bridge in Selma, Alabama. At the end of the bridge there were police officers waiting for them. Then they charged at the group of people and they threw gas at them. The protesters didn’t think this would happen, they thought that some would maybe be arrested but instead they got beaten. -
Voting Rights Act (1965)
This act made it so literacy and poll taxes were banned and stated that voting was a federal matter not a state matter. LB Johnson was the main contributor in this act in Washington, D.C.. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King was on the second-floor balcony outside of his room at the Lorraine motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was shot and was severely wounded. He was rushed to the St. Joseph Hospital. He was later pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m..