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Plessy v. Ferguson
Landmark decision of the US Supreme Court in 1896 to uphold the constitutionality of state segregation laws about the public facilities that were to be "separate but equal". -
Tuskegee Airman
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American soldiers to successfully complete their training and enter the Army Air Corps . Almost 1000 aviators were produced as America's first African American military pilots. -
Major League Baseball
With the game's first pitch, Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play in the modern major leagues, breaking the color barrier that had surrounded baseball for over a half century and symbolizing the racial integration of American society. -
Armed Forces
This executive order abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces -
Sweatt v. Painter
With Sweatt v. Painter and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the Supreme Court began to overturn the separate but equal doctrine in public education by requiring graduate and professional schools to admit black students. -
Brown v. Board of Education
In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. -
Emmitt Till
The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 brought nationwide attention to the racial violence and injustice prevalent in Mississippi. While visiting his relatives in Mississippi, Till went to the Bryant store with his cousins, and may have whistled at Carolyn Bryant. -
Little Rock High School
During the summer of 1957, the Little Rock Nine enrolled at Little Rock Central High School, which until then had been all white. The students' effort to enroll was supported by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which had declared segregated schooling to be unconstitutional. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Lasting 381 days, the Montgomery Bus Boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling segregation on public buses unconstitutional. A significant play towards civil rights and transit equity, the Montgomery Bus Boycott helped eliminate early barriers to transportation access. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The result was the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. The new act established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and empowered federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote. -
Greensboro
The Greensboro Sit-In was a critical turning point in Black history and American history, bringing the fight for civil rights to the national stage. Its use of nonviolence inspired the Freedom Riders and others to take up the cause of integration in the South, furthering the cause of equal rights in the United States. -
Freedom Rides
Through their defiance, the Freedom Riders attracted the attention of the Kennedy Administration and as a direct result of their work, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) issued regulations banning segregation in interstate travel that fall. -
24th Amendment
Not long ago, citizens in some states had to pay a fee to vote in a national election. This fee was called a poll tax. On January 23, 1964, the United States ratified the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting any poll tax in elections for federal officials. -
University of Mississippi
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University of Alabama
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March on Washington/"I Have A Dream" Speech
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Assassination of JFK
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Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Assassination of Malcolm X
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"Bloody Sunday"
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
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Assassination of MLKJ
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Voting Rights Act of 1968
