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Brown vs. Board of Education
The Supreme Court decision held that state legislation establishing racially segregated public schools for white and black students was unconstitutional. The ruling overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine ratified in Plessy v. Ferguson and was a crucial step toward desegregation in America's school system. -
Emmett Till Murder
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American, was lynched in Mississippi for reportedly whistling at a white woman. His open-casket funeral showed the nation the brutality of racial violence.
Till's murder and the subsequent trial drew national attention to racial violence and inequality, mobilizing the Civil Rights Movement. -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks also defied a white male and refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was arrested and ignited a year of boycotts of the city buses. This paved the way for massive resistance to segregation and helped make Martin Luther King Jr. a key leader of the movement. -
The Little Rock Nine and Integration
Nine African American students desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, with federal protection after Governor Orval Faubus attempted to keep them out. The event exposed the federal role in imposing desegregation and was a climax in the battle for civil rights in schools. -
Greensboro Woolworth's Sit-ins
Four African American students at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, were refused service, and a nationwide chain of sit-ins was initiated. The sit-ins spawned a wave of nonviolent protests that helped to dismantle segregation in public facilities and promoted youth involvement. -
Freedom Rides
A group of Black and white activists rode buses throughout the South to demonstrate against bus station segregation. They encountered violent opposition, especially in Alabama. The Freedom Rides uncovered the violent opposition to desegregation and led to the enforcement of integrated interstate travel. -
MLK’s Letter From Birmingham Jail
While imprisoned for being involved in protests, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter in support of civil disobedience and the necessity of immediate action against unjust legislation. It became a cornerstone of the movement's ideology and was used to spread the message of passive resistance. -
March on Washington
Over 250,000 people marched to Washington, D.C., for a peaceful protest demanding jobs and freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The March on Washington was a strong display of solidarity and mass support for civil rights, which helped the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pass. -
Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing
A bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and killed four African American girls. The bombing was carried out by white supremacists. The bombing galvanized national outrage and helped push through the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment abolished the poll tax, which had been used to prevent African Americans from voting in the South. This was a significant step toward ensuring the right to vote for African Americans, eliminating a major barrier to voting rights. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This landmark law prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and required the desegregation of public facilities. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a great victory in the struggle against institutionalized racism. -
“Bloody Sunday”/Selma to Montgomery March
Civil rights activists were brutally clubbed by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, as they attempted to march to Montgomery to protest for the right to vote. This act drew national attention to the need for voting rights legislation and was a turning point in the fight for the Voting Rights Act. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act banned literacy tests and other discriminatory practices that had been used to disenfranchise African Americans. -
Loving v. Virginia
The Supreme Court struck down laws against interracial marriage, ruling that the laws violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law. The decision was a significant victory for civil rights and helped to further dismantle legal racial segregation.