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NAACP was founded
to fight racism and violence against all people of color in the United States. -
Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers
Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, becoming the first African American to play in the modern era of Major League Baseball. -
Brown v. Board of Education
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. -
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man-
When the white section filled, the bus driver ordered Parks and three other Black passengers to give up their seats to standing white passengers. Parks refused to move, stating she was not seated in the white section and didn't think she should have to move. -
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was a landmark piece of legislation, representing the first significant federal action to address civil rights since the Civil Rights Act of 1875 and the Reconstruction era. -
Desegregation of Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas
The Little Rock Nine, nine African American students, first entered Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 23, 1957, under the protection of Little Rock police and state troopers, but their first full day of classes was on September 25, 1957, under federal troop escort -
Sit-in at Woolworth’s lunch counter
the four students sat down at the lunch counter at the Woolworth's in downtown Greensboro, where the official policy was to refuse service to anyone but whites. Denied service, the four young men refused to give up their seats. -
CORE “freedom ride”
The Freedom Riders aimed to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and bus terminals, drawing attention to the continued segregation in public facilities.
Riders -
Dr. King was thrown into Birmingham Jail
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, on April 12, 1963, for leading a peaceful march against segregation and violating an injunction against protests, and he wrote his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" while incarcerated. -
March on Washington
March on Washington, political demonstration held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963, that was attended by an estimated 250,000 people to protest racial discrimination and to show support for major civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress -
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964
On July 2, 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, a landmark piece of legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and ended segregation in public places and federally funded programs. -
“Bloody Sunday”
On March 7, 1965, hundreds of civil rights activists began a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest voting rights discrimination. -
Voting Rights Act
On August 4, 1965, the United States Senate passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The long-delayed issue of voting rights had come to the forefront because of a voter registration drive launched by civil rights activists in Selma, Alabama. Among Selma’s 15,000 black citizens of voting age, only 335 were registered to vote. -
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated
Martin Luther King Jr., an American civil rights activist, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m at age 39.