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Desegreation of the Army
President Truman signs Executive Order 9981, which states, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin."
https://www.trumanlibrary.org/anniversaries/desegblurb.htm -
Brown VS Board of Education
Supreme court case ruling that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person.
http://www.biography.com/people/rosa-parks-9433715 -
Church Bombing
Four young girls (Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins) attending Sunday school are killed when a bomb explodes at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a popular location for civil rights meetings. Riots erupt in Birmingham, leading to the deaths of two more black youths.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmjustice3.html -
MLK Dies
Martin Luther King, at age 39, is shot as he stands on the balcony outside his hotel room. Escaped convict and committed racist James Earl Ray is convicted of the crime.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dr-king-is-assassinated
