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Emmett Till Murder
Emmett Till was a African American 14 year old boy that was murdered. He was accused of flirting with a white woman at a store. The white women's husband and brother-in-law kidnapped Emmett and killed him. Emmett's body was found in the water a couple days later. The men who killed him were tried, but they were released. The significance of this is that it really showed how bad the racial segregation was in the south.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
African American woman, Rosa Parks, was sitting on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was asked to give her seat to a white man. She refused and she was arrested and release on bail. This prompted African Americans as protest, not to ride the bus for over a year. The city was losing a lot of money due to this, so in the end they were forced to integrate. The significance was that big step was taken in fight for integration.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott -
Little Rock Nine
Nine African American students decide to try to attend Central High School. The school was a former all white high school and is located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The governor would not them into the school. President Eisenhower sent in troops get these nine black students into school. The significance was that this showed that the decision of Brown v. The Board of Education was being upheld.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/central-high-school-integration -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
African American students went and sat down at a whites only Woolworth's lunch counter. They were refused service, but they refused to leave until they were given service. They stayed their all day and were harassed by white costumers. Food and drinks were poured all over them, but they did not fight back. This sparked a nationwide movement. This was significant because eventually public places were forced to integrate.
http://crdl.usg.edu/events/sit_ins_greensboro_nc/ -
Freedom Riders
Civil Rights activists took bus trips through the southern states to try to desegregate the bus terminals. They would use "white-only" bathrooms and sit a "white-only" counters. There was conflict and confrontation with officers. The significance of this is that they did pull attention to their fight and the ICC banned segregation at terminals.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-rides -
March on Washington
Martin Luther King, the leader of The SCLC, gave his "I Have A Dream" speech. The march was to show that the African Americans are still dealing with racial injustice even though they are "free". Around 250,000 people came to Washington, D.C. for this march. The significance of this is that it brought to light the racial problems in the U.S. and it led the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington -
Civil Right Act
After the March on Washington, Martin Luther King met with the president and came up with the Civil Rights Act. This banned segregation in all public places. It also outlawed any employment criticism whether it was about race, gender, religion or etc. This was very significant because this completely outlawed segregation everywhere and gave African Americans civil rights.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act
