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Plessy vs. Ferguson
In 1890, whites and blacks had to sit in separate railroad cars. Homer Plessy bought a ticket for a whites only car and when asked to leave, he refused. He was arrested and taken off the train. Howard Ferguson was the judge at his trial, and said Louisiana had the right to regulate their railroad company as long as it was in their boundaries. This court case led to more legitimized racial segregation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson -
Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist who organized voter-registration boycotts against companies that supported discrimination.He became the first state field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippiin 1954. Evers also investigated crimes against blacks. He was assassinated in 1963 outside his own home which has recently become a national historic landmark. http://www.biography.com/people/medgar-evers-9542324 -
James Meredith
James Meredith was the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. He was originally rejected from the school because of his race but when he filed a case against them, the Supreme Court ruled in his favor. He was shot during a march to encourage black voting but healed and went to Nigeria for school. He was very involved in politics and is still very active in civil rights. http://www.biography.com/people/james-meredith-9406314 -
CORE
The Congress of Racial Equality was founded by a group of interracial students in Chicago. They protested against segregation and organized sit-ins.James Farmer became the 1st National Director of CORE in 1953. Due to expansion, the organization experienced tension between local control and national leadership. http://www.core-online.org/History/history.htm -
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson was the 1st black athlete to play Major League Baseball. He signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and was named Rookie of the Year the same year. He also won National League MVP in 1949 and World Series champ in 1955. While playing baseball he had to endure racial slurs from the crowd and threats towards him and his family. http://www.biography.com/people/jackie-robinson-9460813 -
Sweatt vs. Painter
Heman Sweatt was denied entrance to the School of Law of the University of Texas because Texas prohibited integrated education. Instead of forgetting about the problem,the state created a law school for blacks in Houston. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court declared that separate public schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. Segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. The nation slowly opened education to all students. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. They were required to sit in the back of the bus and let whites sit in the front. Rosa Parks, refused to yield her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus and was arrested and fined.The U.S. Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott -
The Southern Manifesto
The Declaration of Constitutional Principals (aka the Southern Manifesto) was a document that opposed racial integration of public places. It was made to counter Brown v. Board of Education. It accused the Supreme Court of abusing judicial power and promised to stop integration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Manifesto -
SCLC
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was an organization made to support nonviolent action to desegregate bus systems. Martin Luther King Jr. was the president of the organization. organization to coordinate and support nonviolent direct action as a method of desegregating bus systems across the South. They issued a document declaring that civil rights are essential to democracy and that segregation must end,. -
Little Rock- Central High School
Central High School was one of the 1st high schools to be integrated. Despite pro-segregation groups, nine African Americans were the 1st to attend Central High School. The Governor of Arkansas wanted the Kansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering for their own protection. On September 25, the nine had their 1st day of school and were surrounded and harassed during attempts to enter the school. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/central-high-school-integration -
Greensboro Sit In
Four African American students held a nonviolent protest at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. They stayed at their seats until the store closed and then came back the next day with more students. Cities everywhere were supporting the movement and joining the peaceful protest. Many were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace. Soon enough, dining counters everywhere were being integrated.http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/ -
SNCC
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Comitee was one of the leading forces in the civil rights movement. It gave young blacks a voice. They organized 'Freedom Rides' which were attempts to desegregate buses. They also directed black voter registration drives in the South. One of the heads of the SNCC used the term 'black power' to characterize new tactics at self defense. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sncc -
Freedom Rides
Freedom rides were bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals.13 African-American and white civil rights activists were recruited by CORE to integrate bus terminals and try to use white-only areas. They faced much violence but also international attention and more 'riders'. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-rides -
The Letter from Birmingham Jail
The Letter from Birmingham Jail is a letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. that defends nonviolent resistance to racism. It talks about how people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and take action. King was arrested on April 12th during a nonviolent protest and was taken to Birmingham Jail with many other protesters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_from_Birmingham_Jail -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was a political rally in Washington D.C. for jobs and freedom. It was organized by civil rights and religious groups to bring attention to political and social issues fro blacks. It was here that Martin Luther King Jr. presented his 'I Have a Dream' speech. More than 200,000 blacks and whites showed up for the march. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington -
Bombing of Birmingham Church
On a Sunday morning, a bomb went off before church service at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The church was dominantly black and a big meeting place for civil rights leaders. 4 young girls were killed and others were injured. The bomb was placed by the KKK, who had a history of making bomb threats towards African Americans. It was the third bombing in 11 days. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/birmingham-church-bombing -
Twenty-fourth Amendment
The Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibits Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on any type of tax. Poll taxes started in the South to prevent blacks and poor whites from voting. These poll taxes violated the Equal Protection Clause because they were discriminatory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution -
Mississippi Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a voter registration project to expand black voting in the South. It was run by the Council of Federated Organizations and hundreds of white college students helped.Threats and violence appeared and two students had disappeared and were found beaten and dead 6 weeks later. Freedom Summer deepened the division between those in the civil rights movement who still believed in integration and nonviolence. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-summer -
Civil Rights Act passed
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It endedracial segregation in voter registration, schools, the workplace. and every area of life. John F. Kennedy called for the bill to be passed but was assassinated before he saw it in action. Lyndon Johnson continued his efforts to get the bill passed a s soon as possible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 -
Malcolm X Assassinated
Malcolm X was an African American nationalist and religious leader from Nebraska who was murdered by rival Black Muslims during his address to his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. his home had been fire bombed one week earlier. Even at a young age Malcolm had experienced awful discrimination. His family was forced to move to Michigan because of threats from the KKK and he was imprisoned at 21 on a burglary conviction. -
Selma to Montgomery March
Protesters attempted to march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery to raise awareness of the trials black voters faced. They walked for 3 days and faced a lot of violence and resistance but were protected by U.S. army troops. The march was a success and the Voting Rights Act was passed later that year. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march -
Voting Rights Act approved
The Voting Rights Act prohibited racial discrimination in voting and was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The act was amended 5 times to enhance its protection.It's considered to be the most effective civil rights legislation ever enacted in the U.S. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965 -
Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary black nationalist and socialist organization. It mainly challenged police brutality and monitored the behavior of officers in Oakland, California. It was called "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country". The more the government tried to oppress the Black Panthers by killing and arresting, the more African Americans joined in support. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party -
King Assassinated
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray who shot King in the neck with a rifle outside the Lorraine Motel. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison but later claimed to be part of a conspiracy. King's son, Dexter sympathized with Ray and demanded that the case be reopened but each investigation conducted still led to Ray as the sole criminal. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr-assassination
