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Plessy vs Ferguson
Law case of the US supreme court. Upheld state racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal". -
Formation of NAACP
Organization which fought for civil rights for African Americans, mainly through court cases (behind the Brown v. Board of Education case) -
Brown vs Board of Education
Supreme Court ruling reversing the policy of segregation from Plessy v Ferguson, declaring that separate can never be equal and a year later ordered the integration of all public schools with all deliberate speed. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Dr. Martin L. King led a boycott of city busses. After 11 months the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal. -
Formation of SCLC
Organization formed by MLK in 1957 to organize nonviolent resistance to achieve equality for African Americans -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
A federal law that authorized federal action against segregation in public accommodations, public facilities, and employment. -
Integration of Central High School
Nine black students enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957, testing a landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. -
Greensboro Sit - In
Four African American college students sat down at a lunch counter at Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked for service. Their request was refused. When asked to leave, they remained in their seats. -
Formation of SNCC
Organization founded in 1960 by college students to organize sit-ins and other nonviolent protests and offer young people a voice in the movement; became more radical in the late 1960s under the leadership of Stokely Carmichael. -
Boynton vs Virginia
A decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The case overturned a judgment convicting an African American law student for trespassing by being in a restaurant in a bus terminal which was "whites only". -
First Freedom Ride
Seven blacks and six whites left D.C on two public buses bound for the Deep South. They intended to test the Supreme Court's ruling in Boynton v. Virginia -
James Meredith enrolls in Ole Miss
Meredith was a United States civil rights leader whose college registration caused riots in traditionally segregated Mississippi. -
Birmingham Protests
Movement organized by the SCLC to bring attention to the integration efforts of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. -
March on Washington
200,000 demonstrators converged on the Lincoln Memorial to hear Dr. King's speech and to celebrate Kennedy's support for the civil rights movement. (putting pressure on the federal government to pass civil rights legislation) -
24th Amendment
prohibited the federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes before a citizen can participate in a federal election. -
Malcolm X leads the Nation of Islam
Converted to Nation of Islam in jail in the 50s, became Black Muslims' most dynamic street orator and recruiter who argued for separation, not integration. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A federal law that authorized federal action against segregation in public accommodations, public facilities, and employment. -
Freedom summer
In 1964, when blacks and whites together challenged segregation and led a massive drive to register blacks to vote. -
Malcolm X Assassinated
Assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam in 1965. -
Selma March
A march that was attempted three times to protest voting rights, with many peaceful demonstrators injured and killed. Led by MLK. Resulted in Voting Rights Act. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
A law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage. Under the law, hundreds of thousands of African Americans were registered and the number of African American elected officials increased dramatically. Encouraged greater social equality and decreased the wealth and education gap -
Black Panthers founded
A black political organization that was against peaceful protest and for violence if needed. The organization marked a shift in policy of the black movement, favoring militant ideals rather than peaceful protest; "advocating self-rule for American blacks" -
MLK Jr. assassinated
Martin Luther King Jr. is shot to death at a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. A single shot fired by James Earl Ray from over 200 feet away at a nearby motel struck King in the neck. He died an hour later at St. Joseph’s Hospital. -
Civil Rights act of 1968
Defines housing discrimination as the “refusal to sell or rent a dwelling to any person because of his race, color, religion, or national origin”. -
Robert F. Kennedy assassinated
Fatally shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, shortly after winning the California presidential primaries in the 1968 election, and died the next day while hospitalized.
