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Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was one of the men who worked on the Brown vs The Board of Education trial (and others) which sparked the civil rights movement. On June 13, 1967, Thurgood was elected the 96th justice of the supreme court, making him the first African American justice. This was a major step for America because they went from the discrimination of African Americans to make one of them a Supreme Court Justices. Thurgood is an amazing example of how America had bettered its self over time. -
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Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks started a boycott of 17,000 African Americans that would turn into a movement to define a generation. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus, other people began to step out and stand up for what the believed in. Because of her, buses where desegregated In 1999, Parks received the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest honor a person in America can receive, as well as an annual award named called the Rosa Parks Freedom Award named after her. -
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Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. as well as an important civil rights activist. After the assassination of her husband, she took the leadership of the civil rights movement. She also became a major figure in the women's' movement. In August of 205, Coretta suffered from a stroke and was left unable to speak and paralyzed on the right side of her body. Coretta would become known as the "First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement" because of her major involvement. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
The issue of segregation in education was brought to the court's attention when Oliver Brown wanted to bring about change in the education system. He argued that the Black schools were not equal to the white schools and demanded a change. The hearing resulted in the integration of children in schools. Never the less, this remains of the most important trials in American History. The case started on December 9, 1952, and ended May 7, 1954. -
Emmett Till Murder
In a small segregated town in Mississippi, 14-year-old boy Emmett Till entered a grocery store and started to whistle and advance towards a white man. A few days later on April 28, he was kidnapped from his uncle's house. 3 days later, his body was found in the Tallahatchie River. He had been severely beaten and shot in the head. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
This movement began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man. Mr. Luther King Jr. proposed that a public transportation boycott throughout the city should be established to protest against racial inequality. -
Sit-Ins
Four students in Greensboro, North Carolina held the first "sit-in", which was when they would refuse to move from a segregated lunch counter when denied service. Over the next couple of weeks, hundreds of people joined in on the movement. Some people involved were arrested with trespassing, which sparked a boycott against segregated lunch counters until all of the owners gave in. The original four students to start this movement were eventually served at the Greensboro lunch counter. -
The Birmingham Campaign
Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held their first nonviolent campaign in Birmingham, Alabama for civil rights. The police arrived and turned on high power fire hoses on the people and released their police dogs. Pictures were released to the public and they were outraged. -
March on Washington
This was the largest human rights rally in US history. 200,000-300,000 people gather on the Washington Mall and protested jobs and freedom for African Americans. It is on this day that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
The Speech Text: https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf -
Civil Rights Act
The US Congress passes the Civil Rights Act which abolishes segregation in public facilities and accommodations. This is a major stepping stone in the civil rights movement. -
Bloody Sunday
A group of approximately 600 protesters was holding a peaceful march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, the state capital. The march's goal was to fight back for African America voting rights. During this march, state troopers began violently attacking the protesters and abruptly ended the march. There was video footage caught of the event which caused an uproar for civil justice. Video: https://youtu.be/a6InULio9fo?t=60 -
Dr. King's Vietnam War Opposition Speech
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam", which showed similarities between the civil rights movement and the antiwar movement. The speech was delivered at the Riverside Church in New York in front of 3,000 people and talked about ending bombings in Vietnam and arranging peace talks. This view cost him some of his allies, including President Lyndon Johnson.
The Speech Text: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/beyond-vietnam -
Fair Housing Act
The Fair Housing Act was a law that was passed days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The law forbade housing discrimination based on race, religion, sex, or national origin. This was the last law passed during the civil rights era. -
Voting
When African Americans were given the right to vote, only about 10% of them utilized the opportunity. When the 1970s came around and the civil rights movement was drawing to an end, the percentage of registered African American voters skyrocketed to 63%. This is a 530% increase in black registered voters which is a huge advancement from the original percentage. -
Shirley Chisholm Presidencial Campaign
Shirley was an African American woman who ran for president against all white men. This was in the early 1970s, which means that segregation was fading away, but racism was still alive and well. A quote about her says, “She ran to win, but she knew she wouldn’t win,”. This shows that she was actually running as an activist to take a stand against racism and sexism. This is an advancement because, in the 60s, a black woman running for president would have been out of the question. -
First African American US Ambassador
Andrew Young was sworn-in as the first African American US Ambassador. He was born March 12, 1932, in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1955 he became a minister and many other things along the way. He becomes the mayor of Atlanta, runs for Georgia, and becomes the President of the National Council of Churches. This is a good example of advancement because an African American is representing our country, which a couple of years before would have been unacceptable. -
African American Political Power
In the 1980s, the number of African American officials shot up drastically in numbers. In 1964 the number of African American officials was 500, but by 1980 there were 4000. That is a 700% increase. Presidents also began to worry more about racial issues and did things to help the cause. They were also expected to appoint African Americans judges and staff members. The civil rights movement brought about a major change in the political positions of African Americans. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
On this day, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill declaring January 20th as Martin Luther King Jr. day. This idea was proposed by Representative Katie Hall of Indiana who believed there should be a day dedicated to the man who led the civil rights movement. The day recognizes the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and what he did for America. -
Impact on Schooling
The dropout rate of African American students has dropped from 20.5% in 1976 to 13% in 1996 as well as the graduation rate skyrocketing. -
Social Barriers Falling
In 1958, 44% of white people said they would move if a black family became their neighbor, but is 1% in 1998. In 1964, 18% of white people said they had an African American friend, but today 86% say they do.
