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Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court decision that upheld that segregation was constitutional, under the "separate but equal" doctrine. -
Formation of the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People focused on legal strategies to confront the critical civil rights issues. They called for anti-lynching laws and coordinated challenges for state sponsored segregation in schools. -
Malcolm X leads the Nation of Islam
Malcolm X led a group of Islamic African Americans to improve social, economic, mental, and spiritual conditions for African Americans. Organized temples for the nation in New York, Boston, and cities in the south. -
Brown v. BOE of Topeka
Supreme Court decided to declare that separate public schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
African Americans refused to ride city buses, to protest segregated seating. Four days before, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, she was arrested. This led up to the Boycott. -
Formation of SCLC
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by MLK, that taught that civil rights could be achieved through nonviolent protests. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The first civil rights legislation enacted by Republicans in the U.S since Reconstruction. It was primarily a voting rights bill, but it set up a permanent Civil Rights Commission. -
Integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas
Nine black students enrolled at a formerly all white Central High school in Little Rock. In 1957 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. -
The Greensboro Sit-In
Non-violent protest by young African-American students at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, sparked a sit-in movement that spread to college towns across the region. -
Formation of SNCC
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was formed to to give younger blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement. The young blacks wanted the civil rights movement to make faster progress. -
Boynton v. Virginia
Supreme Court Rules that segregation in waiting rooms and interstate buses is unconstitutional. -
First Freedom Ride
Freedom Riders were recruited by The Congress of Racial Equality and attempted to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals in the Deep South. -
James Meredith enrolls in Ole Miss
An African American man named James Meredith attempted to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Chaos broke out at the campus, ending in riots and death after the Kennedy administration called National Guardsmen in. -
Birmingham Protests
Organized by Southern Christian Leadership as a series of sit-ins, marches, and boycotts to protest segregation laws in the city. These protests would be met with violent attacks with high pressure hoses and police dogs. -
March on Washington
200,000 Americans gathered in Washington D.C for a political rally for jobs and freedom. Event was designed to shed light on political and social changes African Americans share. -
24th Amendment Passed
The 24th Amendment prohibited any poll tax in elections for federal officials. Before this amendment was passed to vote you had to pay money, called a poll tax. -
Freedom Summer
Civil rights organizations organized a voter registration drive aimed at dramatically increasing voter registration in Mississippi. The Freedom Summer faced constant harassment from Mississippi's white population. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin. Huge legislative achievement of the civil rights movement -
Malcolm X assasinated
Malcolm X was shot before he was about to deliver a speech about a new organization called the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Members of the Nation of Islam had shot him multiple times. -
Selma March
Protesters were attempting to march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. They were met with violent resistance by authorities. The march helped raise awareness of the difficulty faced by black voters. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Aimed to overcome legal barriers that prevented African Americans from exercising the right to vote. Outlawed discriminatory voting practices, like literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. -
Black Panthers founded
Black Panthers were founded in California as an important part of civil rights movement. They believed that the nonviolent campaign of MLK had failed and promised changes via the traditional civil rights movement, would take too long to be implemented. -
MLK Jr. assassinated
MLK Jr. was shot to death at a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was shot by James Earl Ray from 200 feet away. His assassination led to an outpouring of anger among African Americans, that led to the equal housing bill. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
Prohibited discrimination concerning the sale and renting of housing based on race, religion, sex, and national origin. Also known as the Fair-Housing Act. -
Robert F. Kennedy assassinated
Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. He was shot by a young Palestinian. He was planning to unite the country and face off for presidency.
