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Brown v Board of Education
Court case that ruled racial segregation of children in public schools illegal. It was so important because it ratified the 13th 14th and 15th amendment and was a landmark court case. -
White Citizens Council
After the Board of Educations decision in Brown v Board, white segregationists throughout the South created the WCC. They used violence as well as trying to economically and socially oppress blacks, they were comparable to the KKK but drew in more upper and middle class whites. -
Brown v Board of Education II
1 year after the Brown v Board court case, Brown v Board 2 ordered all schools not only to stop segregation but now to integrate with all deliberate speed -
Lynching of Emmett Till
14 year old African American who was lynched in Mississippi after being accused of offending a white woman in her families grocery store. -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks refused to sit in the black section at the back of the bus when a white man asked her to move so she was arrested. This led to blacks boycotting the bus. -
Montgomery bus boycott
Led by many things but it was mainly caused because of rosa parks getting arrested. The bus boycott lasted for 381 days and it caused a lawsuit to be filed over segregation laws. -
Martin Luther King House Bombing
They were unidentified and listed as a white supremacist terrorist, it was in retaliation to the Montgomery bus boycott. -
Black Panthers Formed
Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, created with the intention of challenging police brutality against African Americans. -
Bombing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
Members of the KKK bombed the reverends church which was located next door to his house. Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth assumed leadership of the civil rights movement in Birmingham, white supremacists attempted to murder Shuttlesworth 4 more times in the next 7 years. -
Eisenhower sends in Federal Troops
Little Rock high school was trying to integrate black students into the school but many white students protested and blocked them from coming in. Eisenhower then decided to send in Federal Troops to protect them into the school. -
SCLC Founded
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference established by MLK to help local organizations working for equality of African Americans. -
SNCC Formed
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was made to give younger blacks a voice in the Civil Rights Movement. -
Greensboro sit ins
Young African Americans staged a sit in at the Woolworths lunch counter and refused to leave even after being denied service. These sit ins spread quickly all around the south in different towns. -
Freedom Rides
Groups of White and Black civil rights activists who would go on bus trips through the south to protest segregated bus terminals. This led to many anti civil rights riots and police beating both the black and whites that would take part in this. -
White mob attacks federal marshals in Montgomery
The police abandoned the bus of freedom riders right before it got to the terminal and there waiting was a white mob whom they attacked the riders with baseball bats and clubs. This was just 1 of the many instances where police were no help to the freedom riders and abandoned them. -
Albany Georgia “failure”
Tried to desegregate an entire community in Albany led by MLK. It was considered a failure because instead of desegregating the community 1,000 blacks were sent to jail. -
Bailey v Patterson
Supreme Court case about interstate laws. Ruled that no state could require or order racial segregation on interstate transportation. -
Equal Pay Act
Required that all men and women should be given equal pay for equal work. -
Kennedy sends in Federal Troops
The governor of Mississippi refused a black student to be accepted into ole miss so President Kennedy called many times and finally let the student get accepted into the university. He then sent federal troops to protect the student while walking from class to class. -
MLK goes to a Birmingham jail
MLK was arrested for peacefully protesting the treatment of blacks. While in jail he wrote a famous letter that defended African American resistance. -
Assassination of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evans was a civil rights activist in Mississippi and he was shot to death outside of his home. He had been in the Army and was in the normandy invasion then he joined the NAACP. -
March on Washington “I have a Dream”
MLK led a march on Washington for jobs and freedom for blacks. He then followed this up with a very famous "I Have a Dream" speech that was heard around the world where he shared his dreams for our nation backed by most of the black community. -
Bombing of a church in Birmingham
A White Supremacist bombed a church before a Sunday morning church service. 4 young Black schoolgirls were killed in the bombing, 3 KKK members were eventually convicted of murder. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
JFK was killed in Dallas Texas while riding in a convertible with his wife, the Governor of Texas and his wife. The Governors wife was also shot but when brought to a hospital, she recovered around the same time JFK was pronounced dead. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a voter registration drive and its goal was to increase the number of Black voters. Over 700 white voters went to help Black voters not feel discriminated or intimidated at the polls. -
XXIV (24th) Amendment
The 24th amendment was made to allow there to be more voters in a wider range and allow any citizen to vote. It prohibited any poll tax meaning there was nothing you had to do to vote besides show up. -
Killing of Goodman, Chaney, Schwerner
They were civil rights workers in Mississippi, they had traveled from another city to talk with a congregation about a church that had brunt down. On their way they were stopped for speeding, placed in jail for hours then left and were followed, abducted and shot. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
It is a landmark Civil Rights and labor law that outlawed the discrimination based on color, sex, religion, or nationality. This was a massive success and giant leap forward for the civil rights movement. -
Selma to Montgomery March
The march was in an effort to register black voters in the south. They marched 54 miles from Selma to the state capitol of Alabama and were met by many groups of violence along the way and when they arrived but they stayed strong. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcom X was assassinated by the Black Muslim group in NYC while speaking to his Afro-American organization. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It was a landmark legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in state, local, and federal voting. -
Minneapolis Riots
The racial tension reached a breaking point and on Plymouth ave. a series of assaults and vandalism occurred. This went on for 3 nights and were linked with race demonstrations in other cities during the "long hot summer" -
Detroit Riots
It was the bloodiest of the riots during the "Long Hot Summer" and was mainly between Black residents and the Police department. -
Loving v Virginia
Landmark court case that made interracial marriage legal in all states. This was such a big deal because it was one of the last things that ended segregation laws. -
Assassination of MLK
MLK was fatally shot in Memphis, Tennessee at his motel. He was murdered my James Earl Ray who was sentences to 99 years in prison but escaped and then was recaptured. -
Assassination of Robert “Bobby” Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy was running for president and had been declared winner of South Dakota and California primaries the day before he dies in the evening at his hotel in Los Angeles. He was murdered by Sirhan Sirhan who is currently still serving a life sentence in jail.
