Civil Rights Movement Timeline

Plessy v. Ferguson

May 18, 1896

This Supreme Court case upheld state racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine "separate but equal".

Formation of the NAACP

Feb 12, 1909

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a civil rights organization with the purpose of advancing justice for African Americans. Created by W.E.B. Du Bois.

Brown v. BOE of Topeka

May 17, 1954

This Supreme Court case declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. Brown's third grade daughter had to walk six blocks to the bus stop to ride to her segregated school a mile away, while a white school was only seven blocks from her house.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dec 5, 1955

An African American women, named Rosa Parks, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person. This spurred a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama.

Formation of SCLC

Jan 10, 1957

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African American civil rights organization, whos goal was to redeem the "soul of America" through nonviolent resistance.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Sep 9, 1957

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Republicans in the US since Reconstruction. It set up a permanent Civil Rights Commission, which was hardly enforced.

Integration of Central High School in LittlRock, Arkansas

Sep 25, 1957

Nine black students enrolled in a formerly all-white school testing the Brown v. BOE ruling that ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional. President Eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort the "Little Rock Nine" into the high school.

Greensboro Sit-In

Feb 1, 1960

The Greensboro Sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests in North Carolina. Four African American college students sat down at a lunch counter at Woolworth's and politely asked for service. When their request was rejected, they refused to leave their seats. This led to the Woolworth department store chain removing its policy of racial segregation in the South.

Formation of SNCC

Apr 1, 1960

The SNCC grew out of the SCLC, led by MLK Jr. Their goal was to increase the student participation of the Civil Rights Movement.

Boynton v. Virginia

Dec 5, 1960

This Supreme Court case overturned a judgement convicting an African American law student for trespassing by being in a restaurant in a bus terminal which was whites only.

First Freedom Ride

May 4, 1961

A group of 13 African American and white civil rights activists started the Freedom Rides. These were a series of bus trips through the South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals.

James Meredith enrolls in Ole Miss

Sep 30, 1962

James Meredith attempted to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Chaos broke out at the Ole Miss Campus, resulting in two dead. Meredith filed a lawsuit against the University of Mississippi. The Supreme Court ruled in Meredith's favor in September of 1962.

Birmingham Protests

Apr 1, 1963

Movement organized by SCLC to bring attention to the integration efforts to African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama.

March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

This march was a political demonstration held in Washington, D.C. It was led by civil rights leaders to protest racial discrimination and also to show support for major civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress at the time. 200,000-300,000 people participated in the march.

24th Amendment Passsed

Jan 23, 1964

This Constitutional Amendment prohibited any poll tax in elections for federal officials.

Malcolm X Leaves the Nation of Islam

Mar 8, 1964

Malcolm X publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam in 1964. He was still a Muslim but felt that the nation had "gone as far as it can" because of its rigid teachings.

Freedom Summer

Jun 15, 1964

This was a volunteer campaign in the summer of 1964, to attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in the state of Mississippi.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Jul 2, 1964

This Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This was a major civil rights victory.

Malcolm X Assassinated

Feb 21, 1965

Malcolm X was shot before he was about to deliver a speech about his new organization called the Organization of the Afro-American Unity.

Selma March

Mar 7, 1965

Martin Luther King Jr. led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to the steps of the capital Montgomery, Alabama. It was a 5 day, 54-mile march.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Aug 6, 1965

This Act was signed into law by President Johnson in 1965. It outlawed the discriminatory practices that were adopted in many Southern States after the Civil War ended. This included literacy tests.

Black Panthers Founded

Oct 15, 1966

The Black Panthers was a revolutionary black nationalist and socialist Active in the US from 1966 until 1982.

MLK Jr. Assassinated

Apr 4, 1968

Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed at Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He was killed by a racist named James Earl Ray.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

Apr 11, 1968

This Act defines housing discrimination as the refusal to sell or rent a dwelling to any person because of his race, color, religion, or national origin.

Robert F. Kennedy Assassinated

Jun 5, 1968

Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This was after he won the Presidential Primaries in California in 1968.