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President Harry Truman issues Executive Order 9981 to end segregation in the Armed Services.
This ended segregation in the armed forces and led to an end of segregation during the Korean war -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Court case that lead to the desegregation of schools -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Boycott against the public transportation system racial discrimination -
Desegregation at Little Rock
The little rock nine were 9 African Americans who went to all white school. There was a lot of protection for them when entering each day -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law to help protect voter rights. The law allows federal prosecution of those who suppress another’s right to vote. -
College students in Greensboro
Four African American college students in Greensboro, North Carolina refuse to leave a Woolworth’s “whites only” lunch counter without being served. The Greensboro Four—Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil—were inspired by the nonviolent protest of Gandhi. The Greensboro Sit-In, as it came to be called, sparks similar “sit-ins” throughout the city and in other states. -
Freedom Riders
black and white activists, known as freedom riders, took bus trips through the American South to protest segregated bus terminals attempted to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters. The Freedom Rides were marked by horrific violence from white protesters. they drew international attention to their cause. -
March on Washington (quote)
Approximately 250,000 people take part in The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King gives his “I Have A Dream” speech as the closing address in front of the Lincoln Memorial, stating, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’” -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, preventing employment discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion or national origin. Title VII of the Act establishes the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to help prevent workplace discrimination. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to prevent the use of literacy tests as a voting requirement. It also allowed federal examiners to review voter qualifications and federal observers to monitor polling places. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, providing equal housing opportunity regardless of race, religion or national origin. -
Picture
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Picture
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Map from 1960
African American population -
Map from 2010
African American population -
African American Male Mortality gap 1960-2000
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% Black Majority in White Schools in South
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President Jimmy Carter appointed Andrew Young
to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations in 1977, the first African American to serve in the position. In Regents of the -
Guion Bluford
became the first African American to go into space in NASA's program. -
President Ronald Reagan
signed a bill in 1983 to create a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King, who was assassinated in 1968 and considered a martyr to civil rights. Established by legislation in 1983, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was first celebrated as a national holiday on January 20, 1986. -
Vanessa L. Williams
became the first African American to win the title of Miss America as Miss America 1984. -
Douglas Wilder
elected as the first African-American governor in Virginia. Four white police officers were videotaped beating African-American Rodney King in Los Angeles, on March 3, 1991. Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the US Supreme Court in 1991 -
Mae Carol Jemison
became the first African-American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. -
Carol Moseley Braun
became the first African-American woman to be elected to the United States Senate on November 3, 1992. -
Obama (quote)
was elected 44th President of the United States of America on November 4, 2008, opening his victory speech with, "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer." -
Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
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The U.S. Postal Service
issued a commemorative six-stamp set portraying twelve civil rights pioneers in 2010.
