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Brown V. Board of Education
The Supreme Court of Topeka unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. "Separate" educational facilities were pronounced "inherently unequal" by the Court. The case ignited the nation and remains a defining moment in legal and civil rights history. -
The Murder of Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African-American boy who was assassinated in a racial incident. Emmett was born in Chicago and lived with his mom. While they were in Money, Mississippi visiting family he was accused of harassing a local white woman. Several days later, Till was kidnapped by the woman's relatives, who killed him before dumping his body in a nearby river. Not only were his killers acquitted the woman admitted to lying. -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts
The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against racial segregation on Montgomery, Alabama's public transportation system. It was a turning point in the United States' civil rights struggle. -
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of African American high school students who fought racial segregation in Little Rock, Arkansas' public schools. They made their way past a mob that was yelling obscenities and throwing things at them. When the students arrived at the front door, the National Guard barred them from entering the school, forcing them to return home. -
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who took part in Freedom Rides, bus travels across the American South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals. They were successful in persuading the federal government to enforce federal legislation requiring interstate travel to be integrated. -
Equal Pay Act
The Equal Pay Act made it so that men and women in the same employment must be paid equally for equal work. The jobs do not have to be same, but they must be substantially equal. It is the content of jobs, not their labels, that decides whether they are substantially equal. -
Birmingham Church Bombing
The Birmingham Church Bombing was a terrorist attack made by the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama. They planted 19 sticks of dynamite in a local church for black people. There were 4 victims who died. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
Baptist minister and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee. He was one of the most influential people of his time and overall for civil rights. -
Fair Housing Act
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or sex. -
Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall Inn, a tavern in New York City's Greenwich Village that served as a shelter for the city's gay, lesbian, and transgender population, was stormed by police on a sweltering June night in 1969. On that particular night, members of the city's LGBT community chose to fight back, launching an uprising that would lead to a new period of resistance and revolution.